Some XP SP2 users may have been puzzled by the lack of support, considering that they were able to download July’s Patch Day patches just fine. What has changed between those two patch releases?

The extended support phase of Windows XP SP2 has ended on July 13. This means that Microsoft will not produce security patches, or other updates, for the operating system from that day on.

The first security patch that SP2 users missed arrived unfortunately less than a month after the support period ended.

Windows XP SP2 users will not receive the upcoming massive amount of security patches of this August’s Patch Day, nor will they receive future patches or updates which leaves the operating system vulnerable to attacks.

Windows XP SP2 users basically have two choices. They can update their system to Service Pack 3, an option that probably has the least consequences of them all, or upgrade to a newer operating system. Windows XP SP3 is available directly from Microsoft.

Staying with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and doing nothing is not really a choice, considering the security implications.

The main advantages of exFAT in comparison to FAT32 are the removal of the 4 GB file size limit and support for hard drives with large capacities (recommended maximum sizes for both are 512 TB). The exFAT file system driver will add the option to format removable media with the exFAT file system to take advantage of it. The file system is using a smaller disk space overhead than the NTFS file system. Users reported a disk space overhead of only 96 Kilobytes on a 4 Gigabyte flash drive after formattting it with the exFAT file system. The NTFS file system used more than 47 Megabytes of space for overhead.

Interested users can download the exFAT file system driver update directly from Microsoft to add exFAT file system support to their operating system.

The exFAT file system driver incorporates the following advanced structures to improve performance:

* A cluster bitmap for fast allocation
* A per-file contiguous bit for fast file access
* Better contiguous on-disk layout (useful for recording movies)
* Support for Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) time stamps

The exFAT file system driver is designed for extensibility to enable the file system to keep pace with innovations in storage and changes in usage and to enable OEMs and ISVs to add extensions seamlessly. Specifically, exFAT adds the following features:

* Adds template-based metadata structures to enable custom extensions
* Enables implementations to persist these extensions without having to know their format

The exFAT file system driver adds increased compatibility with flash media. This includes the following capabilities:

* Alignment of file system metadata on optimal write boundaries of the device
* Alignment of the cluster heap on optimal write boundaries of the device

The prerequisites for the update are an installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3.

The first one is the easiest to accomplish but its results are unfortunately only temporary. Start by moving a folder from the Windows Start Menu to the top of the desktop. If you do it right a new bar should appear on the top of the computer screen.

Right-click that bar and select Toolbars > Address which should add the entry Address at the right side of the bar. You can now access the address functionality there permanently or move the Address Bar back to the Windows Taskbar.

The problem here is that a reboot or log off will remove the address bar again. The advantage of this method is that it does not require the manipulation of system files.

The second option is to replace the browseui.dll file which handles the interface with a previous version that still included the Address Bar. This requires access to the Service Pack 2 version of browseui.dll.

The file is a system protected file which means that you need to replace it the following way:

• Reboot the computer
• Press F8 during boot process to load the advanced boot menu
• Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt
• type xcopy C:\browseui.dll C:\Windows\System32\ with c:\browseui.dll being the location of the SP2 version of browseui.dll

The Address entry should be visible again after rebooting the computer. The change is permanent with this method. There is however no guarantee that other features or functions that have been implemented in SP3 in the file continue to work after applying the change.

The third and probably best option is to install a third party address bar which does not tamper with system files. MuvEnum Address Bar provides access to a new address bar that makes use of an increased functionality such as multiple Internet search engines or access to history and bookmarks of multiple web browsers while retaining all the original features of the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Address Bar.

It can be selected as a Toolbar by right-clicking on the Windows Task Bar, moving to Toolbars and selecting MuvEnum Address Bar from the menu.

The issue is caused by security changed to the Terminal Service ActiveX control in Internet Explorer which is now disabled by default. Thankfully a workaround was posted already, here are the steps to fix the problem and enable Windows Home Server Remote Access again.

Open Internet Explorer and click on Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons to enable the Terminal Services ActiveX control again. If you see the Terminal Services control and are able to enable it you are done. If you cannot see it or cannot enable it you need to delete two keys in the Windows Registry instead which will also enable the Terminal Services ActiveX control again.

HKCU \Software \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Ext \Settings \{7390f3d8-0439-4c05-91e3-cf5cb290c3d0}
HKCU\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Ext\ Settings\ {4eb89ff4-7f78-4a0f-8b8d-2bf02e94e4b2)

Once you have deleted those two keys the activeX control should be enabled again in Internet Explorer.

Microsoft suggests a minimum hard drive space of 1500 Megabytes on the system partition when installing the Service Pack from the Microsoft Download Center or 1100 Megabytes when installing it from a shared network drive. The page lists two updates that, when installed, will make the installation of the Service Pack fail. Those updates are the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit and Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) 6.0 MUI pack (Update 925877 for Windows XP).

If you have installed one or both you need to uninstall them to install the Service Pack. Last but not least it is required to make sure that security software like antivirus applications do not interfere when installing the Service Pack.

The page lists the most common error messages that user receive when updating Windows XP to Service Pack 3, among them are:

• You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to install Service Pack 3.
• You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files
• Service Pack 3 setup error. Access is denied
• You do not have permission to update Windows XP
• Digital Signature Not Found
• Setup could not verify the integrity of the file Update.inf
• Failed to install catalog files
• The software you are installing has not passed Windows Logo testing
• Service Pack 1 Setup could not verify the integrity of the file
• Internal Error
• This Service Pack requires the machine to be on AC Power before setup starts.
• Service Pack 3 installation did not complete
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 cannot be applied to Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 cannot be applied to Windows Embedded for Point of Service
• Setup has detected that another update is in progress.

The blogs and forums are full of users who report problems after trying to upgrade Windows XP to Service Pack 3.