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We Warned You

Indeed, Microsoft has also identified incompatibilities between SP2 and AMD 64-bit processors and certain Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron D processors that prevent Windows XP from booting normally. And besides backing up your hard disk and eliminating spyware and adware (which tend to lock up IE after you install SP2), Microsoft recommends that you update your hardware drivers before installing SP2. The company even provides links to SP2-related sites posted by major PC vendors.

To be fair, Microsoft has made it clear that installing SP2 carries some risks. Shortly after launching the service pack, the company posted a list of 50 applications that appear to stop functioning after the Windows Firewall in SP2 starts working, along with the necessary steps to get the programs running again. Many items on the list are corporate editions of backup, antivirus, or remote-access programs that await incoming connections from servers--the exact activity that the firewall blocks. Also present on the list are several popular networked games, including Unreal Tournament 2003.

Another Microsoft Knowledge Base article lists dozens of other common applications that "experience a loss of functionality" on Windows XP SP2 systems. In addition to boot-up errors with ZoneAlarm, the list describes such severe conflicts as complete loss of network activity when a PC attempts to use Eset's NOD32 antivirus program, and the disabling of scheduled scanning in Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2003.

Still, Service Pack 2 is an important upgrade with many desirable features, especially for the security-minded. If you follow Microsoft's installation guidelines and check the lists of known conflicts in advance, you'll probably get through the experience unscathed--or at worst have to overcome only mildly irritating conflicts.