Microsoft releases Windows XP SP3 RC test build only in English edition. And Windows Update hack to install XP SP3 RC1 won’t show the service pack as an installable option. If users try to install the downloaded standalone installer package in non-English language version of Windows XP, the setup will halt and respond with the following error message.

Service Pack 3 Setup Error

Setup cannot update your Windows XP files because the language installed on your system is different from the update language.

The solution is pretty obvious. If users able to hack and change system language, then it’s possible to fool and bypass the SP3 setup installer check on language requirement. The steps are pretty similar to trick used to install Windows Vista SP1 on non-supported language system when all languages package not yet been released.

To change the system installed locale language, run Registry Editor, and then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Nls\Language registry key, and then change the value date for “Default” and “InstallLanguage” registry value to “0409“, which represent US English.

Then, open Control Panel, and open Regional and Language Options. In Regional Options and Advanced tabs, set the language to English (US) as default format and language for non-Unicode programs. Click on “OK” when done, and then reboot the system.

Try to install the downloaded Windows XP SP1 setup package. It should be able to install without any error now. If you still get the incompatible language prompt, try to restart computer into Safe Mode and try to install SP3 in Safe Mode.

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