albator

In fact spk2 is for newbie. Those who never heard about a 3rd party firewall. How many times a month do you xp firewall update ? Just to back what I said read this: However, for many IT administrators and security experts, whose daily existence revolves around the battle of keeping systems up and running while trying to stay one step ahead of human-generated attacks, SP2 is more about system failures, and the purported benefits are not viewed as very attractive. "Any operating system upgrade has the potential to break existing applications. In a large organization, that could be catastrophic," says Bruce Schneier, founder and CTO of security services firm Counterpane Internet Security. "The security benefits of SP2 are minimal enough that some IT managers didn't think them worth the risk." http://www6.tomshardware.com/column/20050414/sp2-01.html So who the newbie, and who the power user ? THere are no real benefits of spk2. But there are amy incovenients: -It add services that cannot be disable without losing compatibility of installshield. Then it downgrade perfomance. -Lots of apps don't work with XP SP2 including some of Microsoft's own. (even Halo by Microsoft ) http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...ct=windowsxpsp2 -It still vulnerable, the it lie with the illusion of security.If you think security, dont think Microsoft. (compare vulnerabilities found before and after spk2 ) http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0...39173703,00.htm http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1638037,00.asp -SP2 breaks network connectivity by limiting the number of connections you can make in a given amount of time. ( dont ask why you have slow bittorent download ) -It dont change anything to the old IE. (should replace it with firefox ) I think people should try using spk1a and see. If like me you dont need all xp services, After spk1 you will only miss 11 security update. Only 11 ! I integrate them and the trick is done. How could you support message like : Your about to run a .exe this could bla bla bla !

@tim Thank Man it work well !

dos

Using deepfreeze on your own computer is pointless, This software is to lock computer from non-sysadmin change. To secure xp, disable service,and use a 3rd party firewall that updat often... And if it fail just recolone it with acronis, only 30-60 on a a fast computer, no hd space taken, no software install needed and most important no perfomance downgrade. I hugely recommend a mature solution to your needs.

Quoting: But if your not doing gaming ---------------------------------------------- Why the goal of using windows ? If it was not for my sins; gaming and filesharing I would use linux, cause I dont like microsoft...

ftp server bittorrent ares emule limewire are all good reason to use a third party firewall. And my firewall update very often, it security base also, can you say the same thing about default firewall from xp ?

@matrix0978 By reading your comment I often aks myself if you work for microsoft. Does someone know hot to disable dcom service with spk2 ? That was one of the reason that I choose to not use it. And how to remove all thos stupid message when you want to dl or execute a setup ?

Just dont use it,: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-011 Workarounds for Server Message Block Vulnerability - CAN-2005-0045: Microsoft has tested the following workarounds. While these workarounds will not correct the underlying vulnerability, they help block known attack vectors. When a workaround reduces functionality, it is identified in the following section. Note Other protocols such as IPX/SPX could be vulnerable to this issue. If those protocols are in use, it would be important to block the appropriate ports for those protocols as well. For more information about IPX/SPX, see the following Microsoft Web site. • Block TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall: These ports are used to initiate a connection with the affected protocol. Blocking them at the firewall, both inbound and outbound, will help prevent systems that are behind that firewall from attempts to exploit this vulnerability. We recommend that you block all unsolicited inbound communication from the Internet to help prevent attacks that may use other ports. For more information about the ports, visit the following Web site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MAy of the security hotfixes are not needed, if you use a 3rd party firewall or disable somes of the uneeded services.

I would use a third party firewall. And no spk2 is useless if your are not a newbie. It also add services that are slowing your computer... Spk2 is not the big deal like spk1. I had tested both and I had to come back to spk1a + some hotfixes. I dont miss none of security update.

Thank alot. But I will not copy the xpcd to my c: ! It will surely make my c: drive bust the 1 gig. bledd your suggestion did not work

I dont even use spk2

TO be clear, I had install xp using my e: burner driver. I would like to set the default drive asking to f:, my dvd. That way I would let the xpcd-rom in the dvd for the PLEASE INSERT YOU WINDOWS XP_SPK1 cd request... Does it possible to change the default path ?

use a clean system tray, if is not already the case. defragment you c:drive should help.

I had never test it but acronis has support it.

tk, but forgot tho mention freeware.

I am talking about Norton Ghost. not other product. Second, I use linux too. But I have a SIn I am a Gamer . Then I force to use xp...

check it yourself: http://reviews.cnet.com/Backup_and_recover...-4.html?tag=tab I cant understand why people (especialy not newbie) use norton product. Does someone who had use them both and prefer norton can explaint it to me ? Ia m about to become crazy with that software company, I hate them as most as Microsoft

I need a basic freeware application to create iso or bin from Hard drive, any ideas ?

great, make me feel nostalgic of BBS period.

pagemill is an abandonware.

Nvu is a open source alternative (based onMozilla Composer ) to frontpage, it's a great tool.

had the same problem, had to flush spk2. What do you need spk2 for ?

tomahawk is a free pdf creator, standalone and dont use virtual printer... So if you are nlite user who remove all clutter it should be great... http://nativewinds.montana.com/software/tomahawk.html

IF you Use the c: drive for swap file, you will include for no reason the swap file in yours image for backup... And I think that most people dont know what perfomance computing is about; when you use nlite and tweak windows XP can become as fast as 98... My system boot from bios screen to windows in 7 sec.. The fact that my c: is so small help in that a litte bit.