Windows Service Pack ....Doh!

Jay-Jay_4

Thanks, I wish I understood even 1/10th of what you all are saying

I'll have a go at the manual install as I can follow the instructions for that. The slipstream thingy looks really complicated and ....after all...I AM a girl :rolleyes: but if the manual one doesn't work I'll have to give it a go.

I can't thank you all enough for your help...this may not be the end of this as I'm sure I'll encounter more problems but thanks for all your replies.

SomeOne_2

Do try the slipstream method as well as if you need to reinstall in the future you will already have a cd with SP2 ready.
As for difficulty, it really is easy, the website i posted gives you step by step instructions. You don't need to have much knowledge of computers to follow it!

newfoundglory

Yup, creating a slipstreamed disk means also that if you ever need to install windows in the future you wont have to start from SP1 or XP with no service pack!

I think its quite unlikely that the CD is better than the SP2 download. Microsoft clearly wouldn't be doing their job (which I suppose wouldn't surprise me) if they were not putting in complete error checking in to ensure the download is not corrupt before beginning installation!

zzzLazyDaisy

The SP2 download messed up my PC. I reinstalled it from the microsoft CD and it has been fine since.

andy88_2

As of I think it was 12 April, the suspension of SP2 download from Windows Update was ended. I think this means that any visit to WU from now on will try to automatically download SP2, which would take about 12 hours on dial-up.

Perhaps the problems have arisen form an interrupted download, though I would imagine it shouldn't actually update until the download completed.

I very recently signed up for the Langalist newsletter from Fred Langa. This is what he said a couple of weeks ago

That said, Microsoft still won't "force" anyone to upgrade on or after April 12th: If you don't want the SP2 upgrade, just don't go to WindowsUpdate, and don't let your PC update automatically.

Of course, by avoiding WindowsUpdate, you also won't get any other patches and updates; and that's the "carrot" that MS can offer: If you want to stay with XP SP1, that's fine, but you're on your own. If you want access to any of the WindowsUpdate services with XP, you'll have to upgrade to SP2. It's your choice.

http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-04-07.htm#9

(A more recent issue has interesting remarks on comparing security weaknesses in Firefox/IE6)

So I must get round to SP2 from the disk.