Windows 2000 SP4 Released

Microsoft has released a fourth service pack (SP4) for Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and Advanced Server. With approximately 20 months left in the mainstream support phase for Windows 2000 and service packs coming approximately 10 months apart, there will likely be at least one more service pack before Windows 2000 enters the extended support phase in 2005. As has become the norm, SP4 contains critical cumulative bug and security patches that customers need, changes to the Supplemental End User Licensing Agreement (EULA), and support for new features and devices.

Bug and Security Fixes

More than 650 patches in Windows 2000 SP4 fix problems in the following categories: administration and management, application compatibility, base OS, directory services, data access, the Internet Information Services (IIS) Web server and COM+, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), networking, printing, security, setup, shell, and Terminal Services.

Microsoft recommends that all Windows 2000 customers (except those running Datacenter) install SP4, as it is cumulative and includes all patches contained in previous Windows 2000 service packs. (More than 2,500 patches have been issued since Windows 2000 was released.) Customers who have not yet installed SP3 need only install SP4; customers who have installed previous service packs can install SP4 without removing them.