Repair or reinstall clean problem

[chichuck]

My xp machine was in the middle of an upgrade (I don't know what it was
updating) when my 8 year old turned it off. I tried to reboot & couldin't.
So I got out the original disks from the computer vendor and tried a repair.
After 2 tries I succeeded. I got a verision with Service Pack 1. When I
boot up, it prompts me to update to Service Pack 2. When I try to do this,
it takes me to a screen that has Service pack 3 updates. I read there that I
must have SP 1a or SP2 installed to make this update.

I went and tried to download the update anyway, and was taken to a site
where my computer was checked for needed updates. That site tries to make
three updates (sorry, I don't know what the updates are) and fails. I can't
figure out how to find SP2.

I want to format the c: drive and start again. I expect that I will again
get windows XP with SP1. From there, will I be able to successfully update
enough so I can then updat to Service Pack 3? Or do I need to somehow find
SP2 and update to that first?

(This is a second computer, so its not an urgent problem/solution. But as
it stands, my antivirus software is also not working correctly and it cannot
update either. I think this problem is a result of something in the
out-of-date windows xp I now have. )

I hope someone out there can help me. Thanks in advance for any advice you
can offer.

chichuck

 

[Anna]

My xp machine was in the middle of an upgrade (I don't know what it was
updating) when my 8 year old turned it off. I tried to reboot &
couldin't.
So I got out the original disks from the computer vendor and tried a
repair.
After 2 tries I succeeded. I got a verision with Service Pack 1. When I
boot up, it prompts me to update to Service Pack 2. When I try to do
this,
it takes me to a screen that has Service pack 3 updates. I read there
that I
must have SP 1a or SP2 installed to make this update.

I went and tried to download the update anyway, and was taken to a site
where my computer was checked for needed updates. That site tries to make
three updates (sorry, I don't know what the updates are) and fails. I
can't
figure out how to find SP2.

I want to format the c: drive and start again. I expect that I will again
get windows XP with SP1. From there, will I be able to successfully
update
enough so I can then updat to Service Pack 3? Or do I need to somehow
find
SP2 and update to that first?

(This is a second computer, so its not an urgent problem/solution. But
as
it stands, my antivirus software is also not working correctly and it
cannot
update either. I think this problem is a result of something in the
out-of-date windows xp I now have. )

I hope someone out there can help me. Thanks in advance for any advice
you
can offer.

chichuck

chichuck:
It's really hard to give you any definitive advice since it appears you
might have one or more problems that have nothing to do with an updated
Service Pack.

With that in mind...

Forget about a direct update to SP3. See if you can download & install SP2
from...
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

While I have an uneasy feeling *that* is not the answer to your problem(s),
it's worth a try. Try to resolve the problem with your A-V program. Perhaps
a uninstall and then reinstall of whatever program is involved will resolve
the problem. In any event do check the system for malware.

If all goes well with the SP2 install, i.e., the system boots without
incident and properly functions, then download/install SP3.

Alternatively, if you think the above is just a waste of time, then
undertake a fresh-install of the OS and then follow through on the SP2 & SP3
updates.
Anna

 

[Daave]

Forget about a direct update to SP3. See if you can download & install
SP2

This one has been stumping me, Anna.

I am aware that Microsoft officially states that one's SP level needs to
be either SP1a or SP2 in order to apply SP3. But I'm pretty sure a very
large number of people have been successful upgrading from SP1 (because
the difference between SP1 and SP1a is negligible). Can you confirm that
others have successfully upgraded from SP1 to SP3? It's hard for me to
believe that the presence of the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine would
have that much of an effect!

 

[Daave]

My xp machine was in the middle of an upgrade (I don't know what it
was
updating) when my 8 year old turned it off. I tried to reboot &
couldin't.
So I got out the original disks from the computer vendor and tried a
repair.
After 2 tries I succeeded. I got a verision with Service Pack 1.
When I
boot up, it prompts me to update to Service Pack 2. When I try to do
this,
it takes me to a screen that has Service pack 3 updates. I read there
that I
must have SP 1a or SP2 installed to make this update.

I went and tried to download the update anyway, and was taken to a
site
where my computer was checked for needed updates. That site tries to
make
three updates (sorry, I don't know what the updates are) and fails. I
can't
figure out how to find SP2.

I want to format the c: drive and start again. I expect that I will
again
get windows XP with SP1. From there, will I be able to successfully
update
enough so I can then updat to Service Pack 3? Or do I need to somehow
find
SP2 and update to that first?

(This is a second computer, so its not an urgent problem/solution.
But as
it stands, my antivirus software is also not working correctly and it
cannot
update either. I think this problem is a result of something in the
out-of-date windows xp I now have. )

I hope someone out there can help me. Thanks in advance for any
advice you
can offer.

Formatting C: and starting over again (also know as a Clean Install) is
always an option if all else fails, but I would hold off on that for
now. What antivirus software do you use? What version is it? How is not
working correctly?

Also, if you are only at Service Pack level 1, it is imperative you turn
on the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF)! For more info:

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/ic_firewall.htm

The exception is if you have already downloaded the SP2 installation
file mentioned in Anna's post. If your PC is physically disconnected
from the Internet, there is no need to turn on ICF as long as you
install SP2; by default, SP2 has the Windows Firewall (ICF's
replacement) enabled.

 

[Anna]

This one has been stumping me, Anna.

I am aware that Microsoft officially states that one's SP level needs to
be either SP1a or SP2 in order to apply SP3. But I'm pretty sure a very
large number of people have been successful upgrading from SP1 (because
the difference between SP1 and SP1a is negligible). Can you confirm that
others have successfully upgraded from SP1 to SP3? It's hard for me to
believe that the presence of the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine would have
that much of an effect!

Daave:
Again, as I usually preface many of my comments or opinions, the following
is based upon the experiences I've had with a fair number of systems
involving the issue at hand. With that as the caveat...

Yes, it is true that in the majority of cases a substantial number of users
will experience no problems directly upgrading to SP3 from either SP1 or
SP1a. (I'm aware of MS's admonition (more likely an inference) that the
upgrade should be from SP1a rather than SP1, but frankly we've found by &
large no problem relative to whether the upgrade is undertaken from either
SP1 or SP1a. As you have pointed out we have not found the presence of the
Java VM in SP1 any particular bar to upgrading SP1 directly to SP3. At least
we couldn't detect any problems affecting that issue. But see the following
comments...

Naturally, as always, we assume that the system is properly functioning in
all respects before directly upgrading to SP3 from either SP1 or SP1a.

However, in a number of cases (more than we feel we should have encountered)
problems of various sorts affected the system following such a direct
upgrade to SP3 from SP1 or SP1a. We still haven't determined why this is so
but it occurred with sufficient frequency that we felt it was prudent to
advise the average user to *first* upgrade to SP2, and assuming the
resulting system performed without any problems, then subsequently upgrade
to SP3. Using that technique in nearly every case (there were some rare
exceptions) the XP-SP3 OS subsequently performed without problems that could
be traced to the upgrade.

BTW, relative to the problems we encountered based on a direct upgrade from
SP1 or SP1a it didn't seem to matter whether the user employed a
slipstreamed XP-SP3 installation CD and performed the "Upgrade"
(reinstallation) of the OS through accessing the slipstreamed disk at the
Desktop, or simply used the SP3 downloaded file or SP3 CD to perform the
upgrade.

So all-in-all we just feel comfortable in advising the average user when
working with a SP1 or SP1a system to first install SP2, work with it for a
short period of time to determine no problems have arisen, and then install
SP3. True, it's a bit more work & time-consuming, but not terribly so.
Anna

 

[Daave]

Daave:
Again, as I usually preface many of my comments or opinions, the
following is based upon the experiences I've had with a fair number of
systems involving the issue at hand. With that as the caveat...

Yes, it is true that in the majority of cases a substantial number of
users will experience no problems directly upgrading to SP3 from
either SP1 or SP1a. (I'm aware of MS's admonition (more likely an
inference) that the upgrade should be from SP1a rather than SP1, but
frankly we've found by & large no problem relative to whether the
upgrade is undertaken from either SP1 or SP1a. As you have pointed out
we have not found the presence of the Java VM in SP1 any particular
bar to upgrading SP1 directly to SP3. At least we couldn't detect any
problems affecting that issue. But see the following comments...

Naturally, as always, we assume that the system is properly
functioning in all respects before directly upgrading to SP3 from
either SP1 or SP1a.

However, in a number of cases (more than we feel we should have
encountered) problems of various sorts affected the system following
such a direct upgrade to SP3 from SP1 or SP1a. We still haven't
determined why this is so but it occurred with sufficient frequency
that we felt it was prudent to advise the average user to *first*
upgrade to SP2, and assuming the resulting system performed without
any problems, then subsequently upgrade to SP3. Using that technique
in nearly every case (there were some rare exceptions) the XP-SP3 OS
subsequently performed without problems that could be traced to the
upgrade.

BTW, relative to the problems we encountered based on a direct upgrade
from SP1 or SP1a it didn't seem to matter whether the user employed a
slipstreamed XP-SP3 installation CD and performed the "Upgrade"
(reinstallation) of the OS through accessing the slipstreamed disk at
the Desktop, or simply used the SP3 downloaded file or SP3 CD to
perform the upgrade.

So all-in-all we just feel comfortable in advising the average user
when working with a SP1 or SP1a system to first install SP2, work with
it for a short period of time to determine no problems have arisen,
and then install SP3. True, it's a bit more work & time-consuming, but
not terribly so.
Anna

Thx for the feedback.