....i knew i shouldn't have deleted the bug report shortcut... lol, any way to get it back?? like can someone tell me the shortcut information?

its weird, sometimes it won't allow me to open any programs on the desktop, or select anything from the start menu... sometimes it will also not allow me to open programs from the icons in the lower right part of the taskbar.. is that happening to anyone else? or does anyone know a solution/what causes it?

Downloaded and installed it on one of my test machines the day RC2 became available. It's been running quite fine ever since.

It's great that Microsoft are releasing this service pack early, as it allows developers to work on their current apps to offer users the ability to have working apps when the final release is out, as the developers will have had time to fix things up. (Yes, I am a developer).

I read a comment that said July is the release month for SP2, which is not correct. As stated in the betanews article, the release date is likely to be sometime in August. (It's in the final paragraph).

The reason for the delays? Well, to make fixes that were found during testing. Would you rather have a buggy Service Pack, or a stable one?

So are you saying it did not add services or slow your system down noticeably? It did on mine MSI K7N2, AMD 2600+, 512, 333FSB, Geforce w/128 megs, ata133 drives. Not top of the line but respectable. It should at least remove the services and extra added windows componets when you do a restore point.

Yes, it worked quite well on my test machine.

Pentium 3 733MHz, 128MB RAM.

Yes, there were added services, but they were hardly noticeable. Although the machine was a fresh install. It had been running for a week with SP1, then at the end of the week I applied SP2 RC2 onto it.

No notable performance differences noticed.

Software I had installed on the machine (before and after SP2 install):
Office 2003, AVG Antivirus Free Edition, iTunes, Winamp, Adaware, Google Toolbar.

You are correct that it does add additional services. As it would if you enabled Internet Connection Firewall in normal Windows XP. As the Windows Firewall is enabled by default in SP2.

This service pack has a focus on security, so it's likely that any additional services are added to help secure Windows XP by default for the average user that doesn't know much about computers.

You can disable many of the services that you don't require anyway.

You can disable the Windows Firewall, remove a lot of things you think that aren't actually useful. Some services had to be set a certain way after applying SP2 for security reasons. Do you really want somebody that could potentially spread a whole series of worms because they don't do much on their computer other than read a few websites, reply to some email, to be able to spread worms to other computers because their machine is infected?

Look, to be honest, I think that you can do away with the firewall if you have other third party firewalls that can do the job just as well.

If you can help those users of XP that do not have much knowledge of computers, then you are likely to help the others who are as well. Look at the spread of worms recently. Could they have been prevented? I certainly think so.

Please remember that the products being posted on BetaNews may not always be "production code" as such, and these performance issues are likely to be there. That is why you should always be careful. Not saying that the product quality is all that bad, but I'm suggesting that the final product will be a lot better due to feedback from those who do try the betas.

As a developer, I would prefer to read constructive criticism of my products as opposed to "this is crap" or "this crashed my system". I would ask those people to write "this is crap, because... , I think it would be better if you did instead." Especially for alpha and beta products. Those who write very vague reviews like "this is crap" doesn't really give the developer any real chance of fixing those issues the particular reviewer may have with the product before final release. [Sorry, the developer in me decided to throw in a rant at the end].

Well I tried installing Xp SP2 RC2 from the windows update twice and I got problem so I am download the 264Mg one.

i had windows xp rc1 beta before
it was so buggy......
now i installed rc2, it's much better but there are still a few bugs around....

I tried RC2 just long enough to see that it is bloatware. It added a lot of services that I had disabled or removed and the system was visibly slowed. Using the restore point did not restore services to the pre-install state. I am having to go back and remove, stop, and re-tweak my system to regain the speed.

Microsoft can't win with people like you can they? You are the first people to complain about their system being infected by a virus (even though a patch was available for 6 or so weeks!) and then when Microsoft try and make things safer for you with the Security Centre and installing the firewall by default you complain it is "bloated".

Everyone bashes Microsoft but no matter what they do people complain. Windows is a damn fine OS and it really annoys me when everyone says it is rubbish. Just like it annoys me when everyone says Linux is only for computer geeks after trying RedHat five years ago!

sorry to all, those who know me will know that I am normally very chilled but I have had enough for reading so many posts about SP2 being bloated and crap!

I read that many people happy with this RC2 and feel faster. but is there any more deeper review ?

is there any:
-Java vm included ? because they already make deal with Sun, so it is possible to include and this will reduce some problems.
- .net framework included ?
- New Windows media player versions, XMLparser, XP power toys, etc.
I hope MS will include all of this in their new win XP sp2 release.
And they also need to include much more driver update in their windows xp release (not in SP2)

Thanks.

I also suggest Microsoft make the new IE available for download for public. now the latest IE6 download is year 2002.
and how about Win 98 Third editions ?

windows xp sp2 rc2 comes with a lot lot a fetures including:
improved ie security
faster browsing
more reliable o.s.
but it's still buggy the first time i installed it crashed blue error of death microsoft sent me the windows xp sp2 rc1 cd and it worked fine.
the rc2 it's still in beta beta stages but you can bet it will bring a whole lot of features.

Ahhh...Windows 98TE, I WISH!

Why would any one buy a window 98 TH? Windows 98 is so unstabled compared to windows 2000. If anything microsoft should come out with a windows 2000 SE or a Windows 2004 that would include service pack 1-4 (for 2000) and then the current one they are working on for xp. Make the xp one compatable with 200. That would be a great thing. So many company's use 2000 instead of 98.

Windows 98 is the last OS designed just for consumers (oh yeah there was Windows Me, but--well, it was Me), and as unstable as it may SEEM, it is much less complex compared to the Windows NT archetecture, allowing less incompatabilities and vulnerabilities. Outside of the fact that it is not designed for computers with more than 2.0GHZ processor (and 512MB of RAM, but there is a workaround for that), I would switch back to Windows 98SE in a heartbeat.

I am running an Athlon 1.2GHz machine with over 1GB of SDRAM (PC133) memory. I installed RC2 and immediately started getting memory errors. I uninstalled and ran system restore to put my system back into shape. I am still getting the memory errors, but have isolated it down to the new version of IE. Now all I have to do is dump the new version and go back to the previous one.

I am running an Athlon 1.0 GHz with 1.2GB of RAM... no "memory issues" here... although I must confess I run a very tight ship, which means that I keep Windows Updates current, I run **Current, Working** virus protection, and I run Ad-Aware at least once a week. It also means I only have applications installed that I actively use, and I don't install hacked up pirated crap downloaded from dubious file sharing apps. On top of all that, my applications stay up to date as well.

While the BETA (Technical Preview) isn't for everyone... when the final version is released, I would recommend everyone take the same steps I just mentioned (in terms of updates for apps and removing all the crapware), and chances are very high that your SP2 upgrade will be flawless.

Aaron

I am doing the same things you are mentioning, as well as running Spybot.

I agree. The BETA is not for everyone. RC1 ran well on my system. I was suprised that I was having problems with RC2. I simply posted my findings here in hopes that it would help some other people. (And YES, I reported the finding to Microsoft.)

Uninstall daemon tools to remove the atapi.sys error.

It will tell you atapi.sys is in use if you have Nero as well, I believe. There is no uninstallation of software necessary. All you have to do is delete atapi.sys, click Retry, and SP2 will continue to install, and SP2 will replace the file with an updated version.

I having been working with SP2 since the RC1 preview was released. It is very spiffy in the grand scheme of things.

A) The firewall is much improved... it's actually useful now, and it also makes it so that LAN traffic is accepted and WAN (Internet/External) traffic is blocked by default. You can choose to tighten it down further and block internal OR (God forbid) disable the firewall completely.

B) The changes to Outlook Express, Windows Media Player 9, and Internet Explorer for security fixes are very much appreciated too. Many settings altered to default to more secure options, and also, IE functionality now blocks a TON of nasty site behavior and popups... Incidentally, the popup blocker in XP is better than the ones in Google, Yahoo, and MSN toolbars. It actually blocks several additional types by default.

C) The IE Add-in manager is very useful for identifying and disabling plugins for IE (even the ones previously not shown in "Downloaded Program Files").

D) The Security Center is a great way for the average user to identify and manage security concerns... Firewall, Windows Updates, and Antivirus. The list of supported Antivirus vendors has grown, and will continue to expand by the time SP2 is finalized.

E) Compatibility of applications is greatly improved in this build, although it is just a simple fact that if you don't have the latest updates to your software you will probably encounter at least SOME trouble with the service pack.

Bottom line... lots of great stuff here, but if compatibility is a concern... do yourself a favor and check for driver and software updates BEFORE you install the final.

If you're not technically knowledgeable, DO NOT waste your time with the betas.. it will probably cause you grief in the end.

Aaron

XP SP2 RC2 also includes the following updates:

DirectX9c
.NET Framework v1.1
MovieMaker2
WindowsMediaPlayer9
WindowsMessenger 4.70.3000

Which is SOOO Great, I Love It!
No need for additional MS-Updates anymore for my taste. Cuts down Install-Time a lot!

I encountered atapi.sys problem during installation.

Clicked on Retry several times but didn't work.

Then I had to cancel it because it couldn't continue, anyone got the similar problem?

I had this exact same issue, but after fighting with it for 2 hours, it was a simple thing.

Do you have Alcohol 120% installed? If you do, uninstall it. That's what's causing the atapi.sys error. After you undo it, it works great.

Just go to c:\windows\system32\drivers and delete the file then click retry. That's it

If i install this update will I have to uninstall for further updates?

yes

No, you don't need to un-install first!

This is the first release of RC2 which doesn't require you to un-install the previous release before installing this one.

I know that to be true - I tried it last night! (and I am on the beta program, so have used all the previous releases, not just the RC releases)

where can we download this?

http://www.microsoft.com

Well, start Windows Update program and start searching for updates - and there it is. Have fun!

If you click on this link it will take you directly to it.

http://www.microsoft.com/sp2preview/.

Yahoo~~~!!

But when will it be available for download?

Microsoft's now saying the final release should happen in July. Meaning late July by their standards. And for everyone else, we know that translates into mmmaybe August.

Any further questions Mr. Gates can answer at a press conference scheduled for today at 3 o'clock. Actually, 4 o'clock. Oh, let's say six.

forget XP -i use and like 2003 server and 2000 pro for my Windows O/S's.But now i've been using Sun Java Desktop system (linux base).Not bad.

use slackware.

Yes Slackware is great.

use microsoft windows 98 second edition if you need to run microsoft windows software, and use slackware linux 10 (beta is out) if you want to work.

What is Slackware ??????????????????

"slackware" is italian food.

98? Man thats crazy! Use Windows 2000 Pro with SP4 solid as a rock and if you keep it patched as secure as Fort Knox :)