G
Guest
I have been using Microsoft products since the early days of DOS and I have
never had such a serious problem doing an upgrade. I might want to consider
myself lucky since this was a brand new computer system where all of the
parts were hand-picked to perform at the highest level possible. Also, being
no beginer at this, I have spent over 30 years in electronics engineering and
have had a great deal of exposure to many different operating systems.
However this may be taken, there is no such thing as a "fool-proof" upgrade
to an operating system as complex as Windows XP. Given the electronics it
will control, there are just too many different things that can go wrong.
Then, add to that the wild array of software many people run and the drivers
needed to make their hardware talk, and you end up with a mess of files that
will no longer work together.
A simple request that was posted in the "Windows XP Setup and Deployment"
section of this newsgroup has now gone unanswered for 8 days. Titled:
"Unable to create IWbemLocator object after installing SP2...", refers to a
VB script that was unable to communicate with a device. Making matters even
worse, Windows XP after being upgraded to (SP2) overrode a nice size chunk of
I/O address blocks in an effort to increase the number of ports for the
Numeric Data Processor. In doing so, a critical device that is embedded
within the motherboard I was using could no longer operate. A simple update
to the driver and reload of the software was not going to work. Less than
removing nearly everything in the system to see if it would free the I/O
address block needed, nothing would work.
Again, upgrades don't work! Also, after talking with the manufacturer about
this problem, I think we were both on the same road to a sure fix. That fix
involved a one day prep to save what I could from the system. Then, the next
two full days to recreate a base system that would work at the (SP2) level.
Only then, would the software and hardware both work with this device. The
rest of the time was spent loading additional software products to bring the
system back up to where it was before this all started.
In all of my years spending time building computer systems and working with
operating systems, the bottom line is don't upgrade to (SP2), reload the
entire system base and upgrade to (SP2) FIRST! This means, before any
software is loaded. Only include the very bare amount of drivers needed to
just get the motherboard going (ie: LAN and chipset). Once Windows XP has
been updated and is at the latest version, including all hotfixes, security
updates and additional items for built-in programs, then start loading the
rest of your software.
A true upgrade for Windows XP would properly involve a system backup to any
avalable drive that can hold it. In today's computers, many people do have
more than one hard drive. So finding the needed space to do this should be
no problem. However, if the Windows Update is unable to locate the needed
space, it should inform the user to remove some programs and any of their
data that they can. From there, Windows Update can backup the entire system
into a neat package that only Windows Update can read. Now, a new base
system can be created and updated without any software or drivers to create
problems. The final stage would involve the replacement of the software that
Windows Update moved to this backup area. Using the registry as a guide plus
additional information gathered by Windows Update, the system can be rebuilt
back to its original state, only now, running on top of (SP2). Care must be
taken to secure preferences, software license keys and any special settings
used for the given set of hardware that is connected or installed in or on
the system.
Of course, this is not something that is available right now. However, it
would be the ONLY way to properly upgrade to (SP2) and have everything work.
It has been seen in many of publications just how extensive this upgrade is.
So, the fact that this upgrade failed for me is no surprise. But what should
be noted here is that it no surprise for Microsoft either. They do have a
daunting task to peek and poke into people's personal lives (aka: their
computers) and perform a miracle throught the Internet without lossing a
single byte. I feel that many people just don't know what they are actually
sitting in front of when they use a computer system. Put plainly, if they
can click on it, it should be done for them. Next, they want to have
Microsoft raise and lower their finger to do the clicking too!
Technology is moving too fast for many people to even catch up, let alone to
keep up. But anyone who knows better, you can always do a better job by
yourself than trusting some installation program running on a server (1 of
thousands) half way around the world.
As a final note, this experience has sealed the fate of (SP2) for me. I
have 4 other "licensed" computer systems in my house. They are currently
running (SP1) and will remain that way until I can spend another 3 days on
each to upgrade them. To me, there is just no other way to do this update.
As a warning to all who attempt it, be prepared to start all over again if
any of your hardware or software fails to operate properly. And if you have
a "purchased" system, get ready to shell out the bucks to have someone do it
for you. Yea! That's right. You don't have the software CD's to do this
yourself. That's why I build and don't buy something that some committee
thinks I need to use. I have systems older than most people's cars!
Now, to my question. Why does Windows XP override many of the detailed
settings established by a system's BIOS?
Last, to those who don't understand just how complex a task this is, spend
your money and have someone else do this. But for those of us who know what
is involved with a full system reload, it is a far better result in the long
run instead of taking the risk.
never had such a serious problem doing an upgrade. I might want to consider
myself lucky since this was a brand new computer system where all of the
parts were hand-picked to perform at the highest level possible. Also, being
no beginer at this, I have spent over 30 years in electronics engineering and
have had a great deal of exposure to many different operating systems.
However this may be taken, there is no such thing as a "fool-proof" upgrade
to an operating system as complex as Windows XP. Given the electronics it
will control, there are just too many different things that can go wrong.
Then, add to that the wild array of software many people run and the drivers
needed to make their hardware talk, and you end up with a mess of files that
will no longer work together.
A simple request that was posted in the "Windows XP Setup and Deployment"
section of this newsgroup has now gone unanswered for 8 days. Titled:
"Unable to create IWbemLocator object after installing SP2...", refers to a
VB script that was unable to communicate with a device. Making matters even
worse, Windows XP after being upgraded to (SP2) overrode a nice size chunk of
I/O address blocks in an effort to increase the number of ports for the
Numeric Data Processor. In doing so, a critical device that is embedded
within the motherboard I was using could no longer operate. A simple update
to the driver and reload of the software was not going to work. Less than
removing nearly everything in the system to see if it would free the I/O
address block needed, nothing would work.
Again, upgrades don't work! Also, after talking with the manufacturer about
this problem, I think we were both on the same road to a sure fix. That fix
involved a one day prep to save what I could from the system. Then, the next
two full days to recreate a base system that would work at the (SP2) level.
Only then, would the software and hardware both work with this device. The
rest of the time was spent loading additional software products to bring the
system back up to where it was before this all started.
In all of my years spending time building computer systems and working with
operating systems, the bottom line is don't upgrade to (SP2), reload the
entire system base and upgrade to (SP2) FIRST! This means, before any
software is loaded. Only include the very bare amount of drivers needed to
just get the motherboard going (ie: LAN and chipset). Once Windows XP has
been updated and is at the latest version, including all hotfixes, security
updates and additional items for built-in programs, then start loading the
rest of your software.
A true upgrade for Windows XP would properly involve a system backup to any
avalable drive that can hold it. In today's computers, many people do have
more than one hard drive. So finding the needed space to do this should be
no problem. However, if the Windows Update is unable to locate the needed
space, it should inform the user to remove some programs and any of their
data that they can. From there, Windows Update can backup the entire system
into a neat package that only Windows Update can read. Now, a new base
system can be created and updated without any software or drivers to create
problems. The final stage would involve the replacement of the software that
Windows Update moved to this backup area. Using the registry as a guide plus
additional information gathered by Windows Update, the system can be rebuilt
back to its original state, only now, running on top of (SP2). Care must be
taken to secure preferences, software license keys and any special settings
used for the given set of hardware that is connected or installed in or on
the system.
Of course, this is not something that is available right now. However, it
would be the ONLY way to properly upgrade to (SP2) and have everything work.
It has been seen in many of publications just how extensive this upgrade is.
So, the fact that this upgrade failed for me is no surprise. But what should
be noted here is that it no surprise for Microsoft either. They do have a
daunting task to peek and poke into people's personal lives (aka: their
computers) and perform a miracle throught the Internet without lossing a
single byte. I feel that many people just don't know what they are actually
sitting in front of when they use a computer system. Put plainly, if they
can click on it, it should be done for them. Next, they want to have
Microsoft raise and lower their finger to do the clicking too!
Technology is moving too fast for many people to even catch up, let alone to
keep up. But anyone who knows better, you can always do a better job by
yourself than trusting some installation program running on a server (1 of
thousands) half way around the world.
As a final note, this experience has sealed the fate of (SP2) for me. I
have 4 other "licensed" computer systems in my house. They are currently
running (SP1) and will remain that way until I can spend another 3 days on
each to upgrade them. To me, there is just no other way to do this update.
As a warning to all who attempt it, be prepared to start all over again if
any of your hardware or software fails to operate properly. And if you have
a "purchased" system, get ready to shell out the bucks to have someone do it
for you. Yea! That's right. You don't have the software CD's to do this
yourself. That's why I build and don't buy something that some committee
thinks I need to use. I have systems older than most people's cars!
Now, to my question. Why does Windows XP override many of the detailed
settings established by a system's BIOS?
Last, to those who don't understand just how complex a task this is, spend
your money and have someone else do this. But for those of us who know what
is involved with a full system reload, it is a far better result in the long
run instead of taking the risk.