SP3 made system booting slower

[johnycage]

Hello there,

I downloaded windows XP SP3 update & and installed it.

But since I downloaded & installed it this month (or maybe October 2008) I already had post sp3 updates running on my machine. so I didn't experience any changes in the system since sp2.

But one change I observed for sure is it takes double time to boot. the blue strips at the booting are now ~15-17 which earlier in SP2 were ~8.

Did everyone experience this change?

Is it just me, or SP 3 really makes your system boot slower?

Thanks

[mongo66]

Having used XPSP3 since its (official release), I didn't notice any boot or UI slowdowns... If anything, it seems to run a bit faster than SP2.

Besides, I wouldn't recommend installing a service pack over an existing windows installation anyways. There's too many unknowns and things could get messy during the upgrade process. It's best to just download the SP3 Network Installer, slipstream it (to the original source), and reinstall from scratch. You can't go wrong there.

Edited November 6, 2008 by mongo66

[PsiMoon314]

Hi,

Any major update such as installing a Service Pack is likely to cause fragmentation of your registry and other system files.

Use of a good defragmentation package and the SysInternals PageDefrag tool should help to put things back into proper order.

Kind Regards

Simon

[johnycage]

Well I didn't notice any performance slow down but specifically "booting".

I'll disk defrag. though

[bassbeast1968]

I have found it far easier to use XP ISO Builder to slipstream service packs. It is also really great for making unattended cds so you don't have to sit there clicking through a reinstall. Once a year I make one with all the latest service packs/hotfixes/drivers/and software and use it to give me that nice minty fresh WinXP again.BTW it also works on 2K/2K3. As far as SP3 slowing you down,I've had to do about a dozen SP3 installs for friends/coworkers/family and I have yet to see anyone come out slower so it is probably a cruft issue. I would make a clean unattended cd with SP3 and the latest hotfixes installed and do a clean install. That'll clear out the cruft and give you a nice clean Windows machine when you are done. I hope this helps!

[Tripredacus]

On any systems where I've had the chance to do an SP3 upgrade (rather than an install with SP3 built-in) I did notice an increase during the boot process. No other things tho. We decided not to continue evaluating SP3 so I haven't done a lot of testing with it.

[Tarun]

Boot got much faster.

[Nerwin]

I agree with Tarun, It made my XP system much more faster on boot up.

[Mt.Dew]

The only slow down I have seen with SP3 vs. pre-SP3 is the amount of time SP3 takes to manage the network connection. Times are r3tardely longer.

Sure, some of you may say "Who cares about how much time it takes for the network icons to show on the taskbar? I can surf nearly immediately."

Well, sure... Surf with no issues. That is not my issue with network connection management. My issue relates to the amount of time I have to wait for "my computer" to launch, or the amount of time waiting for my msn messenger to be visible on screen to log in. Both of these absolutely wait until the network connection icons are displayed.

Real pain in the arse waiting for that when I just want to navigate my folders on my HD or log in to msn. I absolutely should not have to wait ages in these days of high end pc components.

Edited November 10, 2008 by Mt.Dew

[erpdude8]

could be some 3rd party apps that are slowing down your PC, MT.Dew.

norton internet security 2008 was one of those apps that didn't work correctly with xp sp3 (and may have caused some slowdowns) until symantec offered patches to make it work with sp3

I agree with PsiMoon314, defrag your HD and see if your system gets faster.

[MrCobra]

I voted No. My boot time got a bit faster. No issues whatsoever with the "desktop lag" reported above. I always do a format and a fresh clean install with a SP anyway. SP upgrades are a no-no in my book and and are more apt to cause problems.

[oviradoi]

I also don't think SP3 caused a reduction in system performance. If anything, it made it a bit faster. I know that because I use XP on my 650 MHz Pentium III with 256 MB of RAM, and there, any performance loss is really noticable.

The same goes for Vista vs Vista SP1. I never had any problems with Vista to say that I've upgraded to SP1 just to fix those problems. But Vista SP1 is faster. It even installed a lot faster than Vista with no SP.

When a new Service Pack is released, I install it as an upgrade over my existing installation. Then, I wait for the CD/DVD that has that service pack already integrated to appear straight from Microsoft. I don't mess around with slipstreaming and modifying current discs to add the new SP to them.