Re: XP SP3 frustration

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Ken G. wrote:
Like others I'm having trouble installing SP 3 in my XP Pro
installation. The first time it gave the "Access Denied" error, so
I got onto this site, disabled my virus protection and firewall and
tried again. Same error, so I used Smart Close to shut everything
down and tried again - same error.

I don't see the point in closing down all open programs and
re-booting. Lots of stuff opens automatically on re-boot so they're
all back. Any way I did that, turned off the antivirus etc and this
time it got about half way through and just froze. I left it for
over an hour and it didn't move, so I cancelled it. Goodness only
knows what has or hasn't been done to my OS.

When I ran Update again all it found was a 612mb upgrade to Office
2007 which I only purchased 2 weeks ago.

If Microsoft was a horse you'd have it put down.

How can I install SP3?

Technically - if you are having trouble installing SP3 - something *is*
broke - you just don't notice it *yet*. You will - some patch or something
will come along that you won't be able to use or that will crash things -
and since it will be something 'smaller' that made the problem obvious to
you - you may not be able to describe it as well or the number of people who
have the problem (and thus the number of people working on resolving it)
will be smaller.

My suggestion is to clean your machine - follow all the advice given (so far
and in this response) to do so properly - make a backup of your cleaner
machine and try the installation of SP3. You'll come out ahead in many
ways. You'll know more about your machine (what's there, what shouldn't
have been there, how to fix it if things go wrong instead of paying someone
$100 to format it and lose everything you have...); you'll have a machine
that is likely to be performing better (if not for SP3 - then for the fact
that you took the time to clean it up - maintain it like you would any other
important piece of equipment you don't want to have to purchase new every so
often in order to get it working properly again.); and you'll have one
'major hurdle' past that you will not have to worry about again as long as
you stick with that computer (service pack installations.)

So you want a step-by-step that is likely to lead to a successful SP
installation? (You have to do every step.)

I would suggest (some steps may overlap what they fix - but...):

1) Method 3 of this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
2) Reboot.
3) Methods 1 & 2 of this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144
4) Reboot.
5) Use the tool from here:
http://www.codeplex.com/aureset
6) Reboot.
7) Check your disk (System - usually C) for errors using this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
8) Do a full antivirus scan using your updated AV program.
9) Do a full AntiSpyware scan using SuperAntiSpyware:
http://www.superantispyware.com/ (free edition will
work fine for this) and clean what it finds.
10) Perform a disk cleanup using this (including get rid of
all system restore points but the latest):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
11) Use CCleaner (latest Slim download) to cleanup
excess files - don't worry with the registry yet:
http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds
12) Perform a full disk defragmentation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
13) Download the full IT version of Service Pack 3:
http://snipurl.com/29hzu
14) Reboot.
15) Make one last backup of your important files (at least)
- don't forget documents, pictures, music, contacts, emails,
favorites/bookmarks, spreadsheets, and other files you
created/downloaded. Product keys, installaable downloads
for applications you use, etc. The best way to accomplish
this would be a complete image of your machine using
something like TrueImage or Ghost.

16) Look through the following links - make sure none of
them apply to you (fix those that do):

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2008/05/08/windows-xp-sp3-read-all-prerequisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

Steps to take before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717

Release Notes for Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/8/cd8cc719-7d5a-40d3-a802-e4057aa8c631/relnotes.htm

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2008/05/08/does-your-amd-based-computer-boot-after-installing-xp-sp3.aspx
[NB: The above has been updated many times and now includes "a small tool
that will detect the IntelPPM problem and mitigate it before installing
[WinXP SP3]."

You receive a "Stop 0x0000007E" error message after you upgrade to Windows
XP Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 on a non-Intel-processor-based computer
(Revised 06 May-08)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888372

17) Try to install Service Pack 3 by running the full
download file...

18) Come back - let us know...

Seems like a lot to do, eh? I agree.

However - it's laid out there for you to follow. Whether or not you try
it - that's up to you. If you already maintain backups or use some of the
tools to maintain your computer - it likely won't be that difficult - if you
don't - you should likely learn anyway. A computer is not a toaster - you
are adding components and changing it all the time - whether you think of it
that way or not - you already mess with its internal workings everyday you
utilize it. The stuff given above is just a minor look at how you (in some
cases) should be taking care of it periodically anyway. Like you take your
car in to have the oil changed, you take the trash out of your home, you
clean your gutters, you mow your lawn, you pay your bills... Just to keep
something else going. ;-)

If done right - you only lose time if it does not work. If it does work -
you utilized time and learned something/got something accomplished.

Or you can find someone to pay to do it or just hope you can use Windows XP
just long enough where you cannot get updates because they require SP3 - and
then switch to something else *suddenly* - as most people like to do and
complain about the differences. heh Chances are you can easily live without
SP3 forever - some people still use Windows 98/ME/2000 after all.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


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