>Thanks Al.
>
>Turned out the standalone version is for network installs. The ISO version should do the trick.
>
>cheers
>
>
>>>I'd like to download XP SP3 to my VISTA system, create the DVD there, then apply it to my XP SP2 system.
>>>
>>>That seems impossible through the MS Download Center. Is there some other MS site where I can achieve this?
>>
>>Haven't tried it, but how about
>>
>>http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsxp/0a5b9b10-17e3-40d9-8d3c-0077c953a761.aspx
>>
>>You probably want a "standalone" download.

MS's description is a little misleading, but the standalone download is indeed exactly what you want. It's designed for networks, where an admin downloads it once and puts it up on a share somewhere, then it can be applied from there to all XP machines on the network without all those machines having to download SP3 over the internet, hogging up bandwidth at both the company and MS.

They discourage using this for only one machine, because through MS Update the required download for any single machine is usually smaller than the full SP3 download. However, as you've found out, this option is available only if you can use MS Update to get SP3 on the XP box itself.

So, in your case you have a "network" of 1 computer, but who cares - at least it'll work. Downloading and burning the ISO image will also work but it's an extra step and potentially a waste of plastic < g >