Hi, Danny;
First, you posted 4 messages here, each about 1 minute apart. Please
realize this is a newsgroup, not IM, so responses may take a few hours to a
full day or so to appear. Please don't keep posting hoping for a faster
response, as that just isn't going to help.
Next, on to your questions. Please see below:
Danny said:
I've read quite a bit of bad news about downloading and installing SP3
upgrades for Office and Windows XP.
Naturally you will have read of some bad experiences. Please realize that
out of the millions (yep, really) that have installed these updates, the
ones who have no issues at all will likely never post online about the
non-issues.
Is it completely safe to install SP3 for office and windows XP?
Well, that word "completely" is hard to deal with. Given that you have used
the computer more than a couple of hours, the answer for "completely" has to
be no. But in general, with a well maintained and protected system, it is
safe to install Service Pack 3 for both your Office and operating system.
In fact, it is more dangerous not to install those service packs.
The upgrades have been sitting in my Windows upgrade shield for months
now.
Should I download these or request the most recent SP3 versions?
Despite the MS push to install service packs online, I feel that it is more
reliable (safer, if you will) to download the package that fits your system
then install manually from that download. The main reason for this is a
simple one: while being "online" these days is much safer than in the days
of the 14.4 modems, there is still a greater chance for something to go
wrong during updates of this size than if the install is started from a
locally downloaded file. Microsoft Update is excellent (and I highly
recommend it) for installing the regular security and other appropriate
updates, but for very large updates (service packs, the .NET Framework
updates, as examples) there are too many variables to make MU completely
safe.
We use different computer brands.
Is there different problems that can occur depending on the computer
brand?
Yes, but more than the brand name is the components that make up the system.
For instance, your network card, modem, sound card, graphics card, monitor,
and printer will change what gets installed and what is bypassed during the
install process. Once again, having a local install set of files rather
than a la carte downloading live while online is much better; and you will
only have to download one file to fit all the brands you own, assuming of
course that all are x86 systems.
BTW, you several times use the phrase "SP3 for office and windows" so wish
to clarify (and no insult to your intelligence intended) that these are two
separate critters. Generally speaking it is best to install these in the
order released, so for Office XP you would install SP3 then after a reboot
(even if one is not requested) install Windows XP SP3.
Hope the above helps to answer your concerns.
