Registry Tweak Enables Updates for XP SP2
A previous registry hack used by gamers can enable XP SP2 updates.
Microsoft recently retired Windows XP SP2 on July 13, removing the tired-but-classic OS from its update roster. This meant that consumers still running XP SP2 wouldn't receive the emergency update for the LNK shortcut vulnerability (KB2286198). However Finland-based antivirus vendor F-Secure detailed a way for consumers to trick XP SP2 into (virtually) thinking its SP3, thus allowing Microsoft-sanctioned updates to resume.
The "trick" actually stems from a previous problem with Grand Theft Auto IV. When it was released in December 2008, the game wouldn't run on XP SP2. However gamers tricked the OS by editing this registry key: KLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows. Gamers simply edited the DWORD value CSDVersion from 200 to 300. The trick became effective after a reboot.
F-Secure decided to see if the GTA IV trick would also work with KB2286198. It did. "WindowsXP-KB2286198-x86-ENU.exe installed on our SP2 test system once we tweaked the registry," the company said in a blog. "We also tested an LNK exploit, and it did not infect the system after the patch."
The firm also indicated that the forced update was not officially tested or supported by Microsoft for XP SP2. "We do NOT recommend that anybody use this tweak in a production network of any kind," F-Secure said. "Hacking the registry and applying updates is likely a very quick way to destabilize your system. You really should update to Service Pack 3 if at all possible."
As F-Secure warns, experiment at your own risk.
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Please, PLEASE.... Just update to service pack 3.
SP2 and SP3 are essentially the same on the outside.
SP2? Why not just update to SP3 it is free. Boggles the mind. I find XP to be a malware magnet anyways. Updating to Win7 is a better idea than fooling around with all this. But it depends if your PC can handle the o/s I guess.
Huh? You have to hack the registry to continue getting updates to SP2? Just get SP3. Duh!
what's wrong with XP SP3?
I haven't heard any issues regarding the update...except it's for XP and it's now old and more people are on Win7.....
I like the patching trick. however i would just go to SP3 to be safe. thier is no reason a home user should not be on SP3. I can understand why companies have not moved to SP3, patching in an enterprise enviroment is a pain in the neck. even with WSUS. it kills network bandwidth and user productivity. especially with big updates like SP3 or .netframeworks. most enterprises are already looking at Windows 7. Rather that touch every machine in the company to install sp3, I would rather touch every computer in the company to install Windows 7 SP1 slipstreemd in to it when it launches in the October/november time frame. it make more send that doing it all twice. Microsoft needs to get its act together with enterprise level patching. even with WSUS it is still a pain.
Itll work until a patch brick your SP2 machine because the said patch wasnt tested on SP2...
I can't imagine why any home user would be still using XP SP2. That's just crazy.
There is no SP3 for X64 version... I am so glad i moved to Win 7. People switch, it is awesome...
It's time people stop using a nearly 10 year-old OS and upgrade to Win 7 or at least XP SP3. Why the hell is anyone still running SP2 & older?
There is no SP3 for X64 version... I am so glad i moved to Win 7. People switch, it is awesome...
That's because technically Windows XP X64 was a heavily modified version of Windows 2003.
People still on xp sp2 are probably using illegitimate copies of xp if they are home users, or simply have automatic updates turned off and don't know any better. Really no other reason not to update to sp3(for home users).
It's time people stop using a nearly 10 year-old OS and upgrade to Win 7 or at least XP SP3. Why the hell is anyone still running SP2 & older?
On active current computers IDK. But I'm about to rebuild/reconstitute a Win98 Pentium III computer for retro-gaming purposes.
When SP3 was first released, systems that were old back then had troubles updating to it. I've also seen systems on the network here slow down with SP3 installed, even on a freshly imaged machine. But moving to Windows 7 on the home front is a must and in a business environment it's recommended assuming legacy apps don't break.
Wow everyone that is saying "just upgrade to SP3" its not that easy all the time. I have had 4 computers Blue Screen on me while updating them from SP2 to SP3. The windows update process is a joke and they certainly aren't helpful in repairing the OS.
I'm pretty sure that SP3 was the XP version that had the validation code to check to make sure your copy of Windows was legal. So I'm guessing that most people that are still running SP2 fall into 2 categories:
1) People with no internet access / updates turned off. Which in this case getting updates is a non-issue.
2) People with pirated copies of XP-SP2 that can't update.
and possibly 3) Their computer is at the exact performance level where SP2 works fine, but SP3 doesn't (though I don't think SP3 has any tangible performance difference).
the irony is that mfst can't fix this bug now that they've abandoned xp sp2.
XP SP3 is a little slower than SP2. But, that seems typical with SP upgrades.
There is no SP3 for X64 version... I am so glad i moved to Win 7. People switch, it is awesome...
x86 and x64 SP2 are NOT the same. It is possible to play GTA4 on a XP x64 SP2 machine.
Oh my freaking God. Just upgrade to SP3, or better, Windows 7, for God's sake!!
On active current computers IDK. But I'm about to rebuild/reconstitute a Win98 Pentium III computer for retro-gaming purposes.
I fix computers for a living, and many, many, MANY people are still limping along on Pentium IVs with 512mb or less. Many of them can't justify the expense of a new computer just to surf the net.
I switched from XP(SP3) the other day to Windows 7 (Home Premium 64). For the most part I like it, it even 'feels' faster than XP (though my XP install was 1 year old). That said, after 1 month of searching and trying every fix I could find, I'm still unable to get my 2TB drive working (shows up as 1TB). It worked fine on XP 32bit.
XP SP3 is a little slower than SP2. But, that seems typical with SP upgrades.
Actually if you install it with a disc that has up to SP3 slipstreamed onto the disc it actually runs faster. Definitely boots faster.
As long as there are 32-bit programs being released, Windows XP will still be around.
There is no SP3 for X64 version... I am so glad i moved to Win 7. People switch, it is awesome...
That is a moot point here though, because Win x64 is still being supported, and this patch was released for that os.
Actually if you install it with a disc that has up to SP3 slipstreamed onto the disc it actually runs faster. Definitely boots faster.
are there benchmarks to back up either of these claims?
yep sp2 users are usually using illegal copies of xp as you cannot upgrade further. win7 is where its at obviously... I wouldn't waste my time.. just download Ubuntu, its free as well.
Please, PLEASE.... Just update to service pack 3.
well because my old computer couldn't...Every time i would try to update it would update then give me an error saying it didnt patch right and had to restore and restart.
But then i built a new computer and got windows 7, which is awesome by the way.
I guess not all pirate software users are smart - they could easily just download an SP3 bootdisk...
So, that said; if it doesn't make sense for pirates to have SP2, and some businesses can't move away from SP2 (but businesses shouldn't use this mostly untested hack anyway), then almost nobody benefits from this hack
That said, I do love little tricks like this. You never know when they might come in handy.
As for all you "upgrade to Windows 7 already" people, there are lots of situations when XP is more appropriate. Not everyone can waltz into a store and pick up a racy quad-core system. I like to refurbish P4 computers and install fully-updated XP SP3 systems onto them. For average Joe who just wants to check his emails and browse the net, these computers are ideal. XP is of course, far lighter than Windows 7, and can be made to look just as attractive with a few tweaks (such as XPize).
I had no issues with SP3 on all my XP systems. I can only see people with illegal copies of Windows XP doing this.
I never noticed any slow down with SP3(My main systems are Win7, but i still have plenty of older XP systems).
As for slip steamed being faster, I have also found this to be true. Most likely due to old junk left on the system before the update.
SP3 has given a few old computers here a new lease on life. They're still slow, but not as slow. But hey, a slight performance upgrade for free isn't too bad.