Microsoft goes public with second XP Service Pack test

Microsoft announced late yesterday that the latest release candidate (RC2) of Windows Service Pack 3 (SP3) has been made available for public download and testing.

The announcement comes just a fortnight after the software maker made RC2 available to a closed group of 15,000 invited beta testers.

Microsoft did the same with release candidates of the first

service pack for Windows Vista; first releasing candidates to an invited group, before making the code public weeks later. At the beginning of this month, it said the Vista SP1 code had met its release to manufacturing (RTM) criteria. Public release of the final code is expected in March.

The first release candidate (RC1) of XP SP3 was made publicly available last December. Since then, the vendor has been refining the last major update to its six-year-old OS.

Microsoft Windows sustainability release programme manager, Chris Keroack wrote in a TechNet blog posting: "XP SP3 RC2 includes all previously released updates for the operating system, similar to earlier service packs. It also includes previously released updates to the latest versions of some system components, as well as functionality that makes it easier for enterprises to co-manage both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista PCs within same corporate environment."

But at the same time, doubt was cast on the readiness of the Vista service pack after Microsoft confirmed it had pulled a key installation feature that will enable the pack to run on Vista OS machines following complaints from users that it was causing endless reboots.

Nick White, Microsoft Vista programme manager said in a company blog posting late yesterday: "Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes."

He said update 937287 was the cause of the problem, which Microsoft support documents say is "the component that handles the installation and the removal of software updates, language packs, optional Windows features and service packs".

"We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue," said White. But Microsoft had not responded to a requests for comment on whether it would affect the planned full public release of the SP1 in mid-March.

After XP SP3 is shipped, users will have to prepare for the next major date in Windows XP calendar, which is 30 June, when the OS will cease to be available to buy.

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