Windows 2000 Professional SP4

[Guest]

I have put off downloading and installing sp4 for a long time. I tried to
download and install sp4 in the past and my computer crashed. I lost
everything. Microsoft techs told me at the time that Win2kpro sp4 was
"unstable". They suggested to stick to sp3 and continue to update it. This
was over a year ago. Is sp4 now safe to download and install? It keeps
showing up on my critical updates.

Do I need to make new repair disks first? Are startup disks and repair
disks the same thing? What is the best way to make new startup or repair
disks?

lou b

 

[DL]

I updated a number of sys some time ago to sp4 and never had a problem. The
MS tech advice sounds like a 'bad hair day'
As with any major update allways wise to have backups, and perhaps ensure
any drivers are updated. From manu. web site only NOT win update.
See Help for repair/start up disks

 

[Rick Chauvin]

Also I'd suggest downloading SP4 separately in full and then install it that
way instead of doing it online,

 

[Ghostrider]

I have put off downloading and installing sp4 for a long time. I tried to
download and install sp4 in the past and my computer crashed. I lost
everything. Microsoft techs told me at the time that Win2kpro sp4 was
"unstable". They suggested to stick to sp3 and continue to update it. This
was over a year ago. Is sp4 now safe to download and install? It keeps
showing up on my critical updates.

Do I need to make new repair disks first? Are startup disks and repair
disks the same thing? What is the best way to make new startup or repair
disks?

lou b

For this particular situation, it becomes important to isolate
the cause for the incompatibility between the system and SP4. It
might be due to a specific piece of hardware or hardware driver
that was marginal with Windows 2000 in the first place, but was
functional with SP3 and earlier. If one wants to keep Windows
2000 functioning, the necessity to install SP4 (and also for
subsequent patches) surfaces.

One might want to do some investigating by re-installing Windows
2000 from scratch and then also loading all of the updated drivers
for the system and its peripherals. Create a baseline ghost or image
file. Load SP4 and see what happens.

 

[George Hester]

In line

I have put off downloading and installing sp4 for a long time. I tried to
download and install sp4 in the past and my computer crashed. I lost
everything.

If you lost everything your system would have needed to be re-installed and in that case you could have gone straight to SP4. If you didn't install SP4 right off, the "thing" that made it hang the first time likely is not true in the new version.

Microsoft techs told me at the time that Win2kpro sp4 was
"unstable". They suggested to stick to sp3 and continue to update it.

If SP4 was unstable then, it still is. Service Packs are usually not "updated."

This
was over a year ago. Is sp4 now safe to download and install? It keeps
showing up on my critical updates.

It will keep showing as available as long as the location in the registry showing it was installed is not there.

Do I need to make new repair disks first? Are startup disks and repair
disks the same thing? What is the best way to make new startup or repair
disks?

The utilility of repair disks is questionable. If you add programs to your installation the repair disk is sort of worthless. A startup disk and repair disk are two different animals. One repairs the other starts up. A start up disk will ony start the operating system if it can start on it's own really. There may be issues with the boot files and in that case the startup disk my help. But they are usually worthless due to NTFS format which is what most Windows 2000 users have their file system at.