Microsoft XP SP3 illegally torrents onto the Internet

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Saturday, 26 April 2008 09:59

Opinion and Analysis

Well, it really is quite simple. If you are going to do an update – any update – you really should backup all your data.

Given that external hard drives of well over 100GB – if not thrice that size - sell in stores for around $100, there no longer is any excuse that an external hard drive is too expensive.

Yes, it’s a pain to have to back up, but it’s a much bigger pain to recreate all that data in the event something goes wrong.

You can, of course, use the built-in backup software within Windows XP. You could also manually copy across all your important files, if you know where they are.

You also have the choice of using Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image Home 11 or the backup software that comes with your drive – if indeed it comes with any.

Using Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image lets you make an ‘image’ backup of your entire hard drive, installed software, data and all. That way, if something goes wrong, you can scrub your hard drive and restore it back to where you were when you made the image backup.

Yes, an image based backup can take some time to back up, and hours to restore.

But it can take much, much longer to recreate that data.

Now, it’s clear than plenty of people will just update their systems without bothering to backup first.

But you can’t say you weren’t warned... :-)

So... XP SP3 is now here, unofficially and illegally, with the official and legal update to come on April 29.

But why not wait until sometime in May before taking the plunge? Remember, there’s an old adage that says, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

While we do actually recommend updating XP to SP3, why take the chance that SP3 could leave you with a broken Windows?

Give it some time, and if all seems fine on the SP3 update front, then send in your SP3 cavalry and charge. Good luck!