Such updates are not intended to include new add-ons for Windows, but rather are roll-ups of previously existing updates issued by Microsoft. Unofficial SP4 is based on another, similar project, developed by the programmers known as Onepiece and Nonno Fabio, adding features such as support for live installation and slipstreaming, a way of merging patches into the installation files of a program.

As of June 2014, more than 16 percent of Windows systems were still running Windows XP, according to recent figures from Kaspersky Lab. The project, titled “Unofficial Service Pack 4”, is one of several efforts by the Windows user community to continue support for the popuar operating system. “For this reason, I started working on a Service Pack 4 package.” “Many users – including me – who won’t be able to upgrade their old machines to a newer OS would like to easily install all Windows updates in one convenient package,” wrote the developer, known by the moniker Harkaz, in a statement introducing the software.

An independent developer is putting the finishing touches to a new “unofficial” Service Pack for Windows XP, following the end of Microsoft’s official support for the operating system in April of this year.

Windows xp service pack 4