While Microsoft’s ] newly-released build and the one leaked a month ago (Build 3180) may share the same name, we can exclusively reveal that they are not identical releases.

8 and will jeopardize the enterprise release of Vista later that month.Following our coverage of the Windows XP SP3 beta leak almost a month ago in August, here’s some more info on the official beta, which just had its first authorized distributable released earlier today. While Microsoft fixed the bug, the delay of almost one week will push Vista RTM to Nov. However, getting Vista out the door is a must, and it appears Microsoft was waylaid in that effort by a nasty bug that appeared during quality-control checks and wiped out Windows XP systems during upgrade, according to Ethan Allen, a quality-assurance lead who oversees, a Web site that tracks Vista development. “They feel that because these fixes are available through the auto-update that there’s less need to create a service pack.” Microsoft is under no obligation to produce any service packs, ever,” he said. “The fear is Service Pack 3 will just get killed off,” said Jeff Centimano, an IT consultant at Levi, Ray & Shoup.ĭirections on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry agreed that Microsoft may very well decide to drop XP Service Pack 3.

The latest delay has some wondering whether the upgrade will ever see the light of day. Last week, the date slipped further to a “preliminary” date sometime in the first half of 2008. In January, Microsoft said it was pushing that date back to the second half of 2007.

SP3 is a collection of security fixes and OS updates that was originally slated for 2006. The news came just ahead of reports that Vista’s RTM (release to manufacturers) is being pushed back once again, from late October to early November, complicating matters for PC makers.

Microsoft last week said that it is pushing back the next major service pack for Windows XP until the first half of 2008. Remember the WinFS file system? How about the Next Generation Secure Computing Base? Now the operating system’s delays may be causing ripple effects in other products. Microsoft’s long journey getting Vista out the door has left more than one body by the roadside.

Windows xp sp 3