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 Technology News | April 2005 
Time Runs Out for Blocking XP SP2 Updates
 Wire services
| | April 12 will mark the expiration of Microsoft's SP2 auto-update blocking utility, leaving IT managers to choose SP2 or block all updates. |
Last August, Microsoft bowed to pressure from large IT departments that weren't prepared to update to Windows XP SP2, but didn't want to forego all Automatic Updates ("IT Managers Can Stall SP2"). Microsoft provided a tiny utility called XPSP2BlockerTools.EXE that simply toggled a Registry setting telling XP to hold off on the SP2 update. Other automatic updates suitable to pre-SP2 Windows were allowed through.
This blocking mechanism gave IT managers 120 days to get ready for SP2, measured from the start date of August 16, 2004. That time limit would have expired in mid-December, but Microsoft apparently relented and doubled the time. Still, come April 12, 2005 the blocking mechanism expires. Managers will have to choose between upgrading to XP SP2 or turning off the automatic update mechanism.
A recent study by Asset Matrix (www.assetmatrix.com) evaluated SP2 acceptance in over 256 large companies with a total of over 136,000 machines. They found that just under a quarter of the Windows XP systems were running SP2, and 40% of the companies were actively avoiding the upgrade. A note at Microsoft.com warns "If you have not already done so, we strongly encourage you to take the appropriate steps to implement your SP2 deployment decisions by [April 12]."
Click HERE to download XPSP2BlockerTools.exe from Microsoft. |
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