need help with SP2

[Guest]

hi. i currently have Windows XP Home Edition SP1 and i noticed that support
for this product will end this october. when i installed SP2 on my computer
via Microsoft's website (using my current IE browser and with no firewall set
to it) i noticed a change in my PC's performance. it became very sluggish and
slow. i was thinking of just purchasing the proper CD/Installer of SP2. would
this be more practical? and with SP2 can i install all updates and
"pre-Vista" updates as well like the Windows Defender and IE7 betas? thank
you.

 

[Rock]

hi. i currently have Windows XP Home Edition SP1 and i noticed that
support
for this product will end this october. when i installed SP2 on my
computer
via Microsoft's website (using my current IE browser and with no firewall
set
to it) i noticed a change in my PC's performance. it became very sluggish
and
slow. i was thinking of just purchasing the proper CD/Installer of SP2.
would
this be more practical? and with SP2 can i install all updates and
"pre-Vista" updates as well like the Windows Defender and IE7 betas? thank
you.

You should never go online without a firewall active. Hopefully the system
didn't get infected. Have you run a thorough scan in safe mode with an up
to date anti-virus program and also scans with a combination of other
anti-spyware/adware programs? Here are some links for dealing with malware.

THE PARASITE FIGHT
Finding, Removing & Protecting Yourself From Scumware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Richard Harper’s Guide to Cleaning Pests
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

PC Hell Spyware and Adware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.spywareinfo.com

If the malware scans don't turn up anything, it is common for there to be an
initial slowdown after SP2 is installed. It can take several days and 3 or
4 reboots for it to speed up. First defrag. The boot prefetch will kick in
after the 3 rd reboot. It takes several days for the prefetch folder to be
rebuilt. And the in built optimization kicks in every 3 days. After that
defrag again. If the system is still slow after some days try some clean
boot troubleshooting to see what may be hanging up on startup. A program
may need to be uninstalled / reinstalled:

How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353