Update your Windows Service Pack

Service Packs are Microsoft's way of "rolling up" a bunch of fixes to their Windows operating system into a one-time installation. They are important because, even if your computer is running smoothly now, some fixes in the Service Pack can prevent future problems or make it run even faster and more reliably now. Also, Microsoft drops "mainstream" (free) tech support for the prior Service Pack level two years after a new one comes out.

You can check your Service Pack level by right-clicking "My Computer" and choosing Properties. You'll see something like the graphic to the right. XP is up to Service Pack 3 (issued May 6, 2008), and Vista is up to Service Pack 1 (issued April 18, 2008).

What if you already use Microsoft's automatic updates? While they will give you "critical" updates that close security holes and fix major problems, they won't give you the service packs. Here's what Microsoft says:

Windows service packs can be downloaded from the Windows Update Web Site or the Microsoft Download Center. Automatic Updates in Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition can keep your computer up to date with the latest hotfixes. However, service packs are not automatically deployed at this time. You will need to visit the Windows Update website manually to install the Service Pack....

To get to the latest Service Pack, launch Windows Update (aka Microsoft Update), which should appear in the top section of your Programs list on the Start menu. It's also on the Tools menu in Internet Explorer. Update your Service Pack, then restart the computer (part of the update process), and run Windows Update a second time to get any fixes that may apply to the new Service Pack level.

If your worried about Windows XP becoming obsolete, with Windows Vista out and now Windows 7 on the horizon, rest assured that Microsoft says they will still issue critical security fixes for XP until 2014. (XP still accounts for about two-thirds of the Windows PCs in use.) —Dean Gallea