Install Windows Service Pack 2: Troubleshooting Tips

[cragar]

I tried to install windows service pack 2 on my computer. When everything was downloaded and then it restarted my computer. when the computer was restarting windows it froze up
and would not continue to the desk top. I turned the computer off and started it back up again and it did the same thing. I had to reformat my computer so i could even use it.
Does anyone know what is going on. And how should I install windows service pack 2.

 

[Bill Simpson]

We don't know from your post which version of Windows you have or whether you successfully previously installed SP1.

I also do not remember whether there was an expiration date on the offer or not, but I clearly remember at at least one point in the past for Windows XP that Microsoft offered free phone support to anyone who was having any problems getting one of the service packs installed.

Google for
Microsoft support install SP2
finds a substantial number of hits from Microsoft. I would hope you might be able to trust those more than you can trust some raving nut who is for or against SP2.

Since you have already reformatted your drive there are perhaps fewer options. One that you might consider is to create a "slipstream" CD. This is a CD with all your original Windows files that were unchanged by the SP and all the updated files from the SP integrated into a single install CD. I would also make certain that you have a CD containing any and all drivers for your hardware that were not so standard that Microsoft already included those on the Windows CD. I have had installs where a handful of the Dell drivers were not included and the machine was not functional enough to be able to get the needed drivers by itself half way through installation. I would recommend that you have another working computer sitting right beside the one you have so you can use the working machine to do Google searches to answer questions and fetch needed drivers during the install process.

At least for Windows XP, SP1 seemed to be a much bigger problem for many people than SP2 was. I heard very few people who killed a machine going from SP1 to SP2 and that was not the case going from XP to SP1.

So, read all the official directions from Microsoft, follow all those and perhaps do some of what I suggested above.

 

[rishi.sharma]

Can you post your computer's configuration and how are you trying to install the windows and is it WIndows Xp sp2 ?.
Also ensure that the installation media is not damaged.

 

[cragar]

what do you mean by computer configuration.
I am running xp if that's what your asking. Do I need sp1 before I install sp2 .
The whole reason I wanted to install sp2 was so I could download google chrome.
I tried to download chrome but it said my version of windows is not supported,
someone told me it is probably because I don't have sp2 on my computer.

 

[Bill Simpson]

I tried to download chrome but it said my version of windows is not supported, someone told me it is probably because I don't have sp2 on my computer.

This
http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95411
says XP SP2+ (whatever the + means) is the minimum. So that tends to support what someone told you.

Did you previously have SP1 installed and working fine before you tried to install SP2? Did you have all the hundreds of post-SP1 Microsoft bug patches installed and working fine before you tried to install SP2?

This
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/learn-how-to-install-windows-xp-service-pack-3-sp3
says you cannot install SP3 without at least SP1a previously installed. Unfortunately I've misplaced the brain cell that remembers whether you could install SP2 without SP1 or SP1a. No SP to SP1 seemed to be the most trouble for people and no SP to SP2 should be the same.

Can you create a "slipstream" XP SP3 disk or find someone you can pay $5-$10 to do that for you? That should sidestep some of the problems.

 

[cragar]

ok thanks for everyones posts I will try that stuff.

 

[Mark44]

This
http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95411
says XP SP2+ (whatever the + means) is the minimum.

The "+" means "or later". For Win XP, this means XP SP2 or XP SP3, which was the last service pack for Win XP.