Which SP is the best?

[Silence Seeker]

My experience with SP3 was not very positive. It rendered a few
(older) PCs unbootable (fixed by re-installing W2K and stoping at SP2,
inclusive). Those PCs that "agreed" to work with SP3, do it much more
slowly than before (became sluggish immediately after applying SP3).

I am about to re-install W2K freshly on my upgraded PC and I tend to
*not* install SP3 (and SP4 of course). But for the life of me, I can't
recall now if SP2 was problematic as SP3 or not. So, I am debating
whether to stop at SP1 or SP2.

Now... I know there are lists of fixes and what each of the SPs
contain:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;327194
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/ServicePacks/Windows/2000/SP3FixList.asp

But they are so looooooong and I really can't decipher all of that.
Besides, I am interested in other users experience:

Which SP in your personal experience gave you the smoothest, fastest
and least trouble free experience?

Are there **features** in SP2/SP3/SP4 that are worth the performance
hit? (for example, I heard that in order to use USB 2.0 ports, one
must apply at least SP3).

Thanks in advance,
Sam

 

[JT]

I have installed SP4 on quite a few machines without a single problem,
although I know many people have had various issues. I would install the
base version of W2k, then run an image backup so you could easily jump
back to that. Then I would install SP4 and see how it goes. There are
too many updates and fixes not to go with the latest service pack, in my
opinion anyway. There is also some software that won't install without
later SP updates. Office 2003 for example requires at least SP3 in order
to install it.

JT

 

[Silence Seeker]

JT, thanks for your feedback. Do you happen to know if Office *XP*
requires at least SP3? (I have no plans to upgrade to Office 2003)

Also, I just came across the following:
http://www.w2knews.com/anecdotes.htm and man this scares me. It seems
that with every newly introduced SP, old bugs are fixed but new (and
meaner?) ones are created.

This puts me in an awkward position of "damned if you do damned if you
don't". I don't really want to miss the important fixes that are part
of an SP package. On the other hand, W2K with SP1 was stable enough
for me as I remember it.

So, if I phrase my question differently: Is there an application or
piece of hardware that I will NOT be able to use if I stay at SP1? (I
will of course apply the critical/security fixes individually). Can I
use a third party USB 2.0 driver without having to apply SP3?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No problems with either SP3 or SP4 on the hundreds of machines I
support.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[JT]

I'm not sure about Office XP....but I still say go with SP4. Certainly
there are far more "bugs" fixed than new ones created. Plus a lot more
updated drivers and other files. And what have you got to lose if you
install the base version, back it up, then install SP4? You can revert
back to the base version in minutes if you find you encounter problems.
I installed the base version, then SP4, then all of the patches and such
from the Windows Update site. By far, the *majority* of people are *not*
having problems with SP4. Also, by staying with an earlier version you
are just going to run into a roadblock in the future when you decide to
install a program or device. Install the works now, including all the
latest updates. Tweak all of your settings and preferences - then run
another backup of your complete W2K install (before you start adding
your other software). If you want to make things a little easier, pull
any cards that are not needed initially (sound, LAN, modem etc.),
installing with the just the minimum of what is needed (a Video card is
about it really). After you install the base version and SP4, add the
LAN card and then go for the updates, and finally start adding any other
cards/components.

 

[Silence Seeker]

JT and Bruce,
Just to let you (and other readers) know: I accepted your
recommendation and installed SP4, then all remaining critical updates.
It works PERFECTLY and does not slow down the system a bit (unlike
what I experienced with SP3...).

Thanks!
Sam