I also happened to discover this little tidbit about SP2, and submitted the news on the front page (but the last time I did it, it didn't seem to work...lol). Anyhow, if this is "frowned upon," please delete this post. I mean no harm from it, nor do I advocate piracy. But I figured it is worth reporting, merely because it seems that Microsoft has now allowed previously banned keys to install SP2 and use Windows Update v5. It has, apparently, only recently been the case, only with beta 2179 and now RTM 2180.
It was rumored months ago that Microsoft would allow everyone to install SP2, as a kind of concession to those who pirated the software, in exchange for making the internet more secure. After all, the theory was that pirated versions of XP would continue shooting off spam and worms, etc. But then the rumor was denied by Microsoft, and all the betas of SP2 blocked pirated PIDs.
But now, it appears that Microsoft changed their mind, and this article, dated for August 5, 2004, confirms it:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9329718.htm
Microsoft senior product manager Matt Pilla said virtually all Windows XP users will be able to download Service Pack 2, regardless of whether they have a legal or pirated copy of the operating system. Research firm IDC estimates that about 260 million copies have been sold.
I also checked around on other computer forums. Many users have reported that this is, indeed, true. Keys that were formerly banned from using Windows Update v5 are now, indeed, able to run it and download updates from it, along with the 2180 build of SP2 able to be installed on non-640 PIDs. Can't confirm myself as to whether this is true or not, but thought I'd report on what has been going around!
Melon