Re: Can't download SP2 -- IE 6 thinks I'm off-line!
- From: "Jupiter Jones [MVP]" <jones_jupiter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 01:10:55 -0700
First of all, you should ALWAYS have back-ups of all important data especially when installing something as major as a Service Pack.
But, you are always just a catastrophic hard drive failure away from total data loss and that can happen at any time to new or old drives.
Most people do not have problems with Service Pack Installations.
Those that do probably have other preexisting problems.
All problems, known or unknown, should be resolved before installing anything especially something as major as a Service Pack.
This article points to an update that will prevent the Prescott issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=885626
Check your computer to see if it is already installed.
If you are unsure, install it again, it will not hurt.
Also be sure you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard, that may resolve the issue if you are one of the very few with the problem.
The Service Pack Installation Checklist and related links are not intended to discourage Service Pack Installation.
Instead it is a reminder of what may need to be done.
A well maintained computer free of malware will usually be ready for a Service Pack Installation in the time it takes to reboot the computer.
--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org
"Jonathan Sachs" <xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:o46bp256ce8hu61g5nra8u039ml6k3ke4c@xxxxxxxxxx
On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:54:59 -0700, "Jupiter Jones [MVP]"
<jones_jupiter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Instead of the Express Installation, download the Network Installation or
order SP-2 on CD, Step 1 on this page:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm
I tried following those instructions and ran into further
difficulties. They are leading me to reevaluate the entire idea of
installing SP2. I will explain; I hope you can give me some reason to
believe that installing SP2 is not unacceptably reckless.
The URL leads to a page on an MVP website, which gives information
about a variety of service pack issues. While looking for the
appropriate link I found a warning, "If you have a PRESCOTT CPU, STOP
and check with the manufacturer before continuing..." It warned me
that certain Prescott CPUs have a microcode problem that will cause
SP2 to produce an unbootable system, a problem which can be fixed only
by a complicated, time-consuming process that the unaware user could
not possibly figure out without help -- help that would be unavailable
once his system was munged.
I don't know whether I have a Prescott CPU, and the advice to "check
with the manufacturer" is meaningless, since I assembled this system
myself. The page offered a link to an Intel utility which it promised
would tell me what CPU I have. I accordingly downloaded and installed
the utility. When I ran it, it told me that:
"The tested Intel(R) processor is not supported by the Intel Processor
Frequency ID Utility. This utility is designed for Intel(R)
Pentium(R) III and earlier processors."
Then it referred me to a different URL for later processors.
I downloaded the updated utility. Although it was offered as an MSI
file, it started running on its own after the download. This was
harmless, but unsettling. I can easily imagine situations where
running software automatically after download would have disastrous
consequences. NO download should EVER do this without warning the user
first and giving him the option to download only, or at least to abort
the download. Although Intel would seem to be a reliable source of
software, this experience at least makes me question the reliability
of the website involved, and impairs my trust in the instructions that
led me there!
The utility identified my CPU's type, family, model, etc., but did not
tell me whether it is a Prescott or not. I consulted its help file,
but the word "Prescott" did not occur there. Nor were the
instructions on the MVP page helpful. I have not pursued this issue
further, for reasons I explain below.
Here's what I see so far:
1. SP2 was released on 6 August 2004 with a bug that makes it crash
certain systems even in safe mode, and the recovery procedure is
obscure enough that an independent user without an alternate means of
accessing the Internet would have no hope of recovery.
2. Over two years later, Microsoft apparently has not fixed this
problem. (If it had, the warning would presumably have been removed.
At the very least, the problem must not have been fixed before the
instructions were last updated on 19 April 2006, over 19 months after
SP2 was introduced.)
3. Over two years or 19 months later, Microsoft does not even
identify the problem and recovery procedure in its online support
material. (If it did, you would have been able to refer me to a
Microsoft webpage rather than a third-party page which is apparently
maintained by MVPs.)
4. Due to some additional snafu, the instructions on the MVP website
refer me to a version of an Intel diagnostic utility that does not
work on Pentium 4 CPUs, although only Pentium 4 CPUs are susceptible
to the problem the utility is supposed to identify. This impairs my
confidence in the MVP website's advice, and my experiences on Intel's
website impair it further.
5. Over two years after SP2 was introduced, its download process
still suffers from multiple problems.
6. Internet Explorer, Microsoft's official browser, is prone to at
least one crippling problem -- a problem which must be so difficult to
diagnose or solve that, when it occurs, MVPs give advice on how to
avoid using the browser instead of how to fix it .
I have not installed SP2 before now because, to be blunt, I don't
trust Microsoft. I expect any software patch they offer to be buggy,
and to carry a high risk of introducing more problems or worse
problems than it solves.
But I haven't installed a Windows service pack since the days of
Windows 2000, so I have come to feel that my attitude must be
outdated, and it is time to relax and give Microsoft a break.
This experience is making me conclude that I am mistaken: Microsoft
patches are just as bad as they ever were. I haven't even downloaded
the service pack yet and I've discovered six problems, five of them
Microsoft's responsibility. At least four of the five are of long
standing, and at least one of those is capable of bringing some users'
systems to a permanent halt. If it weren't for problems (5) and (6)
above, I might have innocently installed the service pack, and then
discovered problems (1) through (4) the hard way.
What other problems might I discover the hard way if I work my way
past these and install the service pack? What assurance can I have
that some other SP2 bug won't leave me with an unbootable system and
no way even to ask for help?
On the other side of the ledger, I need to install SP2 to run the
Vista compatibility utility and determine what hardware upgrades I
will need when I migrate to Vista. I also hope that SP2 will solve
some long-standing Windows stability problems that I have been living
with because of my concern that any attempt to fix them might make
things worse.
I would still like to install SP2, and ultimately Vista, if you can
show me how to do it without risking destruction of my Windows
installation. At the moment the only entirely safe strategy I can
think of is to buy a second hard disk and duplicate my system on it,
so that if everything fell apart I could boot the duplicate.
.
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