SP2: not ready for prime time
From: Fat Man (nobody_at_nowhere.net)
Date: 10/12/04
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Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 16:08:22 GMT
I should think the purpose for installing an update would be to *solve*
problems, not create them. In my experience, SP2 has created problems on
every client's computer, in return for security features that still don't
quite match 3rd party products which are free for personal use. Lets
see...slightly less security, plus get new problems, vs. existing strong
security plus no problems...gee, I guess I'll just get the upgrade and add
some new problems! --not!
;-)
I spend my workdays helping ordinary computer users who have a job to do
with their computer (and messing with the O/S ain't it!). These users are
not going to even be *aware of*, much less put up with *doing*, the
hour-long checklist MS gives us to be sure our computers,
free-of-obvious-problems but still broken-for-purposes-of-SP2, is ready for
their supposedly problem-solving update. Every SP2 call I've received has
come because the client saw the notification in the system tray, opened it
and followed the prompts to express install.
With this method of delivery, there is NO WAY MS can expect that their
"ready for SP2" checklist will be heeded by more than 10% of the user base,
if that, and even then, it will be the tech/enthusiasts only. The regular
users to whom the computer is a tool, not an interesting thing to fiddle
with on it's own, are people who have a job to do and need their computer to
get the work done. They will only want to do what they heard on TV, get it
installed to avoid DANGER, Will Robinson, DANGER!
With this being the product delivery situation, it is inappropriate (at
best) for an MS MVP to castigate people for not following the checklist.
Either the product IS ready for typical user installs, or it IS NOT. If
typical user installs lead to problems, then the product is NOT READY, it's
that simple, end report.
There are three unanswered messages on this NG regarding a problem I
wrestled with for hours yesterday: after installing SP2, IE will open, call
the dialer, wait for connect, load the page, then self-close as display
begins. I fixed this problem by uninstalling SP2. I am not aware of any way
to get the install package yet (except on CD). I had hoped to find a
downloadable package, but failing that, I ran the installer again after
following the "ready for SP2" checklist. This (round trip and prep) of
course took two hours. End result: IE still self-closes. Sorry folks, I
don't have TIME for anything else.
Uninstall SP2 again, wait for it to be offered in AU, set the properties to
not offer this update again. Net result: 3 hrs onsite, paid only for the 45
minutes that actually fixed the client's problem -- uninstalling SP2,
resetting TCP/IP, getting all other updates in place, and verifying IE and
dependent SBC browsers were working correctly. It would have been dishonest
to charge them for my experimentation / learning process.
I could list the other half-dozen clients who have auto-installed SP2, then
called me with problems. The ratio among my clients of failed SP2 installs
(by which I mean there was a problem requiring paid assistance) is 100%.
In my experience, SP2 is -- at best -- only suitable for installation by
techs or expert enthusiasts on 100% clean, preferably new SP1 systems who
will RTM and follow the MS manifesto. However, this writer is one tech who
will NOT be installing SP2, as I have MS Flight Sim and associated 3rd party
comm software for online sessions, and word on the Vatsim boards is that SP2
*will* intefere to some greater or lesser degree. Since I'm much too busy to
spend worktime, and I *don't* want to spend my (limited) playtime, messing
around with SP2 issues, not to mention consideration of the security flaw
that has just been announced, even I (a member of the most suitable target
group) will not be installing SP2. There is no way short of wishful thinking
to view this as anything other than a dismal failure on MS part to make SP2
suitable for the majority of its user base. As it stands, SP2 is little more
than a curiosity.
These experiences should make it plain to even the most recalcitrant MS
booster that SP2 is NOT ready even for all enthusiast users and certainly
not suitable for installation by *typical* users who just want their
computer to be safe and who need to get their *real* work done. I am
advising all my clients to set the AU properties to NOT offer SP2 again.
We'll wait for SP3 and see. Meanwhile, I'm experimenting with you-know-what.
Best Regards,
--Steve
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