Downloading the elusive Service Pack 2 for Windows XP

[Daave]

Fortunately I have the currently-difficult-to-obtain Service Pack 2
installation file on my hard drive. Here is some important information
for those who need it:

Name: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

Size: 266 MB (278,927,592 bytes)

File Version: 5.5.1005.0 (SRV03_QFE.031113-0918)

MD5 hash value: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

SHA1 hash value: 33a8fef60d48ae1f2c4feea27111af5ceca3c4f6

As most people know, this is the USUAL site where one can download this
file:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT
Professionals and Developers
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28

Google cache of this page:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ls.aspx?id=28+xp+sp2&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

This page is now down. :-(

When you attempt to load that page, this is what you will get:

We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found.
The URL may be misspelled or the page you're looking
for is no longer available

Still, the file exists. A Google search will turn up useful hits,
including this one:

http://www.download3k.com/Install-M...vice-Pack-2-Network-Installation-Package.html

By all means, scan for viruses and other malware to be safe!

And also use this program to check the hash values so you know you get
the Real McCoy:

SlavaSoft HashCalc
http://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/

Again, the hash values are:

MD5: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

SHA1: 33a8fef60d48ae1f2c4feea27111af5ceca3c4f6

 

[glee]

Fortunately I have the currently-difficult-to-obtain Service Pack 2
installation file on my hard drive. Here is some important information
for those who need it:

Name: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

Size: 266 MB (278,927,592 bytes)

File Version: 5.5.1005.0 (SRV03_QFE.031113-0918)

MD5 hash value: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

SHA1 hash value: 33a8fef60d48ae1f2c4feea27111af5ceca3c4f6

As most people know, this is the USUAL site where one can download
this file:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT
Professionals and Developers
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28

Google cache of this page:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ls.aspx?id=28+xp+sp2&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

This page is now down. :-(

When you attempt to load that page, this is what you will get:


snip

Well, that's a very bad decision by Microsoft! What of the users who
have the original version of XP on disc and have to do a clean install
followed by installing SP2, in order to install SP3? Do you know if SP2
is offered to such a machine via Automatic Updates/Windows Update any
longer?

 

[Mordaci]

Fortunately I have the currently-difficult-to-obtain Service Pack 2
installation file on my hard drive. Here is some important information
for those who need it:

Name: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

Size: 266 MB (278,927,592 bytes)

File Version: 5.5.1005.0 (SRV03_QFE.031113-0918)

MD5 hash value: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

SHA1 hash value: 33a8fef60d48ae1f2c4feea27111af5ceca3c4f6

As most people know, this is the USUAL site where one can download this
file:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT
Professionals and Developers
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28

Google cache of this page:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ls.aspx?id=28+xp+sp2&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

This page is now down. :-(

When you attempt to load that page, this is what you will get:




Still, the file exists. A Google search will turn up useful hits,
including this one:

http://www.download3k.com/Install-M...vice-Pack-2-Network-Installation-Package.html

By all means, scan for viruses and other malware to be safe!

And also use this program to check the hash values so you know you get
the Real McCoy:

SlavaSoft HashCalc
http://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/

Again, the hash values are:

MD5: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

SHA1: 33a8fef60d48ae1f2c4feea27111af5ceca3c4f6

I downloaded SP2 from the page you referenced and also the Hash
checker. When I loaded the Setup file into the Hash checker I get
different MD5 and SHA strings than the ones you and the webpage provide.
Am I doing this right? I don't know if I got the real thing. My
anti-virus finds nothing. Thanks.

 

[Bert]

Well, that's a very bad decision by Microsoft! What of the users who
have the original version of XP on disc and have to do a clean install
followed by installing SP2, in order to install SP3?

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

 

[Paul]

I downloaded SP2 from the page you referenced and also the Hash
checker. When I loaded the Setup file into the Hash checker I get
different MD5 and SHA strings than the ones you and the webpage provide.
Am I doing this right? I don't know if I got the real thing. My
anti-virus finds nothing. Thanks.

I tested here.

This is the link recorded in my browser, as to what downloaded.

http://mirrors.download3k.com/token/4f5682b190a0324f879c4454e106f426/WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

If I do

md5sum WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

it reports 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7.

And if I do that on the copy of SP2 I already had on disk
(as downloaded from Microsoft, when it was available), it
reports the same MD5sum as well. Both files
have size 278,927,592 bytes.

Microsoft makes their own hash checker called FCIV,
but it's no longer available for download Seems
to be a lot of that going around.

FCIV - link is no longer valid.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...58-31B7-47E2-A663-7365C1686C08&displaylang=en

FCIV - link off this page is dead too...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841290

You can use www.archive.org to find a copy.

Anyway, the download3k file looks to be legit. I tried
FCIV on both copies and they're the same. While it's
possible to hack md5sum, the sha1sum is supposed to be
harder to hack. So passing both checks is less likely,
for a corrupted file.

Paul

 

[Nil]

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to install
SP3.

 

[Bert]

In Nil

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to
install SP3.

No. Read that again.

Supported operating systems:

Windows XP Home Edition [or]
Windows XP Professional Edition [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 1 [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 2

 

[Char Jackson]

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to install
SP3.

The way I read that, you *don't* need any Service Packs installed
prior to installing SP3.

 

[Nil]

The way I read that, you *don't* need any Service Packs installed
prior to installing SP3.

Yes, I think you're right.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

In Nil

microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to
install SP3.

No. Read that again.

Supported operating systems:

Windows XP Home Edition [or]
Windows XP Professional Edition [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 1 [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 2

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

If I am not mistaken the only exception was Windows XP Media Edition
where you couldn't skip SP2.

Interesting how Windows XP Media Edition isn't mentioned in that list.
I wonder why...

It used to be that you needed at minimum, SP1a to go right to SP3. My
guess is that since SP2 is no longer supported, they made this all
inclusive SP3 download.

 

[glee]

Yes, I think you're right.

No matter what it says... I have the offline version of SP3 downloaded,
did a clean install of XP from a disc that had no SP1a or SP2, and SP3
refused to install. It said I HAD to have SP1a or SP2 installed first.
This was last week. It was NOT MCE, it was XP Home.

I have a SP2 disc, and installed that so I could install SP3.

 

[glee]

In Nil

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to
install SP3.

No. Read that again.

Supported operating systems:

Windows XP Home Edition [or]
Windows XP Professional Edition [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 1 [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 2

No matter what it says... I have the offline version of SP3 downloaded,
did a clean install of XP from a disc that had no SP1a or SP2, and SP3
refused to install. It said I HAD to have SP1a or SP2 installed first.
This was last week. It was NOT MCE, it was XP Home.

I have a SP2 disc, and installed that so I could install SP3.

 

[Nil]

No matter what it says... I have the offline version of SP3
downloaded, did a clean install of XP from a disc that had no SP1a
or SP2, and SP3 refused to install. It said I HAD to have SP1a or
SP2 installed first. This was last week. It was NOT MCE, it was
XP Home.

I have a SP2 disc, and installed that so I could install SP3.

Aha! So, maybe my memory was accurate after all.

The last time I went through this exercise was about a year ago, and I
thought I remembered having to install the earlier SP before #3, but I
wasn't sure.

 

[Daave]

In Nil

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to
install SP3.

No. Read that again.

Supported operating systems:

Windows XP Home Edition [or]
Windows XP Professional Edition [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 1 [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 2

It is an established fact that you cannot upgrade from SP0 to SP3. If
you don't believe me, try it.

 

[Hot-Text]

In Nil

microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

"System requirements

"Supported operating systems: Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP
Professional Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows XP Service
Pack 2"

You must have Service Pack 1 or 2 already installed in order to
install SP3.

No. Read that again.

Supported operating systems:

Windows XP Home Edition [or]
Windows XP Professional Edition [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 1 [or]
Windows XP Service Pack 2

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released
updates for the operating system."

It is an established fact that you cannot upgrade from SP0 to SP3. If
you don't believe me, try it.

There is two Windows XP Media Center Service Pack 2 Rollups,
Plus Service Pack 2,
Before you can move on up too,
Windows XP Media Center Service Pack 3 ..

For all XP's are not the same.........