Windows XP update could cause support chaos

The major changes to Windows XP brought by Service Pack 2 (SP2) are bound to cause support headaches. Analysts, users, PC makers and Microsoft Corp. all expect a spike in help desk calls.

SP2 is due out in the third quarter, so it could be out as soon as next month. The service pack will be downloaded automatically into many PCs through Microsoft's Windows Update service and could create problems, including breaking current applications, disrupting networking set-ups and prompting nontechnical users to make PC configuration decisions that may be beyond their grasp.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is still working on a plan to support the security-focused update. "We're working hard on getting together a support plan," said Matt Pilla, a senior product manager at the software maker in Redmond, Washington. One decision has been made; Microsoft will offer no-charge, worldwide telephone support for the service pack, Pilla said.

Microsoft is returning to its policy to provide free support for service packs after leaving support for Windows XP SP1 to the PC makers, Pilla said. Nevertheless, Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Gateway Inc. are also gearing up for the release of SP2 and will support their customers, spokespeople for the PC makers said.

Support directly from Microsoft is more valuable than help provided by PC vendors because it is more in-depth, said Victor Go, vice president of technology at Landmark Theatre Corp., which uses about 600 PCs running Windows.

"We don't call unless it is something extremely technical that would require something beyond the first-line help desk. We used to try the support that goes with the PC, but whether it is HP or IBM (Corp.), we just never got the response we needed," Go said.

Although Microsoft has deemed Windows XP SP2 a service pack, the update really is more comparable to a Windows upgrade. SP2 contains bug fixes and updates, but it also offers new features and makes significant changes to the Windows software in four main areas: network protection, memory protection, e-mail security and browsing security.

Microsoft will have to treat SP2 like a new operating system release, said Rob Helm, a director of research with Directions on Microsoft Inc., an industry research company based in Kirkland, Washington. "It is that level of change," Helm said.

The changes make Go and other users uncomfortable. "Businesses like us don't run the latest version of an operating system. We did not roll out XP until almost a year after it came out," Go said. "It is kind of scary that in order to get the required updates, we also get all these enhancements, which is usually a separate project."

Microsoft has made something of a trade-off with SP2, focusing on security at the expense of compatibility. As a result, SP2 can render existing applications inoperable. Microsoft has urged developers and IT professionals to test the update. A second "release candidate," likely the final test version, was made available earlier this month.

The changes combined with the automatic update are especially worrying to Thomas Smith, manager of desktop engineering at a large Houston-based company. During testing of the service pack he found that the about 5,000 Windows XP desktops he manages will no longer be able to connect to the home office with the update installed.