I understood your post. It sounded like you were not successful with
the
SP2 installation. That is why I suggested that you not worry about it
(assuming that SP1 was installed) and simply install SP3.
Did you fix your most recent issue? That is, can you now boot
normally
with SP2? If not, I would consider uninstalling it, especially if you
didn't follow Malke's instructions. When you apply a major Service
Pack
(like SP2 or SP3 -- I guess SP1 in your case was fine), it's
important
to make sure certain programs are not running in the background. So,
once again, if your SP2 install was done incorrectly, I'd just
uninstall
it (via Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel) and then install SP3
(using the links I gave you).
A tip: when installing SP3 (or SP2 for that matter), I recommend
configuring a Clean Boot environment first. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Thanks for the reply.
However, if you reread my previous post I 'was' installing SP2
after
having
installed SP1a. I was not attempting to jump directly to SP3 from
SP1a. My
issue occurs after installing SP2 during the reboot. I verified the
SP1a
version, and after installing SP2, using Safe Mode, the version is
"Version
5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158:Service Pack 2)".
:
message
OK, I found SP1a on the Microsoft site. One would think if you
searched for
SP1 it would find SP1a, but not on the Microsoft site!
So I successfully installed SP1a. Now I install SP2 all the wat
through to
the reboot. The computer reboots, but when it gets to the black
Windows
splash screen it only remains for a couple of seconds. The
computer
then
reboots and brings me to the black and white screen advising
that
Windows
didn't start properly and to pick a start method or start
Windows
normally.
Now, from this point I can start in Safe mode. But how do I
determine
why it
won't boot normally with SP2?
You misunderstood Malke. She said, "Yes, you must have *at least*
[emphasis mine] SP1 installed to apply SP3 so you will have to
apply
SP2
first and then SP3."
That doesn't mean you have to install SP1 in order to install SP2!
Basically, if you have XP Gold (i.e., no Service Packs), in order
to
be
up to date with SP3, you have two choices:
1. Install SP2, *then* install SP3.
or
2. Install SP1, *then* install SP3.
If you have successfully installed SP1, then you may now install
SP3.
(Most people would prefer Method 1, but there's nothing wrong with
Method 2.) To make sure you have SP1, do the following:
Start | Run | (type) winver | OK
What Service Pack is listed? If you're at SP1, you many now
install
SP3.
Here is everything you need to assure a smooth SP3 installation:
http://www.iaps.com/windows-xp-sp3-installation-guidelines.html
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx