Windows XP SP3 due next month, says report
'Second half of April,' according to site that nailed Vista SP1's release dates
Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. will release Windows XP Service Pack 3 during the second half of April, according to a report from a Web site that has correctly predicted recent Windows ship dates.
TechARP.com, a Malaysian Web site that nailed Vista SP1's release-to-manufacturing (RTM) date last month as well as its release to Windows Update last week, said that Microsoft will wrap up work on XP's third and final service pack next month. The site pegged RTM for Windows XP SP3 as "second half of April 2008" for seven languages, with a follow-on RTM of the remaining supported languages "approximately 21 days" later.
By TechARP's account, Microsoft will first finish work on the Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish versions of the service pack.
Microsoft declined comment, other than to repeat an earlier statement about the service pack's timing. "We are targeting 1H [first half] 2008 for the release of XP SP3 RTM, though our timing will always be based on customer feedback as a first priority," a spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
The last time Microsoft made a public move with Windows XP SP3 was a little over a month ago, when it posted a second release candidate to Windows Update.
About two weeks ago, however, XP SP3 caused a minor stir when what was purportedly the newest build leaked to the Internet and hit BitTorrent search sites such as The Pirate Bay. Although Microsoft initially refused comment, last week it acknowledged that the build -- designated 5503 -- was real and had been released to a portion of the invitation-only beta test group.
It also warned users away from any download. "This build was not intended for public release and anyone who has that build and is not part of the private beta is working with bits that Microsoft can't verify," a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail last week. "It's possible the bits may have been modified with malware or other bad code that Microsoft hasn't tested."
Multiple versions of XP SP3 build 5503, including English- and Russian-language editions, are available via BitTorrent.
Once SP3 ships, the next major milestones for Windows XP are June 30, when the popular operating system is slated to fall off the reseller and retail availability list, and Jan. 31, 2009, when it will be taken out of all distribution channels, including system builders.
More on XP
Read more about Operating Systems in Computerworld's Operating Systems Topic Center.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- VMware View Optimization Guide for Windows 7
- This document provides guidelines for configuring a standard Windows 7 image to be used within a VMware View™ environment, providing administrators with the...
- Watson - A System Designed for Answers. The future of workload optimized systems design
- Watson is a workload optimized system designed for complex analytics, made possible by integrating massively parallel POWER7 processors and DeepQA technology. Read the...
- Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
- As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
- Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
- Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
- Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
- Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring... All Operating Systems White Papers
- Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
- Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
- Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
- Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
- Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
- Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®... All Operating Systems Webcasts