XP service Pack 2

Well I have just installed SP2 on my PC.

It went on easily and all my previous stuff still works ! Wireless Internet, Sonar, duel VGA out and it hasn't crashed in the last 5 min !!

Woohoo !

Anyone who knows me will know I don't normally say this but.... Well done Microsoft !

Actually among most technical forums the majority of people who have had a look at SP2 refuse to use it for its huge security vulnerabilities. You're no safer than you were before, you'll just be hit by more recently developed techniques.


Here's the article I've seen the most(abbreviated)-

"SP2's Windows Security Center, the dashboard-like console that monitors and reports on the status of various security defenses -- from firewalls to anti-virus software -- can be spoofed by hackers into displaying false information, such as an enabled firewall or a even a totally bogus anti-virus package supposedly protecting the PC.

Security status could be faked, said the researchers, by a number of possible exploit avenues, including the drag-and-drop vulnerability in Internet Explorer that was made public last week. The possible goal by hackers: disable defenses but at the same time remain under the radar."
-from CRN

i installed it 3 weeks ago when it was available for IT pros only and right off the bat all my videos had the audio out of sync in Media Player. i do a lot of video editing with uncompressed 8-bit NTSC files and they were all wacked out. For some reason this only happens in Media Player (i have version 9), so i promptly uninstalled it. the goofy looking security center didn't do much for me. this is a service pack for the novice user, but i'm sure that isn't news to anyone.

Thanks for the heads up however I have Symantech Internet protection / AntiVIrus on that machine and they seems to work very well. One of the biggest reasons I upgraded was that there was some sort of conflict between the drivers for the CDRW / CDR and the OS and the bloody thing kept crashing. If that is fixed I will be pleased and if not I will probably buy a CD DVD combo drive.

I did check Sonar and that was working fine !

Originally Posted by: ekstasis16i installed it 3 weeks ago when it was available for IT pros only and right off the bat all my videos had the audio out of sync in Media Player. i do a lot of video editing with uncompressed 8-bit NTSC files and they were all wacked out. For some reason this only happens in Media Player (i have version 9), so i promptly uninstalled it. the goofy looking security center didn't do much for me. this is a service pack for the novice user, but i'm sure that isn't news to anyone.

The security pack was probably made for media player v. 10.

Honestly I would rather not have upgraded from v8 to v10, the new layout seriously blows. I don't know what v9 is like.

I didn't know 10 was out. I just looked at the WMP10 site and I have to say I don't know how Microsift is getting away with ripping off more and more of Apple's design concepts. It got a face lift, but that doesn't mean anything's changed under the hood. They want to market it as a jukebox, but I like Winamp better for that. i only use WMP for videos.

Have you seen the trailer for v10? Apparently only young beaituful people listen to music these days. I did not know that.

Everyone should dump media player and use Winamp. Media Player is a bloated piece of crap with all their copy protection stuff now built in.

Any else read how the next version of Windows (Longhorn) is going to have support for copy protected CDs? I think I'll have to stick with XP.

Originally Posted by: ChristophEveryone should dump media player and use Winamp. Media Player is a bloated piece of crap with all their copy protection stuff now built in.

Hear hear!!! Winamp is so elegantly simple and clean. Loads waaay faster than WMP and uses much less resources. Plus no annoying wma encoding format when you rip CDs.

Although, I did like seeing the CD cover when playing a song in WMP...

Yea, I quit using WMP too. That program has blowed for at least the last 3 versions. I use winamp for my audio needs and the Divx Player for my video needs, I suggest y'all do too considering Divx develops most of the codecs for video use these days in addition to being compatible with all (at least as far as I've ever been able to find out) windows codecs.

Divx you say? I'm taking a look at it now.

Give it a try, dig around until you find the free player here at this link

If you can't find it, just reply to this thread and I'll give you a better link (sorry I'm sleepy)

Originally Posted by: LeedoggGive it a try, dig around until you find the free player here at this link

If you can't find it, just reply to this thread and I'll give you a better link (sorry I'm sleepy)

Hi Lee, you still here?

I was actually installing the player as I typed that last post. It looks a good program. It's not like I can decompile the program and dig through it for problems, but at surface level I like it.

Why not use the REal player. I use the free version on Macs and PCs when Im not using Itunes. I cans say it is great but it gets the job done.

or am I missing something ?

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanAlthough, I did like seeing the CD cover when playing a song in WMP...

Actually in Winamp 5 and above you can view the album information in the media library. Cover pics, bio, and lots more!

Originally Posted by: LeedoggYea, I quit using WMP too. That program has blowed for at least the last 3 versions. I use winamp for my audio needs and the Divx Player for my video needs, I suggest y'all do too considering Divx develops most of the codecs for video use these days in addition to being compatible with all (at least as far as I've ever been able to find out) windows codecs.[/QUOTE]

Is it better at playing ripped DVDs (from my own personal collection... :confused: ) than Winamp?


[QUOTE=Dr_simon]Why not use the REal player. I use the free version on Macs and PCs when Im not using Itunes. I cans say it is great but it gets the job done.

or am I missing something ?

I've never liked RealPlayer after it completely took over my computer and I had to get a Real Networks installed bar code on the back of my hand to play an mp3.

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanIs it better at playing ripped DVDs (from my own personal collection... :confused: ) than Winamp?[/QUOTE]
Can't say for sure, give it a try though, it's a pretty powerful piece of software.



[QUOTE=iamthe_eggman]I've never liked RealPlayer after it completely took over my computer and I had to get a Real Networks installed bar code on the back of my hand to play an mp3.

I feel that dude. I've never like RealPlayer either.

We tried installing SP2 on my comp. here at work and it wouldn't work. Luckily after two tries system restore finally worked. I've never been so stressed out in my life thinking how far I would be set back if I had to format.