Win XP Service Pack 2 - System Won't Load

[Steve]

I am rinning Windows XP Professional, and after
installing Windows Service Pack 2 the system attempted to
restart but instead of starting, kept going through the
restart seqence. I discoverer that bu turning off my
Maxtor external gard drive (connected to the firewire
port) the system went a little further and I saw the
message "Windows Srarting" before going through the
rebood sequende. I then discovered that if I also remove
my external reader for memory cards (pgotograpgic memory
cards) the system runs ok. As soon as I connect either of
the above devices the system immediately crashes.

Anyone have any ideas about how to fix the problem (it
all worked fine before installing Servioce Pack 2).

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Have you tried unplugging all unnecessary hardware and then reinstall
SP2. After it has rebooted, then try attaching all of your hardware again.

 

[Stuart C]

I have had similar problems.
I think the problem may be that the motherboard firewire and USB
drivers (and any others) require re-installing after the SP2 update.
Try reinstalling these before connecting the problem peripherals.

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Just FYI, USB and Firewire ports on the motherboard are going to be
controlled by the chipset (generally southbridge) and these can be
updated directly from the chipset maker's website instead of the
motherboard maker's website who are usually pretty slow at putting the
new drivers up (if ever).