Starting next Tuesday, April 12, machines running Windows XP without Service Pack 2 installed will no longer be able to block delivery of the much-discussed update. Machines without it installed will have the potentially 200-plus MB SP2 downloaded to their computers, no questions asked.
An announcement that appeared on Microsoft Tech Net detailed the upcoming “required” upgrade:
Because of these significant improvements, Microsoft views Windows XP SP2 as an essential security update and is therefore distributing it as a “critical update” via Windows Update (WU) and the Automatic Updates (AU) delivery mechanism in Windows. Microsoft strongly urges customers with Windows XP and Windows XP Service Pack 1-based systems to update to Windows XP SP2 as soon as possible.
While many have known about the deadline for some time now, a recent study by AssetMetrix Research Labs determined a large number of corporate entities have not updated their XP boxes to the controversial Service Pack 2. On Tuesday, these boxes will have SP2 downloaded to their networks and computers, but, what happens after that? Can Microsoft make users install the update?
In a round about way, yes they can especially if the stop supporting environments that do not have SP2 installed. Be prepared.
If you don’t have SP2 installed, but do have Automatic Update enabled, expect to see a large web-based package waiting for you on your computer on April 12.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
