Nailed by Service Pack 2 - need some help

Hey, mdr44. Welcome to A2K. I have that world sitting in my systems tray as we type, and I refuse to click to install. Sometimes it pays to be a computer dummy. Wish I could help.

A common source of SP2 install problems is user confusion durin' the install process. See Microsoft: Detailed installation walkthrough for Windows XP Service Pack 2. Note in particular the warnings concerning the restart prompts offered by the Install Wizard (Gee, thanks, Microsoft )



In safemode, you should be able to access System Restore: you might wanna see if you can restore to a previous configuration. Also, Add/Remove Programs should be accessibale while in safemode; there may be an option there to remove SP2 and roll back your system to its pre-SP2 Install attempt configuration.


I've found usin' the SP2 disk a lot more reliable and trouble-free than relyin' on downloaded SP2. Free XP SP2 Install Disk

I dunno what method you used to install/uninstall SP2, but the followin' procedure will do a pretty thorough job of removin' it:

Perform a clean boot

When the machine has booted, click Start>Run - type (without the quotes) "C:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe" into the dialog box and click "OK". When the Removal wizard opens, click "Next". Follow the onscreen instructions and reboot when done - still in clean boot configuration.

Use System Restore to revert to a point prior to your problem.

Start>Help and Support>Pick a task>Undo changes to your computer withSystem Restore. Select the "Restore my computer to an earlier time" button and click "next". You'll see a calendar on the lefthand side of the System Restore Utility control panel. Dates in bold indicate available restore points. Select one earlier than your first attempt to install SP2 (you may have to page back the calendar to the previous month - use the arrows flanking the nonth displayed atop the calendar to do so), click "Next", and follow the onscreen prompts.

When the machine has rebooted, go back into the System Configuration Utility ( Start>Run - type (without the quotes) "msconfig" into the dialog box, click "OK" and be sure "Normal startup .... " is selected. If not, select it, click "Apply", click "OK", and reboot as prompted.

Finally, Microsoft offers a toll-free number for SP2 install issues:
(888) SP2-HELP (772-4357). Weekday hours are 5:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Weekend hours are 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM US Pacific Time.


Letty, you really should update to SP2 - your system is dangerously vulnerable to all sortsa threats otherwise.