XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) (Service Pack ONLY)

AMD CPU users Warning: DO NOT UPDATE TO SP3 IF YOU HAVE AN HP system with an AMD PROCESSOR! I have read reports of there being issues with AMD processors going into an endless reboot cycle.

AMD CPU Patch info:
Applies to: Windows XP with AMD processors with SP2 - use before SP3 is installed

Requirements: Windows XP with AMD processors with SP2 - use before SP3 is installed

File Size: 0.5MB

File Name: WindowsXP-KB953356-x86-ENU.exe


Description:
If you have an AMD processor and are considering upgrading to Windows Service Pack 3 (SP3), then it is important that you apply this patch before SP3. Otherwise, your system may possibly get stuck in a loop of reboots that will stop Windows XP from starting.

On a technical level, there is a problem with the way that the System Preparation (Sysprep) image is created. According to one explanation offered by Microsoft "The problem may occur if the original Sysprep image for Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), for Windows XP SP2, or for Windows XP SP3 is created on a computer that uses an Intel processor and is then deployed on a computer that does not use an Intel processor. In this configuration, the Intel processor driver (Intelppm.sys) may try to load after the computer is upgraded to Windows XP SP2 or to Windows XP SP3. The driver does this because an orphaned registry key remains from the original Sysprep image." In these cases you may also see the following error messages:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer...

Technical information:

STOP: 0x0000007E (0xC0000005, [number1], [number2], [number3])
SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

When Physical Address Extensions (PAE) is enabled, you may receive the following error message: STOP 0x000000FC (ATTEMPTED_EXECUTE_OF_NOEXECUTE_MEMORY)

[number1], [number2] and [number3] listed above will be random, alphanumeric and 10 digits long. However, 0x0000007E and 0xC0000005 will always be present for this type of error. Note 0x0000007E errors have multiple causes, but if it is an AMD processor and you have just installed SP3, there is a good bet that this patch will fix the issue. Ideally the patch should be applied before the Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Apparently the patch is only for a specific issue involving OEM systems that shipped with Windows XP preloaded. e.g. HP, Compaq, Mesh Computers, and others.

If your system did not come from an OEM or was not loaded from an OEM system image, the patch is not applicable.

Link for the AMD patch:

	Code: http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/windows-xpsp-amd-dl.html

or

	Code: http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/c/6/0c609742-5507-49fb-b028-a00701f13197/WindowsXP-KB953356-x86-ENU.exe

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MS had decided not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 to Windows Update and the MS Download Center as planned on April 29. The reason? A last-minute compatibility issue with a MS application — MS Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS).

System Requirements
* Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2

The download is 316MB (MD5 hash: bb25707c919dd835a9d9706b5725af58) and contains some 1,100 hotfixes and patches.

Direct links from MS:

* Chinese (Hong Kong)

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-chh_2663fb610f29e65a10be176740ea6757ca1f22d5.exe

* Chinese (Simplified)

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-chs_D7067E86ABD4257454200D0C398D71C4CE6CD33E.exe

* Chinese (Traditional)

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-cht_8a0625e10b8c6cb88d9d1952f1a189fbd761b744.exe

* Czech

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-csy_7af606916b887dba9dd38ae282505ce2c2b81b08.exe

* English

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu_c81472f7eeea2eca421e116cd4c03e2300ebfde4.exe

* French

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-fra_414B61BBC86E09579D8447BAA23EB1B867F9CA93.exe

* German

	Code: http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-deu_f2dcd2211384a78df215c696a7fd1a7949dc794b.exe

* Hebrew

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-heb_eb8fc9ff0890279346661dde065c14b5c696e423.exe

* Japanese

	Code: http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-jpn_e0fc34cfa52d270b3c79a68af8fa358244f7419e.exe

* Polish

	Code: http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-plk_7CBE718131E9C71B322F1149E86BEDBA351BA11C.exe

* Russian

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-rus_850cda9f57033a17d046a56d422547ea80dcaf61.exe

* Spanish

	Code: http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ESN_E305BECFC6FD5A8199368CEFFC496397247AC60F.exe

If you want more information try a google search, this is some of what i found from just one link:
Q: What are these new features I keep hearing about?

A: Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but it will include four minor new features that improve the system’s reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.

These new features include:

Network Access Protection compatibility. Announced years ago, this feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is built into the RTM version of Windows Vista as well.

Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.

Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel module that “encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms,” according to Microsoft.

“Black hole” router detection algorithm. XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows Vista.

And that’s about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.
Q: That’s it? Is there anything else?

Nothing else new. There are updated applications, which shipped long ago as separate downloads, like Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player 11. And there are even some features that have been removed, like the taskbar-based Address Bar option.

From http://neosmart.net/blog/2007/windows-xp-sp3-beta-build-3205-released-analysis-included/

* New Windows Product Activation model: no need to enter product key during setup. Thank God for that!
* Network Access Protection modules and policies have been brought to XP after being one of the more-well-received features in Windows Vista. You can read more about NAP here.
* New Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module - the Windows XP SP3 kernel now includes an entire module that provides easy access to multiple cryptographic algorithms and is available for use in kernel-mode drivers and services.
* New “Black Hole Router” detection - Windows XP SP3 can detect and protect against rogue routers that are discarding data.

Windows XP SP3 is compatible with all versions of Windows x86, included Embedded, Fundamentals, Start, Professional, Media Center, and Home Editions.

Windows XP SP3 now contains 1,073 patches/hotfixes, not including those in previous service packs. Of the 1,073 included updates, 114 are for security-related issues. The remainder are updates to performance & reliability, bugfixes, improvements to kernel-mode driver modules, and many BSOD fixes.