Microsoft XP SP3 delayed

It was promised for late April, which is about now, but the Windows XP Service Pack 3 has been delayed.

Microsoft has released a statement admitting that SP3 has been hit by a bug and its techies are now trying to sort the problem out.

"In the last few days, we have uncovered a compatibility issue between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) and both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1", says Chris Keroack, release manager of Windows Serviceability, in a statement released on the TechNet forum.

"In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience, we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP SP3 to the web."

SP3 was supposed to be made available to the general public via Microsoft's automatic update facility but would have also been available for download.

It has already been made available to manufacturers.

There's no timeframe yet on how long it's going to take to de-bug the update and Microsoft is not commenting at the moment, but we'll keep you posted.