Have to be SP2?

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Does the windows have to be SP2 for dual booting windows?? as i have windows with SP1 and the SP2 download pack. can i not just use that? if not why not? anyways i can get around it
 
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no, it has to have sp2 in the install.. i tried it with sp1 and it had errors. i had that same problem and i had to go buy windows xp w/ sp2.
 
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i wish i knew that when i bought sp2 :(
 
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The version of xp i am using doesn't even have sp1 in it...it works...
 
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Windows OEM/Bundled Media and the CommonName Parasite

For those of you who want to install or have installed Windows XP on your Intel Macs, there may be a matter of concern which you are not aware of. It involves security (don't laugh).

Since Windows 95 first shipped (and probably even B4 that) Microsoft saw fit to incorporate a parasite known as CommonName on all bundled/OEM installation media. You've probably heard of it. It's a data miner that co-opts the TCP-IP stack (Service Host) so that no firewall is capable of preventing it from broadcasting and receiving packets.

Block CommonName and you block svchost. Bang! Loss of Internet.

If anybody in this forum (besides me) has ever taken the cheaper alternative and bought Windows media that came without the nice box and the manual that no one ever reads. . . chances are high that the CD/DVD you received was a "dirty" copy of Windows.

"Dirty" is the technical term Microsoft uses to differentiate between premium and OEM/bundled versions.

If anyone reading this has Windows media that he/she would like to check to determine if it installs the CommonName parasite, here's how:

In OS-X, place the CD/DVD in the SD and, using a little freeware named EasyFind (www.devon-technologies.com), with the latter set to search for files only, run a scan on your Windows media for this Class id: {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} (as typed into EasyFind's search box).

If the CD/DVD you're scanning is infected, the above CLSID will be revealed in nine locations on WinXP SP1 (and earlier) media and ten locations on SP2 media.

When CommonName is installed and active in your (Windows) system some rather astounding conditions will be present. For one, the GUID (Global User Identity) of your system will not be Windows at all, since SETUPAPI.DLL, the main installer package for Internet Explorer, sets the CommonName CLSID as GUID! The name of the system, therefore, will be CommonName; not Windows.

If CN is in any way altered so that SETUPAPI.DLL (and any of the other 8 or 9 infected dll's) should happen to have the CN CLSID removed, it is almost a foregone conclusion that you, the user-victim, will not be able to access System Restore. This is because SR apparently calls SETUPAPI.DLL in threading though the Windows registry, in order to access the restore archive. . . and if SETUPAPI.DLL has had its identity removed, well, it doesn't know who or what it is (poor thing) and can't answer the call.

System Restore can still be accessed, of course from the All Programs/Accessories menu; but it's there in name only. Try setting a waypoint after deleting any of the CN GUID entries and you'll see what I mean. All you'll get will be endless popups advising that "System Restore is unable to blah blah" and that you must first restart Windows, etc. Believe me. . . restarts are a waste of time. And even if it DID work. . . all you'd be restoring would be CommonName!

On installed-and-running OEM/bundled-version-2002 Windows XP systems, the user can verify whether his/her machine is infected with the CN parasite by entering the all-zeroes CLSID into a Windows search. Check the Advanced Options tab and type the CN CLSID into the lower box, leaving the top box blank. Ensure B4-hand that the option to reveal hidden files/folders is selected.

A search for CN will normally take about 15 minutes, so please be patient. You may be (unpleasantly) surprised at what you uncover. Basically, any 'hit' at all on {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} means your machine is infected. As well, certain of the CN-infected files/folders in System32 and elsewhere will harbor the CommonName CLSID as GUID; but the catch is that Microsoft uses a font size and spacing in many instances that prevents discovery via normal methods. Very tricky, no? This, I've found, is so that CN can be "restored" to full-blown potency during a nice visit to the Windows Update server. Must protect those key installer files!

But you'll come up with enough 'hits' in a search for CN using standard font and single-spacing (if CN is present) to at least set you straight on what you're dealing with.

For the adventurous who have no fear of unca Billy's private **** (the Windows registry) — just go Start> Run and type "regedit;" Enter. Collapse the five keys so that only the words "My Computer" are visible and click Edit> Find; then, in the box type the CN CLSID; Enter. CN installs to more than 30 locations in the Windows registry, usually to Event System, which is a massive, albeit bogus section dedicated to mining your personal data.

Windows versions that shipped AFTER Q4 2002 will probably be free of CN, although OEM/bundled junque-ware almost always installs code we would never opt for were the choice ours to begin with.

Forget about removing CN from an infected system. A wipe and reinstall using premium media is the best alternative, IF you're determined to go the Windows route. Believe me. . . I've been there.

This is the high price we pay for discounted media.

Don't get me started on the price of Microsoft's treachery.
 

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