Windows XP Service Pack 3...

Let's just say that you need to build an image, reload your desktop, laptop, whatever the need may be...as the norm goes you pop in your XP media, install XP and at some point you're ready to run Windows Updates. Well one would think to one's self, I could easily just download SP3, completely bypassing the need to install SP2 along with other hotfixes and save myself a ton of valuable time, boy was I wrong!



You must have at the very least Service Pack 1 installed first in order to install SP3 as I had recently encountered. What? I was able to install SP2 after installing Windows XP and it did not require me to have SP1 installed first. What is the deal here? If you know the reason why this is, then that makes one of us!

So save yourself some frustration and have SP1 or SP2 handy...I wonder if slipstreaming SP3 into a custom install CD would work? Since I am too lazy to do it, I want to see if someone has done it or is planning on doing it? Either way let me know the outcome, I am curious to see if that works.