Where to download XP updates?

[LMHmedchem]

A while ago I set up an nlite for my XP and I remember going to the windows update site. There was a place that listed all of the updates for XP and I was able to download the ones I wanted. It took forever, since I seem to remember ie acting funny and having to do some of the basic steps over and over again. I remember it was actually much easier to do the download in firefox. At the moment, I can't find anywhere on the Microsoft site where I can manually download updates.

Has the site changed, or am I looking in the wrong place?

Thanks,

LMHmedchem

[Guest]

Go here: http://xdot.tk/updates.html

[LMHmedchem]

Thanks for the tip, will these files get me up to date? My installer CD is a bit old (2009). It is sp3, but I generally need to do allot of updates after I reinstall. Is there anything that is not covered by the files on this page?

LMHmedchem

Edited July 12, 2012 by LMHmedchem

[Guest]

Everything but this months updates. I'm still working on those.

[LMHmedchem]

Thanks again for setting this up, I can't believe how hard it is to find things on the MS site these days.

LMHmedchem

[Ascii2]

will these files get me up to date? ... Is there anything that is not covered by the files on this page?

No.

The list provided by -X- only seems to list select updates; typically, the "recommended updates" (security updates and some others). It is, however, an excellent starting point if you are using the Service Pack 3 service pack level.

To be fully up to date on Window XP family operating systems, it is also necessary to use the hotfixes. I have not found a good way of finding all the hotifixes to update Windows XP.

I have also been recently been trying to update My instance and source of Windows XP. I have been trying to find the updates (including the hotfixes) for Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1, but I have found no good way of doing this. At the moment I am traversing individual Microsoft Knowledgebasearticles.

[Guest]

It's not a good starting point. It's a good end point. There's no need for hotfixes. Only high-priority updates as recommended by MS.

[ChiefZeke]

You could try AutoPatcher: http://www.autopatcher.com/forums/

[tomasz86]

Hotfixes are perfectly fine and do help sometimes (like on this machine where I can't use standby without installing one of them). Of course there's always possibility that some hotfixes may be buggy, and the problem is that the only list of updates where hotfixes (HBRs) are included is the bristols' list for Win2k. There's no list of HBRs for XP/2K3.

This is an old Gurgelmeyer's opinion on hotfixes:

I just question the logic behind patching your system so "thoroughly". Not that one ought to trust MS implicitly...but there must be some reason various hotfixes are not included from one major SP to another. The usual reason being that the older hotfixes have just become redundant and replaced by a newer file version or a complete different fix elsewhere that was deemed more stable.

Gurglemeyer probably knows he's been at it long enough.

Trust me - I know what I'm doing. I've worked closely with Microsoft PSS for many years in the past, and I think it's fair to say that I know at least as much - if not more - than many of those guys. Don't get me wrong - they do a great job, and they are very nice ppl. But I'm still fixing their bugs.

Personally the way I see it, the more you patch something the less stable and more inclined it is to break. Thus I will stick with SP4 & later hotfixes, plus the handful that are somewhat important prior to SP4.

And it appears since I cleaned up my "to install" hotfixes, there are none prior to SP4, now that I deleted ones that have gotten supplanted.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. Check out pubforum.net - this guy applies hundres of hotfixes to dozens of Terminal Servers, and never experienced any problems at all. USP 5 has fixed many BSOD's and other issues on many production servers. There are a few pre-sp4 hotfixes that still apply, but those have been rebuilt, and I'm including the rebuilt versions. (Those are not security updates availble for public download).

Best regards,

Gurgelmeyer B)

Anyway, there seem to exist two up-to-date lists for XP:

http://xdot.tk/updates.html (already mentioned)

and

http://mimo.zxq.net/updatelist.htm

[Ascii2]

It's not a good starting point. It's a good end point. There's no need for hotfixes. Only high-priority updates as recommended by MS.

There was a time that applying only the security updates, plus maybe some other stability normal channel available updates worked well for both the system and the user. However, my experience is that this is no longer the case today, especially for newer (multi-core processor(s)) systems and especially for data source files (like for Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 and Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4).

EDIT: As things are today, with exception to few select updates and their replacements (which I may update more often), I do not typically apply a Windows update unless it has already been at least 2 to 3 years since its release (I do not restart the clock for re-releases).

I have noticed that hibernation often does not work properly on newer (muti-core processor) systems. It is only after applying the hotfixes (typically those for the HAL, NT Kernels, and ndis.sys / Ndiswan.sys are sufficient).

Edited July 13, 2012 by Ascii2

[submix8c]

@Ascii2 - WTH are you talking about? BOTH of those links provide comprehensive lists for SP3, the first containing "the basics", the second containing both those additional ones.

BTW, it's already been noted that you start from SP1 and "update" from there (disregarding SP2/SP3, apparently due to using >4gb RAM among other items - tried x64 yet?) so what's the beef? You're giving inaccurate information based upon your own Hardware specs, my friend.

edit - you referring to this? Your complaint seems to mainly about the "new HAL limitations". Well, the thing is, the realization came that MS was giving away an x64 functionality away for... FREE!!!

@LMHmedchem

A while ago I set up an nlite for my XP<snip>

Use the lists (start wit -X- because it auto-downloads specifically for nLite) - you'll be in good shape. Edited July 13, 2012 by submix8c

[mikdik]

go here for onepiece's update packs!

http://voidseesaw.com/onepiece/

[submix8c]

go here for onepiece's update packs!

Beware selecting items that are NOT for your OS as it contains MULTIPLE AddOns that may not be compatible.

Not that any are bad (onepiece does good work)... Just saying if you don't know what you're getting because you THINK you should use ALL of them you MIGHT WILL be sadly mistaken.

BTW, thanks...

Edited July 14, 2012 by submix8c

[tomasz86]

go here for onepiece's update packs!

If you decide to use update packs then the two choices are good to start with:

Onepiece XP Post-SP3 AIO Update Pack

or

XPSP3_QFE_UpdatePack for Windows XP Post-SP3

The first one has everything (system updates, IE8, WMP11, DX, Silverlight, etc.) while the second one contains only system updates.