SP2 woes...unable to revert to original XP

[Guest]

After failing once with SP2 on my Dell 8100 1.3gHz PC and having to reload
Windows plus reinstall all the programs, I vowed never to try this again.
Then the JPEG security scare forced me to try again. I went to the Dell
website and got the BIOS update. I ran Spybot S&D and Adaware to make sure my
machine was clean and turned off Norton AV, Popupstopper and other media apps
running in the background before I attempted to run SP2, this time with a
disc from MS. Again the same problem, upon reboot I get a dim MS splash
screen and then it freezes. After trying various suggestions from MS website,
I threw in the towel and downloaded the XP start up discs so I could access
the command prompt and run the spuninstall command to rid myself of SP2. It
appeared to run normally, I exited out and rebooted to run in SafeMode. I got
a cascade of statements about loading various drivers until it came to this
statement "multi(0)disc(0)rdisc(0)partition(1)
windows\system32\drivers\agp440.sys" and then it stopped. Nothing further
happened and I had to power down. I have tried all safe mode options and the
above sequence repeated. Trying a different tack, I chose the "start Windows
normally" option and I at least got the bright splash screen for several
seconds and then I got a black screen and a dead machine.
I don't know if this is a corrupted registry problem or something SP2 left
on the machine or ????
I also seem to be having difficulty booting from the XP CD. This machine
came installed with ME and Dell then sent me the XP upgrade disc. I don't
even know if this upgrade disc is bootable.
Fortunately, I backed up my critical info but I really don't want to go thru
the 3 evenings worth of reinstalling all the software again. Does any of the
system info give you folks any clue as to what is going wrong and what I can
do to fix it? Also, do you think I should just go ahead and do a reformat of
the drive and start fresh? If so, does that mean I reinstall ME and then use
the upgrade disc to install XP.

 

[Guest]

you should be able to do a clean install of xp with the upgrade CD. your Dell
ME disk or current windows install should qualify as Qualifying media.

i would suggest to install windows Clean(delete partition, recreate
partition, format clean install with the XP CD), then install the service
pack BEFORE installing any other software.

 

[jeffrey]

Hi,

If it seems you need to do a fresh install again, I suggest you reformat the
hard drive, then use the XP updgrade CD. When it asks for previous version
of windows, pop in your ME cd, let it find what it needs then pop the
upgrade CD back in. While doing this, do not have your computer connected
to the internet. Since you have a Dell, use the driver CD that comes with
it to install the video, chipset, NIC, Modem, and Sound drivers. Once all
that is done, install the SP2. Since the system is still in virgin
condition, you shouldn`t have any problems with the SP2 install. I have
installed SP2 on a Dell Latitude C640, Inspiron X200, Dell Dimension 2400C
computers with no problems. Once the SP2 is installed, then install your AV
and connect to the internet. Do your AV update then windows update.

Jeff