Windows Service Pack 2

Question

I have a 600m. Had to replace the hard drive on it a few months back. Windows Automatic Update wants me to install the Windows Serive Pack 2 (I have the Service Pack 1 already installed). So does my PC-Cillion anti-virous software. But everytime I try to allow the Automatic Update to do so the installation process times out 1/3rd of the way into it and it fails. (Tried 3 times) I tried to download the Service Pack myself and then try to intall it, and the same thing happened.

These service packs are huge and they take a long time to open up and install. Perhaps somebody can tell me where I can get a copy of it that will actually successfully open and install or tell me how to get my automatic update version of it to go all the way through.

Thanks,
paul

jmwills · Answer

Turn off you A/V program as that sounds like where the issue is.  Installing SP2 should only take about 15 minutes.

tesserwithpaul · Answer

Technologically challenged - I am guessing A/V program is autio/visiual program. Am I close? But where is it and how do I shut it off? Thanks for your help.

jmwills · Answer

Anti-Virus.  The big probelms we saw with installing SP2 (a few years ago) was pre-existing malware and viruses.   Just right clikc your AV program icon and shut it off for this process.

tesserwithpaul · Answer

Why are these things so silly difficult for me?

I shut off PC-cillin (my anti-virus softwere) - went through and disabled every element of it for the intallation process. Then clicked on the automatic update globe thing and started the process again.

The automatic update continues to run, but about 5 minutes into it (and I waited and extra 10 to make sure) the windows intallation itself timed out. It is only about 10% done and says "checking product key" when it quits.

Do I really need SP2? (If so, any other suggestions?)

tesserwithpaul · Answer

also, I ran my software to check for virusius and malware - if there is any on this computer is it very sneaky - as it is not showing up when i check for things. and my virus software is up to date - to updates every day.

so i don't know how preexisting virusius or malware could be the source of my problem, although I won't rule anything out.

simpswr · Answer

You can download the full SP2 update . . save it to your hard drive, then run it . . the full upgrade seems to work better than the Windows Download version   Before upgrading, look thru this for anything extra you can do.

jmwills · Answer

I will ask this in the most respectful way I know how.  Is your copy of XP legit?

tesserwithpaul · Answer

Thanks. I downloaded the sp2 from the site you sent me to. I shut down every single program that was running. i have plenty of space, plenty of ram, plenty of everything i could possibly need.

I seemed to have gotten a little further this time but still when we got to the 'checking product key' it timed out and failed. I am wondering now if the fact I have tried to open the darn thing 5 times has created a mess i need to clean up or if the fact that it has failed has meant that the files opened are not a problem floating around.

Please help me get past this 'checking product key'!

tesserwithpaul · Answer

No offense taken.
I bought the 600m back in Feb direct from Dell
XP operating system and Student verion (or whatever it is called) CD's came with it.
Had to replace the hard drive 2 months ago. Once again got it directly from dell
But had to re-install everything myself. So if it is not legit, I've no idea how it became so.

Your question leads me to a counter question: Is there something that may be remaining on the CD that I need to get on the computer first? (How could it have failed to do so when origionally installed?)

I am currently living in Istanbul, Turkey. Perhaps the location - being so far away from Philadelphia where I bought it make a difference? At this point I am out of ideas and rather sick of trying to sort this sp2 stuff out.

When I reinstalled my drivers (which I had a heck of a time doing on my own) I may not have done so in the correct order. (although minus this sp2 situation I really have no complaints about how things are running now). I only knew I needed a service pack when TrueCrypt told me that if it failed it was because I had not installed a serice pack. So I went online and looked for one. I ended up installing the sp1. I sure wish I had gone directly to the sp2. But whats done is done.

Question still holds, got any other ideas. Thanks again for your help.

jmwills · Answer

You may have hit something.  Which product key did you use?  The one on the machine or the one that came with the disc?   I have not heard of any machine coming from Dell with the Academic version preloaded.   We may can fool this thing by slipstreaming the SP into the original disc.  Do you have any CD burning software such as Roxio or Nero?

tesserwithpaul · Answer

Interesting. Just got my CD's out. So to correct myself - I have the Windows XP Professional Cd (with the product key on the back of the while slieve.)And Micosoft office Student and Teacher Edition. I had to use a product key with both of them. But it was the Office that got me confused about the academic version. It isnt.

I had to have used the product key for the cd. I am not even sure where the product key is on the machine.

I have sonic as my cd burning software. It came with the machine. Only things I ever burn are music cds and I use itunes for that. I have been tempted to download nero for a while but it is big and I only have an adsl connection - so it would take hours. Hopefully sonic would be sufficient. But willing to get nero if you think it necessary. What do you have in mind? Dunno that I want to try to copy something onto my XP professional Cd - it is the only one I have. :)

jmwills · Answer

Forget the office Cd, this has nothing to do with the OS.  The product key for the OS is located on a sticker on the bottom of a laptop or the back of a desktop.   Is this OS activated yet?   Slipstreaming involves copying the contents of the XP disc to your hard drive along with the Service pack and combining them together an then burn a new disc.  This gets a little techie:   http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

tesserwithpaul · Answer

You are not joking - techie indeed. This may be over my head - and beyond my desire.
I can see the advantage of having a slip streamed CD - but I am not sure I really want to even try to go through the hassel. Does give me something to work on when I am bored!

2 Questions:
1) I thought the OS was activated but I had never even noticed that product key on the computer. I am not getting any notifications that I need to activate anything. Do I need to check/ how do i check?

2) after looking at that super site for windows I can see that the sp2 provides a lot of upgrades (that I can not even see how will be helpful!) - but I imagine them to be primarily security related. Am I running any serious risks by not having sp2 on my system? I am 95% sure everything else is uptodate and otherwise secure.

JRosenfeld · Answer

See if Microsoft will validate you XP installation:   http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/validate.mspx   If it fails, it may be that your copy of XP is not genuine, or it may be that the validation failed (that has happened to some). If you are sure it is genuine,   try the Window Genuine advantage forum,   http://forums.microsoft.com/genuine/default.aspx?siteid=25   read and follow instructions here: http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=485803&SiteID=25

tesserwithpaul · Answer

That validation could not have been easier. Took all of 2 minutes. Yep. I am validated and legit (which makes sense - 100% of what I am using I have purchased from Dell!)

2nd question still holds:
Can anyone tell me why I should go through the slipstream process to create an XP+sp2 CD just so I can get this darn sp2 on my system?

Windows General

Windows Service Pack 2

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