On September 9, 2002, Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for its Windows XP operating system. On February 3rd 2003, Service Pack 1a also entered the battlefield. SP1a is in fact SP1 but the Microsoft Virtual Machine, which is used to run Java, is no longer included. The users who use the Virtual Machine from Java maker Sun no longer have to download unnecessary included updates. People who use the Microsoft VM can continue to get their bug fixes via Windows Update. The full changelog for SP1a looks like this:
- Windows XP SP1a does not include or install the Microsoft VM, which provides support for running Java programs.
- When you install Windows XP SP1a, the following changes are made to the registry. These changes indicate that SP1a is installed:
- A string value is created in the following registry key and its value data is set to “a”:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionSubVersionNumber - The value data for the Description string value in the following registry key is updated to include “SP1a”:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftUpdatesWindows XPSP1Q324720
- A string value is created in the following registry key and its value data is set to “a”:
- The title for the Windows XP Service Pack 1 entry in the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel is changed to “Windows XP Service Pack 1a.”
[break]Users who have not yet downloaded Service Pack 1 are strongly advised to upgrade, if you have already done so, you do not need to install SP1a. Service Pack 1a is here to get. You can here read more about the software.
| Version number | 1a |
| Operating systems | Windows XP |
| Website | Microsoft |
| Download | |
| License type | Freeware |