While I do believe in getting the updates, new is not always better. MS has released bad patches and had to retract and replace them in the past and likely will find that same human error in the future, as all companies do. I get updates, but read the info first. If the update has no bearing on my system, I ignore it. If it does, I wait till the patch has been out for a few weeks before getting it. Just a word of caution in general. I think XP sp1 has been out a while and likely is stable. Have xp pro at work on all 18 workstations and will likely update in two weeks or so. That gives you an idea of our conservative approach.