Is there any way to uninstall SP2 or SP3

L

lovelt19

Both SP2 and SP3 were installed on my computer on the same day and now I
can't defrag. I tried to uninstall SP3 and found that it will not uninstall.
I tried looking up directions to uninstall service packs on the microsoft
website, but found it both confusing and not helpful. Is this something that
is impossible to do?
 
R

Rich Barry

Go to C:\Windows\$NTservicepackUninstall folder. Open the spuninst
folder and double click on spuninst.exe file. I doubt SP's messed with your
defrag unless your hard drive is at
maximum capacity.
 
L

lovelt19

I also installed Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003, could
that be what is causing the problem with the defrag?
 
J

JS

How much free disk space do you have.
If its less than about 20% then that could be the problem.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

When did you install SP2 and SP3?

Were you running WinXP or WinXP SP1 before?
 
H

HeyBub

lovelt19 said:
Both SP2 and SP3 were installed on my computer on the same day and
now I can't defrag. I tried to uninstall SP3 and found that it will
not uninstall. I tried looking up directions to uninstall service
packs on the microsoft website, but found it both confusing and not
helpful. Is this something that is impossible to do?
Click to expand...

Assuming the disk is formatted NTFS, you can forget about de-fragging. There
is no detectable efficiency difference between a moderately fragmented NTFS
volume and a pristine one.

Alternatively, you can try any of a number of good, free, alternative
de-fraggers.
 
J

Jose

Both SP2 and SP3 were installed on my computer on the same day and now I
can't defrag. I tried to uninstall SP3 and found that it will not uninstall.
I tried looking up directions to uninstall service packs on the microsoft
website, but found it both confusing and not helpful. Is this something that
is impossible to do?
Click to expand...

What does "can't defrag" mean

What is "the problem" with defrag?

Did defrag work before you installed these SPs?
 
L

lovelt19

I tried to figure out if I had XP or xp sp1, but I'm not sure. The lady who
had this computer spent a lot of time installing and uninstalling programs
and I'm not sure of what she did. I have the following listed in my
add/remove programs:

Microsoft Net frame work 1.1, but there is no file size or installation date.
Framework 2.0 service pack 2, shows a file size and has several frameworks
installed on 5/31/2009.
Framework 3.0 SP2 has a file size and several files installed on 5/31/2009
which are listed as WPF, WCS, XPS...
Framework 3.5 SP has a file size, but no installation date.

I have 27.20GB free space (47%)
 
L

lovelt19

I will do a disk clean up and then at times I do a defragment in order to
compress and free up some space. I was told that if my computer is running
slow, I could try to defrag in order to free up some space.
 
L

lovelt19

What does "formatted NTFS" mean?
and I'm totally lost at this explanation: "There is no detectable efficiency
difference between a moderately fragmented NTFS volume and a pristine one".
Can you please explain?
 
H

HeyBub

lovelt19 said:
What does "formatted NTFS" mean?
and I'm totally lost at this explanation: "There is no detectable
efficiency difference between a moderately fragmented NTFS volume and
a pristine one". Can you please explain?
Click to expand...

Sure.

NTFS New Technology File System.

It first came into use (I think) with Windows NT in 1993.

Open My Computer, right-click on your drive, pick "Properties" Under the
"General Tab" you'll see an entry called "File System." The other
possibilities are FAT16 (rare) and FAT32. These stand for File Allocation
Table and File Allocation Table 32-bit. The latter has a greater ability to
handle larger drives, but even it has a practical limit.

If you do not have an NTFS system, there are means to convert other
renditions TO NTFS.

NTFS is superior to FAT32 in many respects in addition to the fragmentation
issue. It can handle drive capacities up to 256 terabytes, can compress
files to save space, has built-in optional encryption and password
protection, has self-healing capability, and more. It's swell.

Regarding the fragmentation issue, NTFS's predecessors were quite stupid. In
the directory there was a file name and a list of all the segments making up
the file, so there was all this thrashing as the file system gathered the
pieces as needed. In NTFS, the files on the disk are stored as a relational
database and the file system pre-fetches the bits it needs. Very much
faster.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Is this a used computer that did not have SP2 or SP3 installed when you
bought it?
 
L

lovelt19

My friend bought this computer new and messed around installing and
uninstalling programs all the time. She ended up giving me this computer, so
I don't know what it had to start with. I have a feeling that she may have
uninstalled something and then tried to reinstall the wrong stuff.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Assuming that you have the CDs that came with the computer-in-question or
that there's a hidden Recovery partition, proceed as follows for your own
online safety:

Backup any of YOUR personal data, then do a format & clean install of
Windows. Please note that a Repair Install (AKA in-place upgrade) will NOT
fix this!

cf. http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps

After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so
take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting
the machine to the internet or a network and before using a USB key that
isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted:

5 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/advanced/xppc.mspx

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched
(after a clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121c

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a
clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b

Also see:

Steps To Help Prevent Spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/spyware/prevent.mspx

Rogue Security Software - Microsoft Security:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/rogue.mspx
 
J

Jim

lovelt19 said:
I will do a disk clean up and then at times I do a defragment in order to
compress and free up some space. I was told that if my computer is running
slow, I could try to defrag in order to free up some space.
Click to expand...
Defrag will not free up disk space.

What the OP found installed are .net framework items which have nothing to
do with XP SP2 or XP SP3.

Based on other replies by the OP, it seems to me that the best course of
action is to perform a clean install of XP. This is a step that the OP may
not feel comfortable doing, and, if so, then the OP should seek professional
help.

Jim
 
L

lovelt19

Thank you PA Bear. I do have all the CD's, but I've been worried about doing
this only because my friend installed a Dynex Data/Fax/Voice motem and she
lost the installation disc to it.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Nevertheless, the only way to give you a secure computer is to do a clean
install. Hope you didn't pay very much for the box kos you may end up
paying more to get it working again.
 

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