Re: Repair XP SP2 installation with XP SP1 CD-ROM

Jupiter Jones [MVP] wrote: 
Steve;
We simply have different standards on what is successful in this matter.
You will accept the leftover components, I would not.

It's not so much that I accept the leftover components, but that I don't see them causing any problems. I'd also prefer they weren't there and I am still trying to figure out how to remove them. For example I have removed what registry entries I can referring to Security Center but the Icon still persists in Control Panel, still non-functional, of course.


Windows File Protection and other indicators are great but I do not like starting with the SP-2 left over regardless.

I understand. Niether do I, but for all intents an purposes the system is functioning exactly as a healthy SP1 OS as far as I can tell.


Obviously there is no guarantee of any installation but I would suspect an installation that had anomalies especially an uninstallation that left obvious components.

I'm not saying your suspicions are unfounded, that is why I am testing it, I am just reporting that everything is working fine. I am looking for some utilities to give more concise listings of active system files and active processes. Everest Home is very good but it's difficult to get it to display all of these things in a concise report. Plus not having another machine here running a clean install of XP SP1 it is difficult to do a complete comparison.

You pretty much have to assume a Clean Installation that reacts properly is OK.

Secure is important as are stability and functionality.
Lose any of those three and the computer may be. worthless to you.

I agree, but the system is functioning, stable and I see no security problems other than the the lack of security fixes included in SP2.


I apologize if the snipping seemed like it was intended to mislead, that was not the case.

I didn't say you were attempting to intentionally mislead, but to divert from the issues I was adressing. There's a difference.

If I had intended to mislead, I would have also deleted/changed the appropriate section of your post.
The point I attempted to make was the fact there are leftover registry entries and other components of SP-2 leave the uninstall process suspect to me.
I was not ignoring your point "SP1 has no knowledge...", I understand what you are saying. 

But snipping it and not responding to it made you appear to be ignoring it.


You seem to have misunderstood what I meant when I referred to success or failure on my computer.
What I meant was if I attempt something once and it fails, that is not very good proof that it will not work ever.
More thorough checks would be required to make a definitive statement such as "It can not be done."

That is why I called Carey on that statement and set out to prove (as others have said) that it can be done.

In the point here, at least two have reported leftover components, is that universal or just on some instances?

It has happened the three times I've done it on this machine, so in my limited experience with this it is consistent, and as I said, it makes sense to me that things the repair install of SP1 does not recognize as part of the OS it is installing would not be touched. That is by design of a repair install as I and others understand it.

If it is some and not others, that makes the uninstallation questionable.
The differences can be an indicator, not necessarily proof, of a problem.

Agreed, but I still see no problems with this OS. I am still checking it out and everything is working correctly.


Any changes can and often do leave anomalies, but I would hold something as important as a Service Pack to a higher standard.

I agree. However on that note and actually related, I can attest that in my experience of removing SP2 by using add/remove programs from machines that it was added to there were left-over things from SP2 that effected many networking functions that necessitated removing SP2 in the firstplace and a repair install of SP1 was necessary even after "properly" removing SP2 in order to correct those problems.


I have been an MVP longer than Carey, 6 months IIRC.


Sorry that I was wrong about that. Thanks for the correction. I may have been thinking of someone else. I also guess I've been reading here for longer than I thought.

BTW, as I said before, I do agree that the very BEST way to go from SP2 to SP1 would be a clean install of SP1. Still, this is an interesting experiment that appears to be working.

I appreciate your input and clarification on several points. Thanks.

I will continue to test this scenario as I am able and if I find any left-over SP2 funkiness I will be sure to report it, but so far so good. The left-overs I've seen so far appear to be cosmetic only, the system is for all intents and purposes that I can test for so far actually at SP1, functioning and stable.

Steve

.