MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

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You should be familiar with the deployment of service packs to ensure that all operating
systems on the network are up-to-date and to avoid issues that you might encounter
in the future.
Windows XP ships with a utility called Winver.exe, which you can use to determine
what version of Windows you are running and what level of service pack (if any) is
installed. Figure 2-10 displays the output of Winver.exe prior to any service pack being
installed. If a service pack has been installed, the version will be noted after the build
number.
Figure 2-10 Use Winver.exe to determine the current Windows version and service pack.
To Obtain a Service Pack
Lesson 6 Activating and Updating Windows XP Professional
Service packs are free, and you can get them in the following ways:
■ Use Windows Update to update a single computer with a service pack.
■ Download the service pack from Windows Update to deploy to many computers.
The download is a single large self-extracting executable, which will have a different
name depending on the service pack version that you are installing. The file is
quite large (85 MB or more), so be sure that you have sufficient bandwidth available
to support the download.
■ Order the service pack CD. You can order the service pack CD from Microsoft for
a nominal fee that covers the cost of manufacture and shipping. In addition to
containing the service pack, the CD contains operating system enhancements and
other advanced utilities.
■ Use Microsoft subscription services. Microsoft has several subscription services,
such as Microsoft TechNet, which automatically provide you with service packs
with the next issue after the release of the service pack.