Win XP patches and service packs important or not 2

[franky77]

Wondering if a person really needs these security patches and service packs for Win XP home or pro versions?
Some1 I know had some installed(installed all available) and after they did thier computer got messed up and they started having problems, they did a repair on the operating system but now do not know whether they should install any of these patches or service packs from microsoft.
I am wondering if this is ok and can you run the Win XP home or pro without these things?
If not what problem(s) could occur?
Thanks for any help you can give me here with this issue!!

 

[Spirit]

Usually early adopters act as test monkeys, then MS will release another patch which solves any issues that occured on a mass scale. So wait and see!

BUT

Take the Blaster worm which exploited a MS design, they released a patch then about 3-4 weeks later almost every unpatched machine on the planet became infected!

Whats the words I am looking for? Oh yerah, damned if you do and your damned if you don't!

Personally, I use XP, create a Restore Point and deploy ASAP. If your talking about a network environment then deploy to a few non-critical machines (i.e. non-executives) wait a couple of days ensure no issues have arisen then check the forums then deploy to the rest of the network.

Any help?

Iain

P.S. Everyone will have a point of view, non is correct and non are worng - except maybe mine! - look at your situation FULLY read what the patch does and make an informed decision whether or not to deploy it.

 

[bcastner]

Install them.

It is not that there are not issues with any particular item, it is just that there are terrific resources, Tek-Tips is one, that can resolve the peculiar issues.

But as a flat-out overall recommendation, install the fixes, Service Packs, and security updates.

I personally would draw only one line: I do not install driver updates from the MS Update site. As for the rest I have no reservation.