a "non-pro" experience with SP2

[Gene Murphy]

Greetings everyone

Well after weeks of reading both the horror stories and some success stories
on here I decided with at first some trepidations to install SP2 last night
and would like just to share some of my humble opinions as how even I ( a
complete novice) had a great experience with the download. I only offer what
I did as hopefully in some small way helping others not to have the
nightmare some have had.
First and foremost I think one should read all the (KB) information posted
by Microsoft and the many posts by Kelly and Will and all other MVP's on
this site. The more one is informed (about any subject) I think the less
likely for there to be problems.
Second my computer:
Gateway Pentium 4, 80GB HD,1GB Memory,CD ROM (writable), DVD,
Software: Office Suite 2003,Zone Alarm Pro, AVG, ezTrust anti-virus, Sohphos
Anti-virus, Outlook 2002, peripherals Logitech cordless mouse and key board,
Lexmark X-75 all in one printer,fax and scanner, KDS storage tower, Boston
Speaker System...broadband Comcast cable with RCA D235 Modem.

Thus I could have run into many issues as there were certainly plenty on the
machine that showed some compatibility issues.
I did a complete virus scan with all three programs (which i do every day
anyway via scheduler) I use Diskeeper for defrag, but due to some
information on this site I also downloaded perfect disk(in my humble opinion
a much better product that Diskeeper) ran that also. I cleared out all IE
temporary folders (i can do this through the cache cleaner in Zone alarm
pro). I back up all I could think of on the computer including "system
state". First problem: I wish i could learn how to use back up in system
tools to backup directly to CD, but it will not let me for it says E:
backup.is not a valid something or other sorry forget the exact error
message , so i have to back up to my documents and then use Roxio to burn
the backup to CD, but at least I did it.
I decided to go with the SP2 CD version instead of windows update. I
received the CD 5 days after ordering it!
Steps:
I went to mscofig and unchecked everything in the startup column, rebooted
the computer, unplugged my cable modem the power to it and even the Ethernet
connection.Did the same with the printer and speakers (don't know why the
speakers, just over cautious i guess)...what i forgot to do was unplug the
KDS system, so that gave me a little trouble when I finished the install but
fine now.

From start of installation to time of first reboot was 59 minutes. on first
reboot everything seem to be fine, no noticeable difference in time it took
to boot with exception of first welcome screen where i attempted to turn off
windows built in firewall but could not as much as i tried , it simply would
not let me. I rebooted again ran Perfect Disk defrag which took over an hour
and a half , disk was 59% fragmented. rebooted again . Still could not get
XP firewall to turn off. So I disabled Zone Alarm, rebooted went back to
control panel to security center and then was able to turn off XP firewall.
Rebooted. Everything was just as fast if not faster. Surf the web (on yes
did plug back in modem with no issues) to see if i could, no problem getting
anywhere, no pop ups that others talk about so I don't understand that
issue, but it is fine with me. Tried all the programs i could think of, all
so far seem to be working just fine. Outlook can send and receive. Did have
one conflict with "chikka" a text to mobile piece of software, just had to
uninstall and download again now that is working just fine.

So even though this is only my first day of up and running with what I am
very pleased was a good and easy install, I realize I may run into some
issues later with some programs i have not used yet, but feel that overall,
if one would read all he/she can about what Microsoft and the MVP's are
saying on here it is possible even for a novice like me to do this update
with very little problems. Knowledge is a very powerful tool, if only
believed. I think "common sense" and patience goes a long way when you are a
novice like me to ensure you have gathered all the facts you can about this
update and then make the decision for yourself whether it is worth (some
would say) all the problems that some are having.

As for me I am one satisfied Microsoft Customer, but always have been. Sure
there are several other operating systems out there supposedly without all
the bugs and flaws of Microsoft. But I also know that when you go to buy
third party software that go with these OS's you are very limited in what
you can do. Also I think that Microsoft had gone out to all third party
vendors and they knew they would probably have to have their own technicians
to probably patch any holes in their own software before Microsoft released
the SP2, but I don't think one should hold Microsoft accountable if some of
these vendors did not do such. Also one should when updating any drivers for
their machine go to the original manufactory , not just use the Microsoft
updater to find drivers there. The best source is the maker of your
particular driver instead.

Thanks everyone for letting me rant.
Hope this helps even one person who feels this update is just not worth the
trouble. I find it not any trouble at all.

The "Murf"

 

[Mike H]

Way to go.. somebody who took the time to make sure that the computer was
working properly instead of expecting SP2 to fix everything..

 

[Steve N.]

Greetings everyone

Well after weeks of reading both the horror stories and some success stories
on here I decided with at first some trepidations to install SP2 last night
and would like just to share some of my humble opinions as how even I ( a
complete novice) had a great experience with the download. I only offer what
I did as hopefully in some small way helping others not to have the
nightmare some have had.
First and foremost I think one should read all the (KB) information posted
by Microsoft and the many posts by Kelly and Will and all other MVP's on
this site. The more one is informed (about any subject) I think the less
likely for there to be problems.
Second my computer:
Gateway Pentium 4, 80GB HD,1GB Memory,CD ROM (writable), DVD,
Software: Office Suite 2003,Zone Alarm Pro, AVG, ezTrust anti-virus, Sohphos
Anti-virus, Outlook 2002, peripherals Logitech cordless mouse and key board,
Lexmark X-75 all in one printer,fax and scanner, KDS storage tower, Boston
Speaker System...broadband Comcast cable with RCA D235 Modem.

Thus I could have run into many issues as there were certainly plenty on the
machine that showed some compatibility issues.
I did a complete virus scan with all three programs (which i do every day
anyway via scheduler) I use Diskeeper for defrag, but due to some
information on this site I also downloaded perfect disk(in my humble opinion
a much better product that Diskeeper) ran that also. I cleared out all IE
temporary folders (i can do this through the cache cleaner in Zone alarm
pro). I back up all I could think of on the computer including "system
state". First problem: I wish i could learn how to use back up in system
tools to backup directly to CD, but it will not let me for it says E:
backup.is not a valid something or other sorry forget the exact error
message , so i have to back up to my documents and then use Roxio to burn
the backup to CD, but at least I did it.
I decided to go with the SP2 CD version instead of windows update. I
received the CD 5 days after ordering it!
Steps:
I went to mscofig and unchecked everything in the startup column, rebooted
the computer, unplugged my cable modem the power to it and even the Ethernet
connection.Did the same with the printer and speakers (don't know why the
speakers, just over cautious i guess)...what i forgot to do was unplug the
KDS system, so that gave me a little trouble when I finished the install but
fine now.

From start of installation to time of first reboot was 59 minutes. on first
reboot everything seem to be fine, no noticeable difference in time it took
to boot with exception of first welcome screen where i attempted to turn off
windows built in firewall but could not as much as i tried , it simply would
not let me. I rebooted again ran Perfect Disk defrag which took over an hour
and a half , disk was 59% fragmented. rebooted again . Still could not get
XP firewall to turn off. So I disabled Zone Alarm, rebooted went back to
control panel to security center and then was able to turn off XP firewall.
Rebooted. Everything was just as fast if not faster. Surf the web (on yes
did plug back in modem with no issues) to see if i could, no problem getting
anywhere, no pop ups that others talk about so I don't understand that
issue, but it is fine with me. Tried all the programs i could think of, all
so far seem to be working just fine. Outlook can send and receive. Did have
one conflict with "chikka" a text to mobile piece of software, just had to
uninstall and download again now that is working just fine.

So even though this is only my first day of up and running with what I am
very pleased was a good and easy install, I realize I may run into some
issues later with some programs i have not used yet, but feel that overall,
if one would read all he/she can about what Microsoft and the MVP's are
saying on here it is possible even for a novice like me to do this update
with very little problems. Knowledge is a very powerful tool, if only
believed. I think "common sense" and patience goes a long way when you are a
novice like me to ensure you have gathered all the facts you can about this
update and then make the decision for yourself whether it is worth (some
would say) all the problems that some are having.

As for me I am one satisfied Microsoft Customer, but always have been. Sure
there are several other operating systems out there supposedly without all
the bugs and flaws of Microsoft. But I also know that when you go to buy
third party software that go with these OS's you are very limited in what
you can do. Also I think that Microsoft had gone out to all third party
vendors and they knew they would probably have to have their own technicians
to probably patch any holes in their own software before Microsoft released
the SP2, but I don't think one should hold Microsoft accountable if some of
these vendors did not do such. Also one should when updating any drivers for
their machine go to the original manufactory , not just use the Microsoft
updater to find drivers there. The best source is the maker of your
particular driver instead.

Thanks everyone for letting me rant.
Hope this helps even one person who feels this update is just not worth the
trouble. I find it not any trouble at all.

The "Murf"

Thanks for the detailed report. I'm a glad it went good for you. You are
absolutely corret, people will have greater success with any major
update by studying the issues and taking proper precautions. You did good!

Steve

 

[Gene Murphy]

Thanks Steve
The "Murf"

Thanks for the detailed report. I'm a glad it went good for you. You are
absolutely corret, people will have greater success with any major update
by studying the issues and taking proper precautions. You did good!

Steve

 

[Gene Murphy]

Thanks Mike!
The "Murf"

Way to go.. somebody who took the time to make sure that the computer was
working properly instead of expecting SP2 to fix everything..

 

[Richard Urban]

Your post should be standard reading in Computer Upgrades 101. (-:

--
Regards:

Richard Urban


aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

 

[Bob Davis]

Well after weeks of reading both the horror stories and some success
stories on here I decided with at first some trepidations to install SP2
last night and would like just to share some of my humble opinions as how
even I ( a complete novice) had a great experience with the download. I
only offer what I did as hopefully in some small way helping others not to
have the nightmare some have had.
First and foremost I think one should read all the (KB) information posted
by Microsoft and the many posts by Kelly and Will and all other MVP's on
this site. The more one is informed (about any subject) I think the less
likely for there to be problems.
Second my computer:
Gateway Pentium 4, 80GB HD,1GB Memory,CD ROM (writable), DVD,
Software: Office Suite 2003,Zone Alarm Pro, AVG, ezTrust anti-virus,
Sohphos Anti-virus, Outlook 2002, peripherals Logitech cordless mouse and
key board, Lexmark X-75 all in one printer,fax and scanner, KDS storage
tower, Boston Speaker System...broadband Comcast cable with RCA D235
Modem.

Thus I could have run into many issues as there were certainly plenty on
the machine that showed some compatibility issues.
I did a complete virus scan with all three programs (which i do every day
anyway via scheduler) I use Diskeeper for defrag, but due to some
information on this site I also downloaded perfect disk(in my humble
opinion a much better product that Diskeeper) ran that also. I cleared out
all IE temporary folders (i can do this through the cache cleaner in Zone
alarm pro). I back up all I could think of on the computer including
"system state". First problem: I wish i could learn how to use back up in
system tools to backup directly to CD, but it will not let me for it says
E: backup.is not a valid something or other sorry forget the exact
error message , so i have to back up to my documents and then use Roxio to
burn the backup to CD, but at least I did it.
I decided to go with the SP2 CD version instead of windows update. I
received the CD 5 days after ordering it!
Steps:
I went to mscofig and unchecked everything in the startup column, rebooted
the computer, unplugged my cable modem the power to it and even the
Ethernet connection.Did the same with the printer and speakers (don't know
why the speakers, just over cautious i guess)...what i forgot to do was
unplug the KDS system, so that gave me a little trouble when I finished
the install but fine now.

From start of installation to time of first reboot was 59 minutes. on
first reboot everything seem to be fine, no noticeable difference in time
it took to boot with exception of first welcome screen where i attempted
to turn off windows built in firewall but could not as much as i tried ,
it simply would not let me. I rebooted again ran Perfect Disk defrag which
took over an hour and a half , disk was 59% fragmented. rebooted again .
Still could not get XP firewall to turn off. So I disabled Zone Alarm,
rebooted went back to control panel to security center and then was able
to turn off XP firewall. Rebooted. Everything was just as fast if not
faster. Surf the web (on yes did plug back in modem with no issues) to see
if i could, no problem getting anywhere, no pop ups that others talk about
so I don't understand that issue, but it is fine with me. Tried all the
programs i could think of, all so far seem to be working just fine.
Outlook can send and receive. Did have one conflict with "chikka" a text
to mobile piece of software, just had to uninstall and download again now
that is working just fine.

So even though this is only my first day of up and running with what I am
very pleased was a good and easy install, I realize I may run into some
issues later with some programs i have not used yet, but feel that
overall, if one would read all he/she can about what Microsoft and the
MVP's are saying on here it is possible even for a novice like me to do
this update with very little problems. Knowledge is a very powerful tool,
if only believed. I think "common sense" and patience goes a long way when
you are a novice like me to ensure you have gathered all the facts you can
about this update and then make the decision for yourself whether it is
worth (some would say) all the problems that some are having.

As for me I am one satisfied Microsoft Customer, but always have been.
Sure there are several other operating systems out there supposedly
without all the bugs and flaws of Microsoft. But I also know that when you
go to buy third party software that go with these OS's you are very
limited in what you can do. Also I think that Microsoft had gone out to
all third party vendors and they knew they would probably have to have
their own technicians to probably patch any holes in their own software
before Microsoft released the SP2, but I don't think one should hold
Microsoft accountable if some of these vendors did not do such. Also one
should when updating any drivers for their machine go to the original
manufactory , not just use the Microsoft updater to find drivers there.
The best source is the maker of your particular driver instead.

Thanks everyone for letting me rant.
Hope this helps even one person who feels this update is just not worth
the trouble. I find it not any trouble at all.

I also had no trouble with the upgrade on this and two other computers using
the M$-supplied CD. I also received mine in about five days and everything
works with no issues. I did as you by running a defrag (Norton SD),
Registry 1st Aid, Windoc, Cleanmgr, etc. to prep the system, and there were
no issues other than XP's refusal to show ICO files as thumbnails like it
should. After loading SP2 the icons displayed as they should. There was
one minor snag when the firewall wanted to block one of M$'s own programs,
Connection Manager (part of Activesync for the Pocket PC), but listing it as
an exception cleared up the issue.

Hardly a snag, and expected after reading Symantec's FAQ on SP2, NAV was
listed as the virus program but XP could not determine its status. Symantec
says this is because of NAV's anti-tampering features. No problem, and I
just set it as "not monitored."

So based on my experiences I can recommend this upgrade. On three quite
different computers (one a high-end P4 2.8C HT with 2gb RAM and a 10k SATA
drive, an older BX440 mobo with P3-1000, and a P4 1.6 notebook) it installed
without one hitch, except for the one already mentioned. I think M$ did it
right this time.

 

[Gene Murphy]

Richard...not sure I am ready for even 101 but I appreciate the
feedback...at my age I take all compliments...they don't come as often as
they use to!
Respectfully
The "Murf"

 

[Bill]

I can give you one piece of advice in addition to all the things you said
you've done in preparation for installing SP2 these things worked for
me.......first use spybot search & destroy or another spyware cleaning
program, make sure it is up to date and scan with it, do a full system virus
scan and then open msconfig, on the general tab, select selective startup
and UNCHECK the option to load startup items. Click apply then ok, reboot
and run the install then. HTH

--

 

[Rock]

I have a problem installing XP2. First I did a defrag, set security to
default, dics cleanup, clean temp internet files, empty recycle bin, system
file check, restart, turn off antivirus, choose protect with ICF, and cleared
the prefetch files and still after I installed XP2 3 times, it was not right.
I uninstalled it 3 times, I am just wondering maybe it will not install
right. I do a re-start after install, everything seems fine until I see the
desktop. All my icons and Task Bar is gone. I downloaded Kelly fixes, but I
need to know if I should install them before XP2 install or after since that
is my problem after install. The only thing I did not do is misconfig. I have
the disc I tried that, Windows Update did not work, so I downloaded the IT
version from the website still the same problem. SP2 was on my computer only
if I go to Safe Mode it is there. Can anyone can help me. I never had an
Update that was so much trouple.

:

Apply Kelly's fixes after the problem occurs, not before.

See this link for installation suggestions:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm