[Ocean]

Originally Posted by filburt1

Care to explain?

I'm running SP2 with no problems and with background downloads and installs enabled. I have absolutely never had any item in Windows Update hose my computer, and if it ever did, I have System Restore to which to revert.

The debate is pointless since it is a matter of opinion, anyway.

Actually, it's not just a matter of opinion.

It is a known fact that Microsoft has released patches in the past that have caused more problems than they solved. Users who updated automatically got hosed first, while those who were smart enough to wait and stay informed got the revised version and had smooth runnings.

And while SP2 might be working fine for you - it has caused no end of headaches for others. SP2 is acknowledged by anyone competant as an update that should be installed *deliberately* and under full knowledge of what you're doing. There are a lot of people out there who installed SP2 reflexively as soon as it came out. Do you know what many of them have in common? They're saying "Hey! Why isn't this program working!"

As for System Restore - that's a joke. System Restore rarely works as advertised. It is good for one thing, and one thing only - if your machine should become nonfunctional, System Restore has a good chance of reverting it to a functional state, at which point the best thing you can do is to backup your data and overhaul your machine.

You could, of course, take your chances and keep things running - but most of the time you'll find that things are not quite as they should be.


And Microsoft is not the only company to fall under this category. The fact of the matter is that first releases of apps or updates are often buggy. How long did it take for vB 3.0.2 to jump to 3.0.3, hmm?

Users who are set to automatically update invariably become no small portion of the guinea pigs upon which the rest of the world tests these first versions. This is not opinion - this is fact.


I've worked professionally with IT for almost two decades. While you may be fortunate enough to not have had any serious issues, I personally am acquainted with thousands of users who were not so fortunate.

They learned their lesson the hard way. I hope for your sake, that you don't learn in the same fashion as they did.