SP2 update failure

[Rowland Costin]

Hi all

I have a bit of a problem. All of our PC's are Win XP Pro with SP2 and up
to date with all security patches. However, on one of them we had a bit of
a problem with the registry and the machine wouldn't boot properly. It kept
cycling in a reboot cycle, ie login and it rebooted, even under safe mode.

The set up softwear and data on the machine is important, so rather than a
install from scratch, I tried a Windows repair which didn't work, so then I
did a full install into the existing area, using the Win XP Pro original
disk it came with. This worked ok, but the PC won't install SP1 or SP2. It
gets a good way through and then says, Access Denied. with a small ok
button. It leaves behind a folder on the C drive after rolling back and this
user doesn't seem to have rights to this folder. The user has admin rights
to the machine, so I don't see why. I even added the everyone group to the C
drive and gave it full control and ensured the rights were reset on all
files.

Anyway, it still doesn't work, even when logged in as Administrator, even if
the password is changed to blank. So I used a different Win XP SP1 install
disk with the PC's original license number and upgraded this and it worked
ok But SP2 has the same problem.

Now I know that if I user an Win XP Pro SP2 install disk, it will also get
around the problem, but what happens when SP3 comes out? I really need to
discover what the underlying problem is and fix it. Anyone ever seen this
before? Any ideas?

BTW, the auto updates now work for the security patches, but I really need
to put SP2 on this machine. What I want to do is fix the problem and proove
it by installing SP2 sucessfully. The error message is a very small message
saying Access Denied and a small ok button. Click ok and the update rolls
back.

Hope somone can help.

Regards
Rowland Costin

 

[WTC]

Hi all

I have a bit of a problem. All of our PC's are Win XP Pro with SP2 and up
to date with all security patches.

[ ]

The set up softwear and data on the machine is important, so rather than a
install from scratch, I tried a Windows repair which didn't work, so then
I
did a full install into the existing area, using the Win XP Pro original
disk it came with. This worked ok, but the PC won't install SP1 or SP2.
It
gets a good way through and then says, Access Denied. with a small ok
button.

You receive an "Access is denied" error message when you try to install
Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=873148

Or reset your registry back to the default permissions which is a lot easier
and quicker.
http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissions-to.html

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Rowland

Try Start, Help and Support, Keep your computer up-to-date with
Windows Update.

There is an option to look a History of Updates installed there.
You can also opt for a Custom install. Try downloading and installing
and if it fails look in the Event Viewer logs for Error Reports.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Administrative
Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the
error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427&sd=tech

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using
copy and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no
further information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and
double click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which
appears is a button resembling two pages. Double click the
button and close Event Viewer. Now start your message (email)
and do a paste into the body of the message. This will paste the
info from the Event Viewer Error Report complete with links
into the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting
from Event Viewer.

To use Windows Update you need to be logged on with
Administrator rights.

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Buddy b]

I have a bit of a problem. All of our PC's are Win XP Pro with SP2 and up
to date with all security patches. However, on one of them we had a bit of
a problem with the registry and the machine wouldn't boot properly. It kept
cycling in a reboot cycle, ie login and it rebooted, even under safe mode.

No solution to your problem but I had the exact same problem with a Dell L800 R.
Took off SP2 and it worked fine.
Regards
Buddy b