Question: Where can I download all the Windows XP Service Packs?

Description: Microsoft does not have a easily located singular location to download SP1, SP2, and SP3.

Answer:
You can check out the Windows Service Pack Center:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/service-packs
Which has all updates listed for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Or, you can download from the individual Microsoft Download Center locations:

SP1: (Sp1a Express) http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=19751

SP2: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28

SP3: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

Keep in mind, download Service Packs manually will be much larger than installing them via. Windows Update

Need the 64 bit version?
SP1 x64: There is no SP1 for XP 64 bit. This is because XP 64 was based on the Windows Server 2003 SP1 codebase (essentially, it already has SP1 in it).
SP2 x64: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17791
SP3 x64: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17791

Did this help you? Comment and let us know!

Problem: On Windows Vista or Windows 7, or Server 2008 (XP activation could very well have the same bug) After I try and activate Windows, I receive the error code “8007232b” and the error message “DNS name does not exist.”
(Variations on message might also include: “Key management services (KMS) host could not be located in domain name system (DNS), please have your system administrator verify that a KMS is published correctly in DNS. “)

Cause: According to Microsoft, users who downloaded these operating systems from the MSDN/Technet are using the product under volume licensing, which requires KMS on your domain — a domain you likely do not have in the first place, with a service you probably wouldn’t be running in a home installation — though this issue could easily affect the commercial world as well.
Microsoft words it like this: “If you use MSDN, TechNet, or MAPs, you probably have volume-licensed media and were supplied a Multiple Activation Key (MAK).”

Solution: Open Command Prompt as an administrator
(Press Start, type CMD, right-click CMD and click “Run as Administrator” — a UAC prompt may ask you to verify this action.)

Type the command:
slmgr -ipk product-key-here
(where “product-key-here”, type the product key you received from the MSDN/Technet WITH dashes.)
Example: slmgr -ipk FGX5-AFDA8-85ASD-5ADF5-FDA5
(That product key is fake)

Press ENTER after typing the command, and wait for a box to prompt that the action has completed (takes 10-15 seconds in most cases).

Run the activation wizard again (Right click “Computer” from the start menu, click “Properties”, and scroll down to the bottom of the properties window to “Windows Activation”

Sources:
Direct from Microsoft (contains two other solutions you can try if this fails)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929826

Technet Forums:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winservergen/thread/3d1e007e-a5b0-453a-b92c-17696b93dfc2

If you use MSDN, TechNet, or MAPs, you probably have volume-licensed media and were supplied a Multiple Activation Key (MAK).

I finally found a good guide to create a Windows 7 Bootable USB Drive. It is definitely the best on the internet, and has instructions for creating within XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Visit it here: http://maketecheasier.com/boot-and-install-windows-7-from-usb-flash-drive/2009/01/23