here is some interesting news, may be helpful, you all know when SP3 is integrated into windows xp mediacenter 2005 edition it will downgrade its version from 3.0 to 2.8 and when you install it, it will prompt "cannot copy a file so and so" in the middle of the installation and if you skip that file you will end up with xp professional with sp3.
well i have come across with a solution for this file copy error,
- Combine XP MCE 2005 CD1 and CD2 into one
- Slipstream SP3
- Manually copy the files from the ROOT\CMPNENTS\MEDIACTR of the SP3 installation file using a winrar program to the root of the slipstreamed windows xp MCE 2005 SP3
- Make the necessary changes in the txtsetup.sif as sp3 will remove the changes we made while combining CD1 and CD2
- Burn the iso and install
everything installs correctly, you will endup with windows xp MCE with sp3 but you will have windows media player 9 instead of windows media player 10.
have to figure out a way to correct this. meantime if anyone has a better solution can reply.