Microsoft's flagship customer relationship management (CRM 1.2) software will not work properly on systems running Windows XP Service Pack 2.

The software giant made the disclosure in a note posted on its Download Center and warned that installing the security-centric XP SP2 will cause disruptions for mid-market CRM users.

The service pack, which is slated for release this month, will also prevent Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Sales for Outlook (the Outlook client) version 1.2 from running correctly.

"Microsoft CRM version 1.2 requires updates to both the Microsoft CRM Server and Outlook client and several manual configuration workarounds to operate properly," the company said.

Microsoft CRM 1.2 provides a range of customer service tools for mid-level companies conducting business online. It supports Microsoft Windows Server System 2003, Exchange Server 2003, Office 2003 and, for small businesses, Microsoft Small Business Server.

Microsoft has repeatedly warned during the beta testing period that SP2 will break and disrupt existing applications unless specific code rewrites are made at the developer end.

The company has also urged Web developers and Web site owners to closely examine the XP changes and make the necessary code modifications to minimize disruptions. Microsoft released a detailed document titled "How to Make Your Web Site Work with Windows XP Service Pack 2" to spell out the code tweaks needed to deal with SP2.