PC ZONEZ

Another problem with Windows XP Service Pack 3 has reared its ugly head, this time causing headaches for users of Symantec products. Unfotunately, it appears that other users are being affected as well and that the problem appears eerily similar to an issue that Microsoft had with Service Pack 2. The two processes to watch for processor hogging on are fixccs.exe and cscript.exe. The problem can cause Device Manager to appear blank and can also produce thousands of errant registry entries.

Symantec blames Microsoft for XP SP3 registry corruption (Infoworld)

The service pack also appears to have caused issues with Windows Home Server’s remote access feature. Thankfully, there are some people diligently looking out for XP users, even though it appears that Microsoft is being a bit slow to correct the latest problems. All of this is in addition to the initial reports of endless reboot loops on some AMD based machines, an issue that HP blamed on Microsoft.

Users Report More Trouble With Windows XP SP3 (PC World)

Windows XP SP3’s Aches, Pains, and User Complaints (PC World)

Windows XP Service Pack 3 still rocky, reboot loop (Slipperybrick)

I blogged the day after XPSP3 released that I had installed it without error and since then, everything seems to have gone well for the Dell Inspiron laptops that got the install. I was able to image them with LanDesk and get them deployed, where they have been successfully used for their end purpose. Still, it seems like Microsoft should have the resources to get these bugs tested out by the time they call their patches “final.” Have you had issues with SP3?