XPSP2

[Fred]

Has anyone installed Sp2 and had little or no problems ?
Would you experts advise to download from Windows update
or to wait for the installation cd to arrive ? Out pc is
running great, we use Zone Alarm, Ad-Aware and Spy-Bot. Is
Sp2 necessary ? Thanks for your time and expertise.....

 

[Charlie]

Has anyone installed Sp2 and had little or no problems ?
Would you experts advise to download from Windows update
or to wait for the installation cd to arrive ? Out pc is
running great, we use Zone Alarm, Ad-Aware and Spy-Bot. Is
Sp2 necessary ? Thanks for your time and expertise.....

I'm no expert but I am a very experienced user. I run a small network
and like you all is going well, I use ZoneAlarm, AVG, AdAware & SpyBot.
Al this behind a firewalled router. I have a happy & stable network and
won't be installing SP2 soon.

For info on SP2 see:
http://isc.sans.org/xpsp2.php
http://www.michna.com/kb/WxSP2.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130&product=windowsxpsp2

Good luck!

Charlie.

 

[ron]

I tried three times to install sp2, and it HOSED UP my
computer. The first two times, I had to use the xp disc
to repair my installation.. after the second time, and
sp2 hosed up my computer, I did a fresh install, and
again... My computer locked up at the Logo Screen, no
matter what I did, it wouldn't get past it... what's
more, It said "Windows XP", instead of "Windows XP
Professional".. I could tell by the look that something
was wrong.

I am using AdAware SE, Pop Up Blocker, and My XP firewall
is on... with all of my other security updates. I am
telling people NOT to install it.

 

[Ted Zieglar aka Rocky]

Here is the truth about SP 2:

If you are a home user who is conscientous about maintaining your computer;
if you have spent some time learning how to use your computer correctly; if
you are careful about protecting yourself against viruses and other assorted
malware; and if you have read the information on Microsoft's web site about
SP 2 and prepared accordingly, you have nothing to fear from installing SP
2 - you can count on a stress free experience. It doesn't take any kind of
genius to reach this state of bliss and you don't have to be a geek, heaven
forbid. All you need is a sense of ownership and reading skills.

If, on the other hand, you are lacking in the above, you will run into
serious problems sooner or later, whether from SP 2 or something else.
Service packs are like judgement day for those with misconfigured,
inadequately protected and insufficiently prepared systems.

If you think that you might belong in the second category - and I was a
card-carrying member at one time - then don't install SP 2 unless and until
you have a complete backup of your system to which you can return if things
go kablooey.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"It said "Windows XP", instead of "Windows XP Professional".. I could
tell by the look that something was wrong."
Actually, if anything, that suggests SP-2 installation went OK.
To simplify code in the 4 versions of Windows XP, Microsoft
standardized that page.

Did you verify all hardware and software is compatible with Windows
XP?
At least anything unusual or old?

Follow the Service Pack Installation Checklist:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

 

[Brett]

Hi Ted,

I am in your first category. I have a small 802.11b home
network (2 PCs), running eTrust Firewall, eTrust AV,
Spybot, AdAwareSE, Spywareblaster, and SpySweeper. I
have a D-Link router, a D-Link USB adapter on the
desktop, and built-in WLAN on the laptop. Been running
smoothly this way for over a year. But, like you
describe, I thought it was time to install SP2 and wasn't
too worried. I installed all my PC and software makers'
patches for pre-SP2, then performed the update.

As soon as the install was over, I'd lost all my network
and Internet connection. After literally hours
repeatedly configging (and resetting, and reconfigging)
my router, removing & reinstalling Windows network
connections, and talking with D-Link support, the tech
finally got a 'supervisor' who told me that it's an SP2
issue, and my equipment won't work with SP2 installed
until Microsoft puts out a fix.

Left with no choice, I rolled back to pre-SP2. But my
connection to network/Internet was still gone. Took
another couple hours with tech support to get everything
back up and running.

But now, as I've described in another post, the operation
and performance of both PCs are seriously degraded. It
is a marked difference from before, and I'm completely at
a loss to understand it.

My point is, I felt about as safe as I could, and
something still went terribly wrong with SP2. And now,
of course, all the tech-support departments blame each
others' products, and I'm left with two crippled PCs and
no support whatsoever.

I'm sure others are able to install without difficulty,
but clearly many people are having huge problems. Just
wanted to add my $0.02 to the mix.

Now, back to my troubleshooting......

 

[Testy]

The real truth is NO ONE can guarantee 100% that SP2 will work on any given
system.
And No one can guarantee the SP2 will totally screw up any given system.
It is pretty much a crap shoot whether or not it will work satisfactorily.
Many here want to blame users when things go wrong, sometimes that is true
but it is not a given.

Testy

 

[Ted Zieglar aka Rocky]

You did not indicate if you backed up before installing SP 2, as Microsoft
recommends. You could have restored your system partition from backup and
been back in action within minutes. You sound like someone who doesn't need
to install SP 2 right away, so you can probably afford to wait until
Microsoft and D-Link finish blaming each other and offer up a fix.

I'm a big fan of Norton Ghost, so I'll be imaging my system partition before
installing SP 2. But I'm not going to install SP 2 until October or
November. Until then, I'll be reading about other people's experiences to
help me prepare.

I don't know if it's true that "many people are having huge problems."
People who had no problems or only minor problems have little incentive to
post to a newsgroup.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Ted Zieglar aka Rocky]

There are no guarantees in computing, as there are none in life, and I
didn't make any guarantees. I said/wrote that "you can count on a stress
free experience" because, even if something does go wrong, you can restore
your backup and be back at work in minutes.

As for blaming users when things you wrong, I would say that if you analyze
the reasons for SP 2 failing on any given computer, there are many more
reasons attributable to users than are attributable to Microsoft and other
third parties.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Carl G]

My 2 cents
I orderd sp2 from microsoft on cd , was shocked when i got it in a week.
Installed over sp1 on 2 XP PRO systems and have had no problems as of yet.
Been 4 days now.
Everything running smoth.
My system is
DFI Lanparty 865PE
Intel 2.4 CPU
1 gig ram
128 mgb video card (ATI 9200 Radeon)
4 Port usb 2.0 card
dialup modem
CDRW
DVDRW
Flopy.

Hope all keeps going well.

 

[Robert Hahn]

A few days ago I downloaded SP2 for XP Home Ed. from MS Update via modem.
Within the nearly 5 hr. download time I was disconnected 2 times. Simply
re-connected and the downloads started back up where they left off. One
would think this would be a certain recipe for a screwed-up installation but
I had absolutely no problem with the installation or anything else since.
All installed programs worked just as with SP1. Since my computer is less
than 6 mo. old, I didn't check for any updated driver files. I did back-up
any important files and did a system restore before the installation. Also
disabled my AVG and closed anything running in the background. I have always
kept a "clean house" with my computers. So SP2 can be installed with no
problems and I would guess most of the time, it is. You usually don't hear
from someone who has no complaints. So my advice is to use caution, common
sense and follow the instructions. Just my opinion.

 

[RoseW]

Re: Has anyone installed Sp2 and had little or no problems ?
Sp2 in place for two weeks now and no problems.
I downloaded the large Installation file 250mg from the alternate IT site,
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5aTARGET=resourcewindow saved to disk, burned to cd as a back up copy.The only thing left running was the D-Link router and Satellite networkconnection and I left the printer,scanner etc. usb hooked up otherwise Ifollowed the steps outlined inhttp://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htmThe preparation before installing was the time consuming features, bootupand chkdsk and defragging, backing up and optimizing registry, backing upfiles, burning to cd, removing stored files to second hard drive (just incase)Norton 2002 antivirus, Zone Alarm Plus 4.5 and the various spyware(blaster,spybot,pest patrol) in place.Sp2 did not recognize who the antivirus and firewall were so that was amanual configuration to establish I'd look after my own. They are workingfine. There is a recommend to update to Zone Alarm Pro 5. since the Plusversion isn't going to be continued and that is a free opportunity forregistered Plus users at the moment.I have not been on automatic update and the security console configurationwasn't satisfied with that choice. The icon would not leave the system trayuntil I had chosen 'Notify me and I'll deal with' or to that effect.I tested the Microsoft update site to see if I could still connect manuallyand that was successful.There is a notification http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=836985When you try to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to update the MicrosoftWindows operating system from the Windows Update Web site, you may receivean error messageError 0x80072F78 You receive the error message while the following site isloading: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.comIt is suggested that it is firewall and antivirus configuration otherwise aworkaround is to add the Microsoft Web Update sites to the trusted list a.. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer. b.. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. c.. Click the Security tab. d.. Click the Trusted sites icon, and then click Sites. e.. Click to clear the Require server verification (https for all sitesin this zone check box. f.. Add the following Web sites: http://Windowsupdate.microsoft.com http://V4.Windowsupdate.microsoft.com http://Download.Windowsupdate.com https://v4.Windowsupdate.microsoft.com Note This entry uses the https prefix. g.. Click OK two times, and then visit the Windows Update Web site todetermine whether the issue is resolved. Rose

 

[Little Neddie]

Has anyone installed Sp2 and had little or no problems ?
Would you experts advise to download from Windows update
or to wait for the installation cd to arrive ? Out pc is
running great, we use Zone Alarm, Ad-Aware and Spy-Bot. Is
Sp2 necessary ?

I downloaded SP2 a couple of weeks ago via a 56k dial-up connection. The
d/l was interrupted twice, but picked up where it left off and so far
everything seems to be fine, except for a puzzling but trivial change to the
shutdown sequenceplus the fact that AFAICS the new Security Center might
mislead some users by reporting 'AV is up to date' when it ain't necessarily
so, but that's another story.

The resumed downloads did seem to screw up the d/l progress counter
somewhat - it was showing just 68% complete when installation began - but
nothing seems to have suffered.

I'm running a system which passed its sell-by date some time ago (500MHz
PIII with 512MB RAM) and I use AVG anti-virus, Zone Alarm, Ad-Aware and
Spy-Bot S&D - all kept up to date.

Reason for posting - to provide a little counterbalance to all the 'SP2 is
crap' posts.

Someone said, "Satisfied users don't post here." This one just did.

 

[Unknown]

First problem just now found after installing SP2. . It seems IE no longer has
a history file for visited URL's.

 

[Unknown]

Disregard above--sadly mistaken---works fine.

First problem just now found after installing SP2. . It seems IE no longer
has a history file for visited URL's.

 

[Rob]

Re: Has anyone installed Sp2 and had little or no problems ?
Sp2 in place for two weeks now and no problems.
I downloaded the large Installation file 250mg from the alternate IT site,
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5aTARGET=resourcewindow saved to disk, burned to cd as a back up copy.The only thing left running was the D-Link router and Satellite networkconnection and I left the printer,scanner etc. usb hooked up otherwise Ifollowed the steps outlined inhttp://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htmThe preparation before installing was the time consuming features, bootupand chkdsk and defragging, backing up and optimizing registry, backing upfiles, burning to cd, removing stored files to second hard drive (just incase)Norton 2002 antivirus, Zone Alarm Plus 4.5 and the various spyware(blaster,spybot,pest patrol) in place.Sp2 did not recognize who the antivirus and firewall were so that was amanual configuration to establish I'd look after my own. They are workingfine. There is a recommend to update to Zone Alarm Pro 5. since the Plusversion isn't going to be continued and that is a free opportunit

y forregistered Plus users at the moment.I have not been on automatic update and the security console configurationwasn't satisfied with that choice. The icon would not leave the system trayuntil I had chosen 'Notify me and I'll deal with' or to that effect.I tested the Microsoft update site to see if I could still connect manuallyand that was successful.There is a notification http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=836985When you try to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to update the MicrosoftWindows operating system from the Windows Update Web site, you may receivean error messageError 0x80072F78 You receive the error message while the following site isloading: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.comIt is suggested that it is firewall and antivirus configuration otherwise aworkaround is to add the Microsoft Web Update sites to the trusted list a.. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer. b.. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. c.. Click the Security tab. d.. Click the Trusted si
tes icon, and then click Sites. e.. Click to clear the Require server verification (https for all sitesin this zone check box. f.. Add the following Web sites: http://Windowsupdate.microsoft.com http://V4.Windowsupdate.microsoft.com http://Download.Windowsupdate.com https://v4.Windowsupdate.microsoft.com Note This entry uses the https prefix. g.. Click OK two times, and then visit the Windows Update Web site todetermine whether the issue is resolved. Rose

(snip)

Here's one! Downloaded the 250Mb file and installed it last weekend.
All seemed well. Ghosted the drive and changed the Mobo out on
Tues.(Intel to AMD). Had to do a repair install. My CD is WinXP Home
with SP1. Things got totally screwed up. Ghosted the drive back and
slip-streamed the SP2 file with the XP-SP1 CD into one disk. Did
another repair install and things are going good again. Didn't even
have to reactivate with MS. It's been kid tested 2 days now with no
problems.