To fix this, I uninstalled SP2 using the following proc:
Step 1: Manually Removing SP2 using Recovery Console
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1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive,
and then restart your computer. When the "Press any key to boot from CD"
message appears on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the
Windows XP CD-ROM.
Note: Your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
drive. For more information about how to configure your computer to start
from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, see your computer's documentation or
contact your computer's manufacturer.
2. The following message appears on the Welcome to Setup screen:
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on
your computer:
To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
When you see this message, press R to start Recovery Console.
1. Type the number of the installation you wish to repair. If you only have
one installation of Windows on the computer, type 1 and press Enter.
2. Enter the administrator password and press Enter.
3. Type the following commands to start the manual uninstall and restart the
computer:
cd $ntservicepackuninstall$\spuninst
batch spuninst.txt
exit
During the batch uninstall you may encounter several "Access Denied" error
messages. This is normal as the files the batch file is trying to copy are
in use files and cannot be accessed.
After rebooting the computer, you can further diagnose the potential causes
of the service pack installation failure. Using SFC at this point is advised,
as it can verify whether system files have been modified or replaced. That
could be the cause of the problem.
Step 2: System File Checker
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1. Put the Windows XP CD to the CD-ROM.
2. Click Exit if the auto-menu pops up.
3. Click Start, and click Run.
4. Type "SFC /Scannow" (without quotation marks and there is at least one
blank space between sfc and /scannow ) in the Open box, and click OK.
5. The missing files will be copied to the system.
Step 3: Delete PageFile in Safe Mode
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1. Restart the computer.
2. Keep pressing the F8 key until the Windows Startup menu appears.
3. Choose Safe Mode, and press Enter.
4. Run the computer in Safe Mode.
Note: Please set your system to display hidden files:
5. Click Start, then click Control Panel, and then click Folder Options.
6. Click the View tab. Under Hidden files and folders, click "Show hidden
files and folders."
7. To display other hidden files, clear the "Hide protected operating system
files (Recommended)" check box.
8. Delete pagefile.sys on the root of C:
9. Please try to reinstall SP2 to check the installation problem.
Then, the notebook still though it had SP2 installed, but was at least
bootable. System restore couldn't start, so from there, I did an in-place
upgrade using an XP CD that I slipstreamed SP2 onto. Worked fine.
