Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 - Windows XP updates are distributed in service packs. Service packs help keep Windows XP current, and extend and update the functionality of your computer.

In order to install the latest Windows XP Service Pack successfully, follow the steps to check the status of your PC.

1. Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) can only be applied on 32-bit        version Windows operation sytem.  To check whether your system is 32-bit or 64-bit, click

2. Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows XP Service Pack 1a (SP1a) must be preinstalled before  you install Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). To check which service pack is currently installed on your computer, click "To check which service pack is currently installed". To install previous Windows XP service packs, use one of the following options:
          * Click here to download Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)
          * Click here to download Windows XP Service Pack 1a (SP1a)
3. To install Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
          * Click here for the steps to fix automatically
          * Click here to download the Service Pack 3 manually.
          * Click here to Order Windows XP Service Pack 3 on a CD

These service packs apply only to 32-bit versions of Windows XP. For more information about service packs for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:889100  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889100/ )
How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

To determine which service pack is currently installed on your computer, follow these steps:

   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. Copy and paste, or type the following command and then click OK:
       winver
      A dialog box displays the version of Windows and the service pack that is currently installed on your  computer.
   3. Note If you still are not sure which service pack that you have, you might want to ask someone for help, or you might want to click here to contact Support.

How to obtain Windows Service Pack 3

There are three ways to obtain the latest service pack:

    * You can turn on Automatic Updates so that your computer downloads the latest service pack  automatically.
    * You can download the service pack manually online.
    * You can order the service pack on a CD.

Turn on Automatic Updates

The best way to obtain Windows XP SP3 is to turn on the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP. To have us turn on Automatic Updates for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you would rather turn on Automatic Updates yourself, visit the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix this problem link. Then click Run in the File
Download dialog, and follow the steps in this wizard.

Turn Automatic Updates on Fix this problem Microsoft Fix it 50362
Turn Automatic Updates off Fix this problem Microsoft Fix it 50363


Note This wizard may be in English only. however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.