Microsoft: Windows XP SP3 Pushed Back to 2008

Published: October 25, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Don't hold your breath waiting for the next release of Windows XP: Last week, Microsoft delayed the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) until at least the first half of 2008. It was previously expected sometime during the second half of 2007.

Microsoft periodically issues service packs to make it easier for new users to stay up-to-date with all the bug fixes and security fixes that inevitably crop up in its operating systems after they're introduced to the market. The company also sometimes elects to distribute security fixes through Security Rollup Packages, but this seems to be mostly for older products, such as Windows 2000.

If Microsoft sticks to its current plan to ship Windows XP SP3 for both the Home and Professional editions of Windows XP in the first half of 2008, it will mark a spread of three-and-a-half years between SP releases. The security-focused SP2 package was delivered in August 2004.

The next service pack for Windows Server 2003, SP2, is still on track for availability in the first quarter of 2007.

For more information, see Microsoft's Windows Service Pack Road Map Web page.