SP3 will not install?

[micky]

My notes seem incomplete, but the basice problem is that SP3 will not
install on a friend's computer. She's been trying off and on for 9
months I think. It gets part way though and stops. I took notes,
but they seem incomplete now. Still I don't think there was a
specific file mentioned in any error message.

It may also be true that her Adobe Reader won't accept upgrades when
offered.

I'm sorry I'm so vague.

Any suggestions,

 

[Tester]

You can download the full version from this link:

<http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=24>

Also read this Microsoft's recommendations:

Before you install SP3, we recommend you do the following:

*

Log on to your computer using an administrator account, make sure
all other users are logged off of the computer, and close all open
programs.

*

Back up your important files to an external location, such as an
external hard disk, DVD or CD, or USB flash drive. For more
information, see "Backing up files and folders" in Help and
Support Center.

*

If you're using a laptop computer, connect it to an AC electrical
outlet and don't unplug or restart the computer during installation.

*

If you have a third-party wireless network adapter, make sure that
the device is supported by Windows XP SP3. For more information,
go to the device manufacturer's website.

*

If your computer is running Windows XP Professional, we recommend
that you create an Automated System Recovery (ASR) set. This can
help repair your system if the installation fails. For more
information, see "To create an Automated System Recovery set using
Backup" in Help and Support Center. (ASR isn't available for
Windows XP Home Edition.)

*

Some antivirus software might prevent SP3 from installing, or
might slow down the installation. You can try temporarily
disabling your antivirus software. If you do so, be sure that
you're aware of the risks involved, and be sure to enable it after
the service pack is installed.

*

Make sure you have enough free disk space to install SP3 (even
though much of that space will be reclaimed after the
installation). If you need to create free disk space, see "Using
Disk Cleanup" in Help and Support Center.

hth

My notes seem incomplete, but the basice problem is that SP3 will not
install on a friend's computer. She's been trying off and on for 9
months I think. It gets part way though and stops. I took notes,
but they seem incomplete now. Still I don't think there was a
specific file mentioned in any error message.

It may also be true that her Adobe Reader won't accept upgrades when
offered.

I'm sorry I'm so vague.

Any suggestions,

--

cHECK THESE LINKS OUT BOY!
HTTP://WWW.MYITTECH.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.MYTAXNEWS.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.HTML-CSS.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.MYTAXHELP.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.MYUKTAXHELP.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.TAXWIKI.ORG.UK
HTTP://WWW.UKTAXSITE.CO.UK
HTTP://WWW.MYUKTAXHELP.COM
HTTP://WWW.UKTAXHELP.COM
HTTP://WWW.UKTAXSITE.COM

 

[Jan Alter]

My notes seem incomplete, but the basice problem is that SP3 will not
install on a friend's computer. She's been trying off and on for 9
months I think. It gets part way though and stops. I took notes,
but they seem incomplete now. Still I don't think there was a
specific file mentioned in any error message.

It may also be true that her Adobe Reader won't accept upgrades when
offered.

I'm sorry I'm so vague.

Any suggestions,

Could be a bad install disk, bad memory, hdd, bad PS, cpu could be
overheating, mb is faulty, CD drive is bad.
Was there an 'error message'?. If so, what was it? How old is the machine?

Further, I'm not sure how Adobe Reader plays into this inquiry when the
operating system hasn't been installed. Did she have it installed before and
Reader was an issue?

Obviously being vague offers a myriad of possiblities.

Suggestions:

Give the specs of the computer
Find out from your friend, or better yet, walk your friend through the
installation. When it stops installing find out if there were any error
messages or if there are any changes to the computer (noting LEDs, sounds of
fans going off, etc) before the install stopped.

My first inclination with an aborted install (now stabbing in the dark), if
the OS had been on the computer before, is bad memory. If there are multiple
chips, and one can be removed to still give the minimum amount of memory for
the system to be installed, is to take out a chip and try the installation
again. Continuing to substitute each chip confirms that it isn't a memory
issue.
Going further, like substituting a PS starts to reach when there is so
little information about the system and what has been happening.

 

[Paul]

My notes seem incomplete, but the basice problem is that SP3 will not
install on a friend's computer. She's been trying off and on for 9
months I think. It gets part way though and stops. I took notes,
but they seem incomplete now. Still I don't think there was a
specific file mentioned in any error message.

It may also be true that her Adobe Reader won't accept upgrades when
offered.

I'm sorry I'm so vague.

Any suggestions,

Is there a C:\Windows\svcpack.log file ?

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...p/thread/a5ec0b9c-530a-4bb4-8784-a688f9757c78

Paul

 

[Jan Alter]

Is there a C:\Windows\svcpack.log file ?

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...p/thread/a5ec0b9c-530a-4bb4-8784-a688f9757c78

Paul

I realize now I misread and presumed that you were trying to install the OS
from scratch with SP3. With Paul's reply it dawned on me that it was simply
the service patch that was being attempted to be installed. .So sorry for
responding to what you really weren't asking.
I've been through this myself with a couple of computers trying to
install SP3 and it not installing, dropping off mid-way. Try doing a google
search for inability to install SP3. Of the several small resetting file
programs I found none of them worked for me.One example is
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377


I found myself doing a complete reinstall of the OS to get SP3 to work.

 

[Peter Foldes]

It will not install and od as you described if SP1 is not installed. You need SP1 to
be installed before installing SP3

--
Peter
Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[micky]

It will not install and od as you described if SP1 is not installed. You need SP1 to
be installed before installing SP3

Sorry. I think it has SP2 already. SP3 shows up every once in a
while with the regular MS dowloads, but it won't complete.

Thanks to everyone. I'll try it again with what I learned here, but
she's out of town for a while, and I'm not there that often when she
is in town, so it will be a while before I can get back to you all.

 

[Ken Springer]

Sorry. I think it has SP2 already. SP3 shows up every once in a
while with the regular MS dowloads, but it won't complete.

Thanks to everyone. I'll try it again with what I learned here, but
she's out of town for a while, and I'm not there that often when she
is in town, so it will be a while before I can get back to you all.

I had a problem getting SP3 to install one time on a Compaq. The
symptoms were different, but from Compaq's site, I found out there was a
patch that needed to be run before SP3 was installed *if* the computer
had an AMD processor. And the MS update process never said a word about it.

I don't think it will solve your problem, but it could be a last ditch
effort.

--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 5.0
Thunderbird 5.0
LibreOffice 3.3.3

 

[micky]

I had a problem getting SP3 to install one time on a Compaq. The
symptoms were different, but from Compaq's site, I found out there was a
patch that needed to be run before SP3 was installed *if* the computer
had an AMD processor. And the MS update process never said a word about it.

I don't think it will solve your problem, but it could be a last ditch
effort.

I think she has a Dell, but I'll have to wait until she returns to be
sure. If so, I will check the Dell site, or whichever maker it is.

Thanks.

 

[micky]

Hi Micky here's where you can download a full stand alone SP 3
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=1260
If it still wont install make sure you have the antivirus turned off or
try installing in safe mode.
yukonron

Thanks. I've emailed all these helpful posts but now whe has a new
problem, NO email, No web!! Verzion isn't working for her. There
was a hardware tech there for 2 hours today, but he couldn't fix it.

Sp when we get past that, I'll use your advice.

 

[micky]

I realize now I misread and presumed that you were trying to install the OS
from scratch with SP3. With Paul's reply it dawned on me that it was simply
the service patch that was being attempted to be installed. .So sorry for
responding to what you really weren't asking.

No problem Jan, I appreciate any help I get, even if it's wrong.

I've been through this myself with a couple of computers trying to
install SP3 and it not installing, dropping off mid-way. Try doing a google
search for inability to install SP3. Of the several small resetting file
programs I found none of them worked for me.One example is
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377

Thanks again. I was there today and she uses a Dell, so I will
include that search term some of the time.

I found myself doing a complete reinstall of the OS to get SP3 to work.

Do you mean installing over what's there now, or deleting everything
and starting from scratch?

Ugh. Also,she probably wont' let me.

Posted and mailed because it's been 10 days.

 

[Ken Springer]

Thanks. I've emailed all these helpful posts but now whe has a new
problem, NO email, No web!! Verzion isn't working for her. There
was a hardware tech there for 2 hours today, but he couldn't fix it.

Sp when we get past that, I'll use your advice.

micky,

How many hours have you and your friend spent trying to get SP3 to
install? Plus, did she pay the hardware tech anything?

Have you considered simply getting her data off the hard drive, and
doing a clean install of XP? I'm assuming she's got reliable antivirus
software installed and it's up to date.

FWIW, when I do a clean install, I always partition the hard drive
(assuming the drive is large enough to make it practical), redirect My
Documents to the new partition, and instruct the computer owner to
never, ever store their documents, photos, etc., to the C:\ drive.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 6.0.2
Thunderbird 6.0.2
LibreOffice 3.3.3

 

[micky]

micky,

How many hours have you and your friend spent trying to get SP3 to
install?

Not much for me. I was only there once when the MS updates finished
dlownloading it and tried to install it. (She told me this had
happened before.) We talked and she gave me lunch of dinner. She
gave me dinner tonight too, and invited me to dinner with other
guests next month.

Plus, did she pay the hardware tech anything?

No. Verizon sent him.

Have you considered simply getting her data off the hard drive, and
doing a clean install of XP?

Thanks, but I don't want to do that. It would take a lot of time.
And she probably wouldn't let me do it. Plus, I don't know the
details of her setup, neither does she, and Verizon hasn't given ujp
on her. The Verizon tech said it was either a setting at Verizon, or
she should reinstall the Verizon software. We did that but she got
the same error, and 836 or 368 or something. She'll call Verizon
again tomorrow.

She's had DSL for 9 years and her Vierizon CD is 9 years old.
SHOULDN'T SHE USE A NEW CD after all this time??? I meant to ask
this in the previous post. Isn't 9 computer years 60 in human
years?

She also thinks her CD is too old. The tech didn't have one, he's
hardware only!!

I'm assuming she's got reliable antivirus
software installed and it's up to date.

I assumed that too, but today I noticed that that she has McAfee scans
scheduled, but no real time AV. I don't know how that happened. She
too thought she had AV running all the time. I'm not at all her
computer setup guy. I think her son does that, but he lives about 6
hours away.

So I was going to dl new definitions and run a full scan, but since I
couldn't get the DSL working, we had dinner, I forgot, and it was 8 PM
and she wanted to go to bed. Now it occurs to me, the definitions
don't have to be new if they are as new as her last contact with the
internet. She lives a half mile from the MVA, and I have to go to
the MVA again tomorrow, so I'll stop by, start the scan and probably
leave. One visit a month is enough.

FWIW, when I do a clean install, I always partition the hard drive
(assuming the drive is large enough to make it practical), redirect My
Documents to the new partition, and instruct the computer owner to
never, ever store their documents, photos, etc., to the C:\ drive.

I'll remember this when I do my next computer, but I'm not spending
that much time on hers. Let her son stay one afternoon longer on his
next trip.

MAYBE THIS YEAR'S DC FROM VERIZON WILL WORK BETTER THAN THE ONE FROM 9
YEARS AGO???

Thanks for the concern.

 

[micky]

How many hours have you and your friend spent trying to get SP3 to
install?

I should make clear that today is the first ime I've spend anytime at
all in more than a month. Last visit prompted this thread, but I
didn't rush over there to work on her computer. I was driving by
after going to the Motor Vehicle Administration. I needed more
paperwork, so I have to go back tomorrow.

Before that, it was about a year ago that I found out SP3 woulnd't
install.

And it's not Adobe Reader tha won't install, like I said in the first
post, but the most recent version of Adobe Flashplayer.

She does have a problem I'm sure, but desipte all the meals, I'm not
the one to try to fix it. The last friend's computer I fixed was a
netbook, and I took it home with me, watched TV and used my own
computer for my own things, while I worked on that one, whenever I had
time.

This woman would never let me do that. And if she did she'd want it
back ASAP. The earlier woman kept telling me there was no rush. Then
wanted to pay me, and when I wouldn't take any money, got me a gift
certificate to a local restaurant.

 

[Paul]

And it's not Adobe Reader tha won't install, like I said in the first
post, but the most recent version of Adobe Flashplayer.

There are two ways to install. One way, is when the browser prompts for
a plugin.

But there is also a standalone installer you can use. You can
exit the browser, and run the installer.

First, when I test Flash with this page, it'll tell me the most
recent version.

http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

You have version 10,3,181,34 installed

Windows Internet Explorer... 10.3.183.7

So that tells me I'm currently behind, and I'd be looking for 183.7

If I go to this page and scroll down

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/142/tn_14266.html

(Released 8/24/2011) Flash Player 10.3.183.7 (70.6 MB)

That would be the file I want. I right click that and Save As.

fp_10.3.183.7_archive.zip

and that is downloading right now.

Next, I unzip that. Look in

10_3r183_7/flashplayer10_3r183_7_win.exe 3,088,032 bytes (Firefox)
10_3r183_7/flashplayer10_3r183_7_winax.exe 3,127,456 bytes (Internet Explorer)

This file, is the standalone player (that never seems to do anything for me).

10_3r183_7/flashplayer10_3r183_7_win_sa.exe 5,792,928 bytes (Movie player)

So with those two 3MB files in hand, you can take those with
you on your next visit to your friend.

Sometimes those work, when the Internet one doesn't. Since there
is one for each browser, you can even control which browser
has Flash in it. I use two browsers, but only load Flash
into one browser. That way, I don't watch pesky adverts all
the time - if a page needs Flash content, I switch to the
other browser and view the Flash there.

Paul

 

[Jan Alter]

No problem Jan, I appreciate any help I get, even if it's wrong.


Thanks again. I was there today and she uses a Dell, so I will
include that search term some of the time.

Do you mean installing over what's there now, or deleting everything
and starting from scratch?

Ugh. Also,she probably wont' let me.

Posted and mailed because it's been 10 days.

I had to start from scratch and so deleted the entire partition in each
case.

If the current installation is a couple of years old there are benefits to
a new install in that orphaned files will be eliiminated and programs which
one finds unnecessary will not be reinstalled and a more efficient running
OS will evolve from the the endeavor. However, the downside is the time it
will take to get all this accomplished will probably be many hours of
attentive labor.
If it were me doing it I'd back up the whole current partition before
starting and locate the drivers for the mb, peripherals and get the software
together

 

[BillW50]

In

FWIW, when I do a clean install, I always partition the hard drive
(assuming the drive is large enough to make it practical), redirect My
Documents to the new partition, and instruct the computer owner to
never, ever store their documents, photos, etc., to the C:\ drive.

I do it both ways and it doesn't matter whether I store docs on C or
not. Normally I store them on C and sync them with SyncBack to an
external drive. This should work for anybody. But I also have lots of
computers and it is very easy to keep them all in sync this way.

Another interesting thing to note, somebody stated on the
Giveawayoftheday comment section (the day they were offering Easeus)...
That Microsoft says that it is best to not to partition NTFS drives. But
they didn't leave any references.

Thunderbird v6? You are joking (in your sig)? It was just up to v3 not
too long ago. What are they doing skipping version numbers or something?

 

[Ken Springer]

I should make clear that today is the first ime I've spend anytime at
all in more than a month. Last visit prompted this thread, but I
didn't rush over there to work on her computer. I was driving by
after going to the Motor Vehicle Administration. I needed more
paperwork, so I have to go back tomorrow.

Before that, it was about a year ago that I found out SP3 woulnd't
install.

And it's not Adobe Reader tha won't install, like I said in the first
post, but the most recent version of Adobe Flashplayer.

She does have a problem I'm sure, but desipte all the meals, I'm not
the one to try to fix it. The last friend's computer I fixed was a
netbook, and I took it home with me, watched TV and used my own
computer for my own things, while I worked on that one, whenever I had
time.

That's exactly how I do it, except for the TV! LOL I take the entire
system, printer, monitor, et. al., home with me, and make sure
everything works. And then tweak things they tell me they don't use
regularly. No one has been unhappy yet, and I even get comments that it
runs faster than it ever did.

This woman would never let me do that. And if she did she'd want it
back ASAP. The earlier woman kept telling me there was no rush. Then
wanted to pay me, and when I wouldn't take any money, got me a gift
certificate to a local restaurant.

Now I think I understand, you're on the periphery, just trying to lend
minimal support. Right?

If I ended fixing that computer, I'd make sure she understood she's to
leave you alone, and you'll have it fixed when it's fixed. And you
never know, it could take a long time. I'm enmeshed with a computer
here I'm doing a complete reinstall of XP Home on, and every time I
install KB2393802 you cannot shut the computer down with the mouse.
This even has MS's official support section stumped at the moment.

Jan Alter is 100% correct, IMO, as to the benefits of a complete reinstall.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 6.0.2
Thunderbird 6.0.2
LibreOffice 3.3.3

 

[Ken Springer]

In

I do it both ways and it doesn't matter whether I store docs on C or
not. Normally I store them on C and sync them with SyncBack to an
external drive. This should work for anybody. But I also have lots of
computers and it is very easy to keep them all in sync this way.

Another interesting thing to note, somebody stated on the
Giveawayoftheday comment section (the day they were offering Easeus)...
That Microsoft says that it is best to not to partition NTFS drives. But
they didn't leave any references.

I've not heard that about NTFS drives, I'm not a tech by any means. If
true, it would sure be nice to know why. And, of course, when things go
haywire, it's not MS's problem, it's not their data, they don't have to
fix the mess, they are not spending their time to fix it, or worry that
your data is also corrupted.

So I will continue to partition.

Apple sets their computers up with only one partition also, and the
first thing I did with this Mac was to partition the drive.

Thunderbird v6? You are joking (in your sig)? It was just up to v3 not
too long ago. What are they doing skipping version numbers or something?

No, not joking about the version numbers. There is a lot of
consternation and unhappiness in the Mozilla newsgroups about this. The
same applies to Firebird. They did skip a TB4 so as to sync the version
numbers between TB and FF.

Mozilla has a new "rapid release" schedule now, new versions and fixes
every 6 weeks. I guess Google Chrome does something similar. I haven't
trusted Google since they had the privacy issues a few years ago, so I
don't use Chrome.

And there appears to be some major structural changes in the background
of the software, so I don't know where things will end up.


--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 6.0.2
Thunderbird 6.0.2
LibreOffice 3.3.3

 

[BillW50]

In

I've not heard that about NTFS drives, I'm not a tech by any means. If
true, it would sure be nice to know why. And, of course, when
things go haywire, it's not MS's problem, it's not their data, they
don't have to fix the mess, they are not spending their time to fix
it, or worry that your data is also corrupted.

So I will continue to partition.

Apple sets their computers up with only one partition also, and the
first thing I did with this Mac was to partition the drive.

Well Fubar stated: "Microsoft recommends against needlessly partitioning
drives that have an NTFS volume, doing so generally slows access and
results in horrible space management issues. Backups should always be
done to another physical drive, preferably external."

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easeus-partition-master-9-0/

I sure would like to learn more about what Fubar is talking about. As
there is probably some measure of truth in their statement.

I have used partitions in the past, but I always hated them for decades.
And whatever somebody else can do with partitions, I can do the same
with one partition. So I don't see the point of having them in most
cases. Obviously some OS and hardware can limit you how large a
partition can be. So in these cases you are stuck with two or more
partitions.

Or dualbooting is another, although I have successfully merged two OS on
one partition before. Although I don't think it is worth all of the
hassle to do so in practice. Although I quit using dualbooting as well.
As one OS sometimes screws up another (even in another partition). So I
just swap hard drives which takes a second or two for most laptops
anyway and go this route instead.

No, not joking about the version numbers. There is a lot of
consternation and unhappiness in the Mozilla newsgroups about this.
The same applies to Firebird. They did skip a TB4 so as to sync the
version numbers between TB and FF.

Mozilla has a new "rapid release" schedule now, new versions and fixes
every 6 weeks. I guess Google Chrome does something similar. I
haven't trusted Google since they had the privacy issues a few years
ago, so I don't use Chrome.

And there appears to be some major structural changes in the
background of the software, so I don't know where things will end up.

Oh I see. Well like Microsoft, Mozilla does some strange things from
time to time. ;-)