Windows XP Service Pack 3 INSTALL

[John Wolf]

Right know its inspecting the current configuration this is going to take 5
years, can I stop it without affecting my system? We have no backups and
unlike the Mac (Leopard) there is no Time Machine Like app built into the
system to my knowledge at least, or is there? Before Time Machine there was
third party backup apps like Rewind among others that could restore a
computer to a state before a crash or problem occurred. The system would be
restored, but not the docs & emails.

The Windows XP PC is very sluggish and some people here think the issue may
not be the 512MB RAM but a software issue somewhere which makes sense since
they do no video/photo editing.


Thanks,


John

 

[Just D.]

There is a Time-Machine, called Acronis True Image Home. I started using it
several years ago and it already saved me several times. I always have the
latest backup before any major step like this service pack, which is able to
completely destroy the whole system. Btw, make sure that your antivirus,
spybot and other apps are temporarily down while you're installing SP3.
That's critical.

Just D.

 

[John Wolf]

But not built into the OS. Not sure if there are any spybot apps or
antivirus apps. All I did was go to the installer mode and a window popped
up saying it was ready to install the service pack. It seems to be
installing it know.


John

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Right know its inspecting the current configuration this is going to take
5
years, can I stop it without affecting my system? We have no backups and
unlike the Mac (Leopard) there is no Time Machine Like app built into the
system to my knowledge at least, or is there? Before Time Machine there
was
third party backup apps like Rewind among others that could restore a
computer to a state before a crash or problem occurred. The system would
be
restored, but not the docs & emails.

The Windows XP PC is very sluggish and some people here think the issue
may
not be the 512MB RAM but a software issue somewhere which makes sense
since
they do no video/photo editing.

Thanks,

John

You can stop the process but Windows may subsequently refuse to start. On
the other hand your data files are safe but it could be a bit of a chore to
get them off the disk. Speaking about backups: There are two groups of
people - those who back up their imprtant files regularly and those who
don't. Over time all those in the second group will migrate to the first
group. The transition can be extremely painful. A 2.5" disk in an external
USB case is a low-cost but highly effective backup medium. Time to think.

If your PC is generally slow then you should look at all the stuff you're
loading at boot time. Run msconfig.exe, then examine the various tasks under
the Startup tab and also the various non-Microsoft services under the
Services tab.

 

[John Wolf]

Its almost finished with the installation. Hopefully all will be well. Or
else the Mac will be the backup. But folks are thinking about making the Mac
their desktop and not just a laptop for their next computer and I agree it
would be a better move, especially since the latest Macs are Intel Based.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

On 9/20/09 6:51 PM, in article #[email protected],
Its almost finished with the installation. Hopefully all will be well.

*** Glad to hear it.

Or else the Mac will be the backup. But folks are thinking about making
the Mac their desktop and not just a laptop for their next computer and
I agree it would be a better move, especially since the latest Macs are
Intel Based.

*** Switching computer types is no substitute for a solid backup policy.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

 

[Hodges]

Right know its inspecting the current configuration this is going to take5
years, can I stop it without affecting my system? We have no backups and
unlike the Mac (Leopard) there is no Time Machine Like app built into the
system to my knowledge at least, or is there? Before Time Machine there was
third party backup apps like Rewind among others that could restore a
computer to a state before a crash or problem occurred. The system would be
restored, but not the docs & emails.

The Windows XP PC is very sluggish and some people here think the issue may
not be the 512MB RAM but a software issue somewhere which makes sense since
they do no video/photo editing.

Thanks,

John

Microsoft SteadyState can save a copy of your OS whenever you reboot,
but it will cut your harddrive space in half and kill your harddrive
faster.

 

[John Wolf]

The service pack finished and it was installed.

I just try and encourage my folks to buy a USB external and do this. What
software can they use? They need something user friendly.

I use a Mac and do backup my machine with Retrospect. But that's expensive
and as I recall Windows has or did have something built into the OS.

However at one time (Windows ME) had a Time Machine like app was bundled
with the OS. Why did MS remove this capability? Apple realizes that only
tech heads backup their computers (mostly) and the average joe does not even
know what backup is, and so they made the Mac do all the work.


John

 

[Shenan Stanley]

The service pack finished and it was installed.

I just try and encourage my folks to buy a USB external and do
this. What software can they use? They need something user friendly.

I use a Mac and do backup my machine with Retrospect. But that's
expensive and as I recall Windows has or did have something built
into the OS.

However at one time (Windows ME) had a Time Machine like app was
bundled with the OS. Why did MS remove this capability? Apple
realizes that only tech heads backup their computers (mostly) and
the average joe does not even know what backup is, and so they made
the Mac do all the work.

I wouldn't tout apple so high - 10.6 has more than a few annoyances and
destroyed a few of their prior fixes that made the OS more useful in the
business world (hopefully only temporarily - but with only a few weeks
separating 10.6 and 10.6.1 - and seeing the problems I have seen so far
still existing after that major set of patches - who knows...) ;-)

In any case, I suggest simplifying it more than you may have thought
about...
http://www.seagate.com/replica/

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

The service pack finished and it was installed.

I just try and encourage my folks to buy a USB external and do this. What
software can they use? They need something user friendly.

John

Acronis has a set of backup solutions.