The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Slipstreaming
Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

Answered by Rocky , an ibibo Master, at 9:35 AM on July 24, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Slipstreaming
Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

Answered by R.P. Singh , an ibibo Master, at 5:42 PM on July 23, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Slipstreaming
Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

Answered by Yash , an ibibo Master, at 10:16 AM on July 18, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Answered by Madhurima , an ibibo Master, at 7:36 PM on July 15, 2008

well, Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

If you find yourself installing Windows XP a lot on different machines, creating a slipstreamed disk might well be worth the effort. Just remember that each machine you install on will, of course, need their own unique Windows XP product key to be legal.

Snapshotting
If you find yourself reinstalling to the same machine periodically, it might be wise to simply use a disk imaging tool to take a snapshot of the machine after you've updated it completely. Even if you don't plan to do it frequently, it can often be a helpful safety net.

Answered by Ni .. , an ibibo Master, at 6:41 PM on July 15, 2008

well, Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

If you find yourself installing Windows XP a lot on different machines, creating a slipstreamed disk might well be worth the effort. Just remember that each machine you install on will, of course, need their own unique Windows XP product key to be legal.

Snapshotting
If you find yourself reinstalling to the same machine periodically, it might be wise to simply use a disk imaging tool to take a snapshot of the machine after you've updated it completely. Even if you don't plan to do it frequently, it can often be a helpful safety net.

Answered by Romi , an ibibo Master, at 11:33 AM on July 14, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Answered by Raksha , an ibibo Master, at 8:25 AM on July 14, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Slipstreaming
Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

If you find yourself installing Windows XP a lot on different machines, creating a slipstreamed disk might well be worth the effort. Just remember that each machine you install on will, of course, need their own unique Windows XP product key to be legal.

Snapshotting
If you find yourself reinstalling to the same machine periodically, it might be wise to simply use a disk imaging tool to take a snapshot of the machine after you've updated it completely. Even if you don't plan to do it frequently, it can often be a helpful safety net.

For example you might install Windows XP with SP2, and then go through the pain of installing all the updates available from Windows Update. Once you're done, create an image of the system drive.

Now, later, when it's time to reinstall, instead of actually going through the reinstallation process you simply restore the drive image. That brings the machine to the same state it was in when you took the image: installed and up to date as of that time.

Be sure to then visit Windows Update anyway, since there may well be additional updates that were released after you took that snapshot. If you foresee repeating this process in the future, it might even be worth taking an updated snapshot at this point as well, before you further modify the system.

Answered by Om Prakash , an ibibo Master, at 6:30 PM on July 12, 2008

Well Aryan , Depending on your settings, Windows XP may routinely activate the Windows Update feature to scan for and download updates to Windows XP automatically. If you have a fast Internet connection, and usually don't remember to check for updates yourself, you'll probably want this feature turned on. However, if you already check for updates, and would rather not have your work interrupted, you'll probably want to disable automatic updating.

* To control or disable automatic updating, open the System icon in Control Panel (or right-click My Computer and select Properties), and choose the Automatic Updates tab.

* To check for updates manually, open Internet Explorer and select Windows Update from the Tools menu.

For more details , Please visit the source site :

http://www.annoyances.org/exec /show/article03-002

Answered by Alok Gupta , an ibibo Guru, at 1:12 PM on July 11, 2008

The first solution, of course, is Windows XP SP3. At this writing, it is supposed to be released almost any day now. That will bundle most of those security updates and more into a single download and install.

It's unclear though if we'll ever see Windows XP CDs with SP3 pre-installed, simply because Microsoft keeps threatening to stop selling XP.

If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the "network install". This is a single large file containing all of the service packs that you download once and then use on as many machines as you need, and as often as you need.

"If you do plan to reinstall periodically, or on multiple machines, I would recommend finding and downloading what's called the 'network install'."SP3 isn't a permanent solution, since no doubt there will be additional patches and fixes post-SP3 that will begin to accumulate just as they have post-SP2.

Slipstreaming
Sl ipstr eaming is the process of creating a Windows XP Installation CD with a service pack pre-loaded. Typically you'll see instructions pop up on the internet after a major service pack is released, so after SP3 is released I fully expect that to be the case. It takes a bit of work, an original XP Installation CD and the network install version of the service pack, but the result is a single CD that just has everything up to date as of that service pack.

Answered by Arvind Pal , an ibibo Master, at 9:48 AM on July 11, 2008