Windows XP Service Pack 1
Release Date: September 09,2002

It's been almost a year since Windows XP was unleashed on computer users. Nobody that has used XP will say it's perfect. Proof of that is readily apparent if you have visited the Windows Update site with its list of critical updates, patches, hot-fixes, driver updates, and assorted recommended updates. Service Packs don't appear very frequently so they tend to get overlooked by a lot of users, but they can be of vital importance as well as making your computing life a bit easier and more secure. Frankly, I can't think of a single reason why a service pack shouldn't be installed. As you'll see below, even if a problem is encountered with a service pack there is a provision to recover from any damage it might cause. If you'd like to read a bit more about service packs, click here. If not, onward to Service Pack 1 for Windows XP.

Obtaining Service Pack 1

The first step in updating your current installation of Windows XP is to obtain Service Pack 1. It will be available as a free download from Microsoft beginning on September 9, 2002. My guess is that the site will be swamped for quite a few days after initial release so you may want to opt for obtaining SP1 on CD. This is especially true if you connect to the internet using a dial up connection rather than DSL/Cable since the download is 133MB. It could literally take more than a day on a slow connection. More options for obtaining SP1 are listed on the TEG home page. Get SP1 here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp1/network.mspx

Before Installing Service Pack 1

I've been accused (and justifiably so) of never missing an opportunity to advise users about the benefits of a clean versus upgrade installation of XP. This is one of those opportunities. If you've been running XP for a number of months now, think about all the trash that has probably accumulated in your personal and system files. Even if you are meticulous in your computer housekeeping chores, stray and unneeded files and programs have a way of accumulating. This is an excellent time to consider reformatting your hard drive and starting with a fresh install of Windows XP followed by Service Pack 1. Even if you aren't willing to take that drastic a step, make sure you do a backup of all your critical data files before beginning the SP1 installation. You know, the safe versus sorry routine.

Installing Service Pack 1

For this article, I'm assuming you downloaded SP1 from the internet. If you have the CD, just pop it into the drive and it should start automatically. You can also do an Express Installation of SP1 that uses the XP Windows Update center. The links are available on the homepage or just click Windows Update from your Start menu under All Programs. It's always good practice to close any open applications, especially virus and firewall programs, before doing any installation and this is no exception. Navigate to the location where SP1 was downloaded and double click the .exe file to begin the installation. The program will begin extracting files to your hard drive and eventually the 'Welcome to the Windows XP Service Pack 1 Setup Wizard" shown below will appear.

The reminder to back up your system and close all open programs is prominently displayed on the opening screen of the wizard. It's easy, if not tempting, to go ahead and click the 'next' button without heeding these warnings. Resist the temptation. It's only a matter of time before ignoring them will come back and bite you on an unsuspecting part of your anatomy. Once these steps are done, click 'Next' and move through the screen relating to the License Agreement. You have to click Agree or it all ends right here. If you do agree, the Select Options screen below appears.

If, but 'only' if, you made a backup of all your data files in the previous step you have a bit of latitude in this step. It's a personal decision you'll have to make, weighing the required disk space against being able to remove SP1 if something goes wrong or you don't like it after it's installed. Personally, I think it's foolish not to avail yourself of whatever protections are available whenever you are making as many changes to a system as a service pack installation entails. Whatever you decide, click Next and the installation will begin. Naturally, if you chose to archive the old files the installation will take longer while the files are copied and a restore point is created. Various messages will be displayed as a progress bar keeps you aware of the installation progress until the final splash screen appears and you are prompted to restart the system. The restart will take a bit longer than normal as the changes are incorporated into the operating system.

After the Installation - What's Changed?

When you go through a 133MB download and installation you might expect that there will be a big difference in things after its completed. That's usually not the case with Service Packs and SP1 holds true to that for the most part. The only real difference you are likely to notice is a by-product of the Department of Justice suit against Microsoft and one of the compromises concerning what has come to be known as middleware. Click Start > All Programs and at the top of the menu you'll find the Set Program and Access Defaults selection. Clicking will take you to the Add/Remove Programs section where you can access the Set Program and Access Defaults section shown below.

The screen you see above is the result of Microsoft agreeing to make it possible for certain XP programs to be 'hidden' so that users may select a different default program. There are three base configurations; Microsoft Windows, Non-Microsoft, and Custom. The thing I want to make clear is that Set Program Access and Defaults does not remove the program from Windows XP. It simply removes access to the selected program from the Desktop or Start Menu. The rest of SP1 is devoted to correcting internal security and usability issues that have been discovered since the original Windows XP release.

Final Words

Back at the beginning of this article I mentioned the possibility of reformatting your system and starting out with a clean installation of Windows XP before installing Service Pack 1. To see how complete SP1 really is as far as critical updates, drivers, etc that is exactly what I did. I booted up the system using the XP CD ROM, formatted the C:\ drive with NTFS and completed the installation. In the past the first thing I'd do in this situation was go to Windows Update and have it scan the system for updates. In most cases, Windows Update would return a list of approximately 19 Critical Updates and Service Packs and somewhere in the vicinity of 15 Windows XP Updates.

For this test, I bypassed Windows Update and went directly to the Service Pack 1 installation. After it completed I accessed Windows Update to see how effective SP1 was in updating my system. I was quite pleased to find that the results were excellent. Windows Update showed there were no Critical Updates and Service Packs needed for my configuration and the Windows XP Updates section had only 4 suggested updates. Of those 4, one was a beta for Windows Media Player and the other three were obscure items like Euro Conversion Tool. In addition to having the system brought current with one step is the benefit of being able to undo the service pack if it does cause problems, something that was not possible with a number of the individual patches and updates.

All things considered, I think Service Pack 1 has accomplished what was needed to wrap up the first year of feedback and make updating a simple process.