Unable to install SP2

[HSB Dave]

Recently, my motherboard (MSI) and/or CPU (AMD) went bad. It had been
running just fine with XP, and I had installed SP2 back when it was
released. (I transferred the hard drive to a back-up computer and used
it while I sourced new eqpt., so I believe the drive is fine.) I
purchased a new motherboard (MSI, again) and CPU (Intel, this time),
1GB memory, and a new 430 watt PSU. When I put everything together,
transferred the hard drive from my back-up computer back into this one,
and booted up---it wouldn't. I needed to do a Windows XP repair from
CD, and everything seemed to be fine. I did Windows Update, which
installed a number of hotfixes, security patches, etc., and then Update
brought up SP2. I tried it numerous times from Update, and received
the "Access is denied" message. Reading various forums, tech sites,
etc., I was pointed to MS Support document kb873148, about checking the
Setupapi.log to find an offending registry key, setting the permissions
correctly to "allow," then running Update again. I did this 9 times,
changing the permissions on each different key the log pointed to.
After all this, the bar graph showing the progress (before it aborted)
had barely moved. I did some more reading on forums, and found a
couple of people with this same problem who had downloaded the "IT
version" of SP2 from MS, then burned it to a CD and loaded it in Safe
Mode. This supposedly solved the problem. I tried that today, and no
change.

Does anyone know the answers to these questions, please:?
1. If I continue with the Setupapi log, changing permissions, and
trying it again, can someone tell me the total number of permissions
that are going to need to be changed? Am I almost 'there' with 9---or
is it going to be 109? (I don't know of a way to globally change
permissions, and I can't find a reference to anyone who has done
this---so I guess one doesn't exist.)
2. I'm about ready to reload Windows from CD and try a fresh start,
thinking that when I put SP2 on before (when it was released) it was
fine. But I can't decide if this would be worth trying, considering
that I would think when I did the Windows repair, it would be taking
the same information from the CD that I would use for a reinstall---so
what would be the difference? Whatever changed the permissions
(apparently) happened when I did the repair---and so why won't it
happen again if I do a full reinstall? Has anyone had this same
problem, and done a successful full reinstall and then loaded SP2?

I'm also experiencing some other flaky issues, such as having nothing
populated in my Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, and of all the
Windows Updates that installed before I tried SP2---50-some---all
installed correctly except MS Windows Installer. I tried this (also)
directly from the MS website, but no success. But I understand this is
part of SP2, so if I can get it installed, the Installer will be there
as well.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[PopS]

It sounds to me like your whole system is borked. You'll
probably have to do a reformat and install.
In particular, if the hard drive got moved to a NEW set of
hardware (mb), that's going to be your problem, pretty sure. If
the hardware isn't the same, the drivers are going to be all
messed uip and confused and make quite a mess to figure out.

Repair was probably a worthwile try, but it sounds like it's
going to take more; as in, a full install. Be sure to back up
your personal data first, of course.

Just my impression from your descrip.

 

[Plato]

http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop20.htm#1

 

[HSB Dave]

Thanks for the comments. After trying some other things my wife found
in various help sites---and having them make no difference, either---I
decided to bite the bullet and do a clean reinstall. I did so this
morning, and was able to download and install all applicable Windows
updates (including SP2), and I'm well on the way to reinstalling our
other software and data files that were wiped out. I think when I get
done I'll have the new and faster computer that I wanted when I put the
new hardware on. I think the lesson I learned from all this is that if
it's just one minor problem, it's worth trying to correct. If it's a
major hardware upgrade, along with various software issues---it's
better to just redo the whole thing! Anyway, thanks for your words.
Take care.