Unexpected Power-Management Issues with XP and PIII

Thanks Pit of 3DWin.de for heads up on this issue concerning Note Books running XP on a PIII CPU.

When you are using a notebook computer equipped with an Intel Pentium III "Tualatin" processor and the Intel 440MX chipset, you may experience one of the following symptoms with Windows XP:

The battery life for the notebook computer is less than expected.
When you use the internal modem on the notebook computer, Windows XP may seem to stop responding (hang).

CAUSE

An updated driver (P3.sys) is necessary to allow Windows XP to fully support power management on computers that are equipped with an Intel PIII CPU and 440MX chipset.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing at a later time, to further ensure product quality. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.

Download: The fix at Windowsupdate