AMD and HP reportedly responsible for XP SP3 glitches

by Stevie Smith - May 13 2008, 12:34

A host of related system glitches following last week’s reopening of public availability for Windows XP service pack 3 (SP3) didn’t exactly amount to the stress-free download experience that Microsoft Corp. was perhaps hoping for.

More pointedly, Microsoft’s online message board was subsequently hit with a wave of complaints soon after SP3 was reopened, with many disgruntled XP users highlighting computer crashes, system freezes and endless reboot cycles after installing the operating system’s final major update.

While Redmond-based Microsoft is busy trying to ‘officially’ isolate the specific cause of this latest round of incompatibility glitches (Dynamics RMS was responsible for SP3’s prior download delay), it would appear that computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard and chipmaker AMD are in the crosshairs when it comes to assigning blame.

Specifically, a Microsoft customer service representative yesterday told ChannelWeb that installation problems related to SP3 seem to be rearing up solely on desktop computers produced by Hewlett-Packard.

“I checked with the resources I have and it seems that we have not had any issues with any manufacturer other than HP,” the service representative wrote during an online chat with ChannelWeb regarding the most likely source of the SP3 reboot problem.

That being said, Jesper Johansson, a former senior security strategist with Microsoft, has chipped in on the debate by revealing in a blog post that the recent spate of SP3 installation problems are also linked with certain desktop computers running on AMD processors.

Beyond those two current targets, CRN reports that Microsoft has been aware of the SP3 installation errors since May 06 of this year, and has even published a related Knowledge Base article that includes a workaround for the problems.

The Microsoft article outlines that system crashes and reboot problems have reared up from an orphaned registry key that is present on non-Intel (namely AMD) computers receiving an SP1 image created through an Intel-based system.

“Under this configuration, after the computer is upgraded to Windows XP SP2 or SP3, the Intel processor driver (Intelppm.sys) may try to load,” which leads to reboot glitches, outlines the software giant.

According to Johansson’s post on the problems, affected computers either fail to boot or crash completely with a STOP error code (0x0000007e); although safe mode booting will work as the problem drivers are not enabled there. Modifying the registry while in safe mode and removing the Intelppm.sys driver is Microsoft’s recommended workaround.

“Microsoft is aware of a reboot issue experienced by some users who have attempted to install Windows XP SP3,“ a Microsoft spokesperson relayed to ChannelWeb following the rush of installation complaints. “While the root cause of this issue is complex, it results from OEMs improperly placing a Windows XP image created for an for Intel-based computer onto machines with non-Intel chipsets.”

In terms of nailing down specific OEM (original equipment manufacturer) computers affected by the new SP3 incompatibility problems, Microsoft is refusing to spotlight a specific company, choosing instead to offer that the glitch is causing problems for “OEMs in general.”

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