Installation of sp2

Question

I always thought Dell was a good pc until I bought one.  I have been trying to install sp2 on my dell 4400 ever since sp2 came out.  I mean, You think a person would give up after the first YEAR.. But I am a determined person. I have read and followed all the instructions that I could find on dell and Microsoft web site right down to updating the bios.  Recently I ordered a sp2 cd from Microsoft and decided to try it again.  Sacrificing years of music, photos and other files, I even formatted the hard drive and performed a fresh install of windows XP followed by sp2. Low and behold, my pc starts acting funny again, slowing down, errors, and evetually locks up and wont restart. Any suggestions would be Helpfull.  One definate fix for this problem is,  I bought an HP.

fireberd · Answer

SP2 works fine on computers.  The first question on yours, is how much memory (RAM) do you have?  If you have less than 512MB that would be the first thing to consider.  Many older systems were sold with only 256Mb of memory and that is really inadequate for XP.    There can be many other factors, however, you didn't state anything other than basically 'I'm having problems'.  A little more would really help someone to assist you.

Jim_Hill · Answer

SP2 doesn't include all Windows updates. It covers a vast number of old updates, which would take hours to include in the normal manner. After installing sp2, you must to to Microsoft and download the more recent Windows updates. Start up Internet Explorer and search for Windows Updates. You will find many more updates to install.

You must have an anti-virus program, and update it too. During this update time, your computer is not fully protected and there's a chance some malware may cause problems. Jim

tommyo1954 · Answer

' I always thought Dell was a good pc until I bought one. '   It is a good computer..... In my opinion they manufacture a very good product. Message Edited by tommyo1954 on 05-02-2007 08:09 AM

jmwills · Answer

If you are behind a router, you are pretty safe until you can get everything loaded.  After SP2 loads, there should be somewhere around another 30 ro so updates that come thru.   As soon as SP2 loads and the machine reboots, make sure the firewall is on.

Jim_Hill · Answer

I've wondered about safety until everything is updated. Should I update Windows first, which takes forever to see what is needed, Norton first, which is faster but must be done over and over until all updates are installed.... McAfee is faster, but have other computers with Norton Inernet Security installed.

I guess the hardware firewall in the router keeps bad guys out.

Jim

jmwills · Answer

For what it's worth, you will see plenty of posts around here advising you not to install any form of Norton or Mcafee firewalls because of the overhead they require.   Plenty of free AV programs that do a good job and the router will protect you at home.

Jim_Hill · Answer

I agree with the overhead, especially with Norton, but selecting a suitable alternative isn't easy with all the opinions available here and there.

I subscribe to PC Magazine and PC World, and they check (or have an outside lab) check antivirus programs against a variety of viruses. The top choices vary, but Norton is usually up there near the top (plus I have a multi-user license so it is essentially free).

Dell was pushing McAfee when I purchased my E510, and practically pushed McAfee down my throat. I specified no security programs, but was forced to take a freeby McAfee good for a short time period.

I found I much preferred McAfee to Norton - I'm talking about security suites - and ended up purchasing a longer period.

Does it do the job? I think so, but have had some strange problems. First the printer stopped working (but worked on other computers), Norton Ghost 10 worked erratically, then I could not restore, and Webroot Spy Sweeper went through the motions of checking, but the files being checked stopped being displayed. The computer would not complete a shutdown, and I had to force it by holding the start button down. For a while, the computer would not start without multiple attempts. Then the computer ran extremely slowly. I used the factory reinstall function.

Some of the above problems appear to be malware-caused, others I don't know. Since I have some money involved, I'm going to try again before changing. McAfee's ratings were high for a while, but have dropped. I assumed others were better, not McAfee worse.

I just made the Ghost image today and will start using the computer on line, so have not had adequate time to form an opinion.

Jim

tommyo1954 · Answer

I was a happy McAfee user for about three years until they released their new security center which forces a heavily bloated all-in-one package on you. What a shame... it used to be good too. Now it rates almost as high as Norton for making an intrusive, bloated mish-mash of registry entries; with Norton unquestionably  making the 'King of The Hill' list as far as bloatware programs go. A google search will prove that fact......   There are many good, free antivirus programs out there. After I dumped McAfee I switched to the (free) AVG antivirus and have been very pleased with it. Very frequent updating of new viri definitions and trouble free use too. The only thing I didn't care for (but it is easy to turn off) was that e-mail scanner. I found that to be a bit intrusive but luckily it is an optional thing...so I deleted it.

Dudpc · Answer

OK. I called dell support and without paying $120.00 or more I was able to get the rep to give a suggestion.  First I ran Norton 360 to make sure there were no threats. Then I ran adaware for spyware. Then I run msconfig and turned off all the items that were checked in the startup. Then I installed sp2 from the disk that I got from microsoft. As soon as the pc rebooted it said, Windows Registry Recovery,  One of the files containing the system registry data had to be recovered by use of a log or alternate copy, The recovery was successful.  the pc started and ran for about two minutes and then froze up.  I restarted the pc and guess what...... windows could not start because the fallowing file is missing or corrupt,  \windows\system32\config\system.  Now my system will not start.  What should I do?

tommyo1954 · Answer

Again, and for what it's worth, McAfee and Norton are both notorious for bloatware; Norton really taking the prize for bugginess. However I see your position in wishing to keep it..   Good luck. But I'd cherish the words of wisdom from many regulars here on this forum who have much knowledge regarding Dell / McAfee / Norton issues instead of a magazine review. But the choice is yours though...   Have you tried running Dell Diagnostics ?  That might be worth a shot...  Also, can you obtain a (more recent) Windows reinstallation disk that already has SP-2 on it ?   Looks like your making things more troublesome by the way you're attempting to install SP-2. Sure, it should work.... but you might consider just getting a modern reinstall disk with SP-2 already on it instead of this slipstreaming thing.....   try Dell; maybe they'll send you a reinstall disk. Or if you have a buddy that has a reinstall disk that is of the same Windows version as what you have, then use that one...  I've found Dell to be quite accomodating whenever I needed any disks; even if I was no longer under warranty. They have always sent whatever I asked for.

Windows General

Installation of sp2

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