Here it is an hour later and I have been able to do a Restore to a
   previous date, by working in "Safe Mode"
   However I still do not have sound on my laptop.  Perhaps it is a
   coincidence that I lost my sound shortly, (and I mean shortly)
   after loading SP3, or is it possible  to lose sound as a result of
   loading SP3?
 I don't know if this has been addressed before, I did not see it if it was.

 I downloaded  the new SP3 on my laptop with XP Professional.  Within
 a few moments I noticed that I lost all sound.  I plugged in an earpiece
 and still no sound.  I checked the volume controls to see if I had some how
 muted my laptop and it was not muted.

 I tried to do a restore to a previous date.  After a few moments Computer tells
 me that it is unable to restore to that date.  So I tried another previous date,
 same response.  Same thing happened everytime, even way back to January.

 How do I make my Laptop do a Restore to a previous date?  I would like to
 get my sound back.  Thank you... Virg

Consider the possibility that SP3 had installed the wrong driver files
for the sound system during the update. Re-install the sound driver files
from the utility cdrom that is shipped by the manufacturer. If not found,
then check the manufacturer's site for the driver file.