This is unacceptable. A service pack is supposed to apply all updates that are included in the service pack. For Microsoft to say (as it states in the article) “This behaviour is by design.” is not good enough and is a cop out. Microsoft claims to have bright people working for it - show us how smart you are and FIX THIS PROBLEM!

Software updates for some Windows components may not be applied when you install a service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000, for Microsoft Windows XP, or for Microsoft Windows Server 2003. For example, you may experience symptoms that are similar to one or more of the following:

• When you install Service Pack 1 for Windows XP, the MS02-032 security update for Windows Media Player may not be applied.

• When you install Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000, the following security updates may not be applied:
• The MS03-015 security update
• The MS02-053 security update
• The MS03-014 security update

When you install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, the MS02-053 security update may not be applied.

CAUSE
This issue may occur if the version of an affected component that is installed on a computer is later than the version that the service pack is designed to update.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, install software updates for the affected components. To do this, use Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) to centrally scan the computer for common security misconfigurations and to generate a security report for the scanned computer.

[Continue reading Microsoft Knowledge Base article 829336]