Windows XP users may now download a fourth service pack for the 13-year-old operating system, but it isn't coming from Microsoft.
Instead, this Windows XP “SP4” comes from a single developer, who claims to have rolled up every official Microsoft update into an unofficial package. Windows XP Unofficial SP4 is now in its third beta, with work on a release candidate in progress.
It can be applied to a live Windows XP system which has SP1 and includes updates for most Windows XP components, including MCE and Tablet PC. Request-only hotfixes have been included. Currently, Microsoft.NET Frameworks 4.0, 3.5, 1.1 and 1.0 (Tablet PC only) are included in the Windows XP SP4 package. Also, all post-eol updates for. But a enthusiast and developer from Greece call Harkaz has been working on a Service Pack 4 (SP4) (x86) for Windows XP, now of coarse this will be a ‘unofficial Service Pack 4‘ but for all the XP users that are still running the XP operating system this should be good news for them. The unofficial Windows XP SP4 by Harkaz bundles together Microsoft.NET Framework versions 4.0, 3.5, 1.1 and 1.0 (Tablet PC only)! All post-end-of-life updates up to January 2016 are included! Special security enhancements unaddressed by Microsoft too are included!
Though the first beta version arrived in September, Softpedia spread word of the latest unofficial service pack this week.
Windows XP Service Pack 4 is a nice idea, but should be avoided The author of this unofficial Windows XP service pack probably means well, but there's a reason we use trusted sources. Windows XP SP4 Unofficial comes to the rescue, providing XP users with the latest official XP updates alongside up-to-date components up to May 2014, also including POSReady updates. The package is compatible with 32-bit versions of Windows XP, with SP1 installed and it can be deployed on an installation media.
Microsoft's last official service pack arrived in 2008, and while Microsoft continued to deliver security updates until last April, it hasn't rolled all those updates into a single package. That's partly what the unofficial Service Pack 4 accomplishes.
Further reading: Windows XP survival guide: How to upgrade (or not)
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More importantly, Service Pack 4 includes additional security fixes that aren't technically part of Windows XP proper, but are instead intended for ATMs and point of sale machines still running a variant of the aging OS. As discovered in May, it's possible to keep getting these security updates through a registry hack, but Unofficial SP4 enables this hack by default and bakes in all of its previous fixes.
Of course, Microsoft advises against Windows XP users installing these fixes, and suggests updating to Windows 7 or Windows 8 instead. “The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers,” the company said in May. “Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP.”
The first part of that statement still rings true, but the whole point of the unofficial service pack is to test the fixes against Windows XP and ensure they work properly.
Windows Xp Service Pack 4
Still, we are talking about an unofficial update from an obscure source, with limited time and resources for testing across a broad range of machines. In other words, download at your own risk, and gird yourself with extra protection measures if you're going to be an XP holdout.
You can grab the beta from Google Drive or from Softpedia's Website.
Needless to say this isn’t Microsoft demonstrating yet another generous act of utter stupidity, but the work of its diehard fanbase. Dubbed the ‘Unofficial Service Pack 4’, credit goes to Greece-based developer harkaz who started the project back in September 2013. The third beta has already been launched and, in true Microsoft fashion, a Release Candidate (RC) will be ready soon.
'Many users - including me - who won't be able to upgrade their old machines to a newer OS would like to easily install all Windows updates in one convenient package. For this reason, I started working on a Service Pack 4 package,” said harkaz on the RyanVM discussion boards.
“Windows XP Unofficial SP4 ENU is a cumulative update rollup for Windows XP (x86) English,' he explained. 'It can be applied to a live Windows XP system which has SP1, at minimum, installed or it can be slipstreamed (integrated) in any Windows XP installation media.”
..or has it? Image credit: Microsoft official Windows XP page
harkaz breaks down Unofficial SP4 stating that it includes ‘ updates for most Windows XP components', including:
- MCE and Tablet PC
- Request-only hotfixes
- Microsoft .NET Frameworks 4.0, 3.5, 1.1 and 1.0 (Tablet PC only)
- Integrated POSReady security updates
A detailed list of fixes can be found here, but of particular interest is POSReady. The POSReady security hack was announced in May and it takes advantage of a Microsoft loophole that provides security support for ‘Windows Embedded POSReady’ (now called ‘Windows Embedded Industry’) which will last until 2019. Emdedded Industry is a b2b-focused variant of Windows XP running Service Pack 3.
How it works is the POSReady hack tricks Microsoft servers into thinking consumer versions of Windows XP are in fact Embedded Industry and therefore supplying them with security updates. Rightfully critics have noted that the two OSes are not identical which could cause problems, but it has proved a fruitful route so far. The hack was fairly simple, but automating it within a wider update will appeal to many.
Needless to say caveats apply if you are going to consider installing Unofficial SP4, many of which are stated by harkaz. The main one of which is to obtain the downloads from the developer’s posts on RyanVM as there are numerous malware and virus infected fake SP4 patches floating around.
The official Microsoft Windows XP countdown clock has expired
I would also add that in installing any Windows patch not verified by Microsoft is a risk, though in this case the lack of future security patches for Windows XP means running the OS is already a big risk in itself. Furthermore - with a reported 25% of all PCs still running Windows XP - this is a risk which is only going to get worse.
All of this is a potential PR disaster for Microsoft. I personally believe the company has every right to end support for an operating system after providing it for free for 12 years and providing years of warning, but reports of Windows XP mass hacks and customers suffering poses a real problem. Furthermore with Windows 8 failing to take off and Windows 7 Mainstream Support ending in January Microsoft is fast becoming cornered.
The only card the company has to play is Windows 9. It will have to be incredibly lean to have any chance of running on Windows XP computers, but more than that it will need to be a compelling, crowd pleasing and affordable operating system in its own right.
The first public beta of Windows 9 is expected to arrive on 30 September. No pressure Microsoft…
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Windows Xp Sp4 Unofficial Final Version 3.1b
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