Without a doubt Service Pack 3 is the apex in the evolution of Windows XP, since it is the last release of its kind for the precursor of Windows Vista. Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich recently indicated that perfection is outside the reach of any kernel or operating system for that matter. And the problems related to copies of Windows XP SP3 in resume from hibernation scenarios on multiprocessor computers are an illustrative example in this context. According to the Redmond company, the operating system will fail to perform the task.

 

"Consider the following scenario: you have a multiprocessor computer that is running Windows XP; you resume the computer from hibernation (S4). In this scenario, the computer stops responding on a black screen," the company informed.

 

Such issues have already been highlighted by the software giant. At the start of April 2008, Microsoft indicated that not only Windows XP SP3 but also Windows Vista SP1 failed to play nice on multiprocessor machines when it came down to resuming from hibernation. However, at that point in time, the problems where directly connected with what Microsoft referred to as computers with exactly 32 processors. This time around the company has generalized the problems for XP SP3 and SP2.

 

Microsoft is indeed delivering a resolve for the issue but end users will have to contact the company directly. "A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described [here]. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem," Microsoft stated, indicating that the fix is available for both XP SP3 and XP SP2. A request has to be submitted to Microsoft Customer Service and Support in order to access the resolve. The Redmond company did not reveal any plans to release an update dealing with the problem.