IE browser broken after SP2 installation

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: David Cook ("David)
Date: 09/16/04 

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 17:45:47 -0400

Yet another customer upgraded to SP2 with disastrous
consequences. (Sigh...just glad it's not MY computer).

He did the upgrade via the CDROM kit for SP2 (from a nearby
Staples store). He says the upgrade went fine, and when he
came back up, he verified that SP2 was indeed installed
(from my-computer->properties display).

But now when he tries to launch IE, it doesn't even have time to
start painting it's border-frame in the UI...in less than a second,
it just winks away and is gone.

(The underlying stack is fine...I can do IPCONFIG and see the
Comcast dns info. I can ping my favorite websites. I also tried
running cmds like 'sfc /scannow' and 'netsh int ip reset', but the
browser remains broken. Any other diagnostic hints?)

But, with no browser, what good is a high-speed Internet connection?
(I considered trying to install a 3rd-party browser like Netscape or Opera,
but I didn't have a CDROM kit for either of those in my briefcase, tho I
will be burning one for tomorrow.)

This guy is fed up. He's not too impressed with Microsoft at this point.
He had a seemingly good computer yesterday, and today it is BADLY
damaged. (His plans, since it's a relatively new machine, is just to
wipe out the disk, install Win-XP-Home again, add on SP1-A and his few
extra 3rd-party apps, and wait around for a few months with question-marks
floating around his head, wondering when it might be 'safe'. (He says it
reminds him of
the dentist and Dustin Hoffman in the Marathon Man: "Is it safe?")

This guy is another good candidate for that 240-day 'hold-off for SP2
reminders' I've
been reading about. Sigh.

This is just more ammunition for me to keep telling my computer-repair
customers to stay away from SP2, as long as:
    (1) They already have a firewall
          (e.g. in a router or from Norton or whatever)
    (2) They've installed some 'Spyware' guard and scanning software
    (3) They are running an Anti-Virus program weekly.

Once again, I have to keep saying: Come on Microsoft...tell me again
an IMPORTANT reason to accept SP2. (Too many bad experiences,
in my view. Tho, I've already updated MY two home computers with
SP2, and suffered no ill effects, I can NOT say the same for my customers.)

To be fair, I'm only hearing from the 'broken by SP2' customers, but two of
those
in two weeks, is too many.

Cheers...

            Dave [who hopes your experience will be better than this and who
also has a bootable Linux box just in case the Spyware and Virus wars
continue
to disfavor Windows-XP.]

Relevant Pages

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