Shortly after Service Pack 2 release, Microsoft has issued a new 'hotfix' patch that fixes a problem created by SP2 for some users connecting to virtual private networks. The good news they say, is that the flaw shouldn't affect everyone however this gives a good hint once again that no software is perfect and eventually more patches will be needed, on a fashion that developers and analysts say are "just a fact of PC life".

"So if you're looking for Windows XP SP2 to solve all present and future problems, keep dreaming. Meanwhile, though, only a tiny fraction of Windows XP users will need to get the new hotfix, released earlier this week not long after SP2 became available. A hotfix is a patch that addresses a specific problem, usually for only one or a few customers, and is not generally distributed to the vast majority of users."

YAY!!!
I've posted about this before (long time ago) about SP1 breaking the VPN on my computer. I read on some microsoft message board that it was a known issue and it would be fixed by SP2, but they would not be releasing a patch before SP2 because not many people are affected by it (VPN works fine for some people with SP1 and not others). Well I downloaded from microsoft SP2RC something and was disheartened to see that the VPN problem wasn't resolved.
After I installed SP1 and saw it broke it I uninstalled and I've been using XP without SP1 (or sp2) since. Now it appears I can finally get my OS as up to date as possible.
If I remember I'll post back after I get sp2 installed and patched with an update.

No wonder why VPN didn't work on my friend's WinXP SP1. I wonder if this fix will work right.

Well I've hit a minor setback, the network install of SP2 that I burned is corrupt (I blame it on a crappy cdr) so it will be Monday at the earliest that I can try this.

Ok well that hotfix is just like the crap I ran into over a year ago with SP1. There is nothing downloadable about it, and it doesn't appear on windowsupdate. It just sends you to a page to contact Microsoft.

And for my update, I reformatted and installed, and figured I'd give SP1 a shot again since I had their feb 2004 security update cd laying around, I did that, set up the vpn and all was good (VPN worked).

In the meantime I had ordered SP2 on cd, that came in today so I reformatted again and installed XP then immediately put on SP2. Then I set up the VPN, it connects, but it does nothing, no communication occurs through it. So its broke again, and I can't even dl the hotfix.

This pisses me off.

SP2 broke VPN for me too.

[url]http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=1372637&enterthread=y[/url]

Somebody on the forums (a guy that only posted a few times in one of my VPN threads, maybe didn't post at all???) sent me a PM, and then subsequent emails on how he fixed it, it involved replacing a couple files and turning off that thing that keeps you from doing that.

UNFORTUNATELY he sent them to my fidnet.com email address, and when I moved my ISP killed that account literally minutes after I left their office. I had forgotten to get those emails, now they are lost