Posted on 01/31/2005 5:48:12 AM PST by dennisw
After three months, the most popular question is still whether or not users should go ahead and install XP2. I'm not going to tell you that all is right with SP2 and that you won't experience some problems. What I will say is that as more users install SP2 the percentage of users that are experiencing problems seems to be dropping. What I said when SP2 first appeared is still true; if your system is functioning to your satisfaction and you have top quality, current firewall and anti-virus programs installed, there really isn't a compelling reason to make the jump to SP2. In spite of that advice, a lot of users do go ahead and install SP2 and that brings up another point. Is it better to go with an online installation of SP2 via Windows Update or is it preferable to use the network installation that is a 266MB download? If you have broadband, it's really a no-brainer; go with the network installation that can be downloaded here, or if you're on dial-up and want the full network install CD it can be ordered here. In almost all of the user feedback I've received where there has been an SP2 installation problem, the upgrade was performed via the online installation using Windows Update.
If you have dial-up you can order a disk from Microsoft or get a friend to download and burn a CD or perhaps do it at work.
Mark!
Do the download yourself and save it to a CD. Then do the upgrade from the CD. I have done dozens of the SP2 upgrades, and have not experienced one single problem. I got the SP2 CD for free from Microsoft -- which they will do if you have a legitimate version of XP. As far as not needing SP2, I think I have to disagree with that. The biggest reason is to avoid the dozens of other updates, which are combined into SP2.
Ping.
My son downloaded it and lost everything. Microsoft's technical support is a joke. I keep getting the popup to update, but I won't.
When Darth Bill come out with any new service pack (bug patch) I turn off auto up date for two months. I let someone else be the beta tester.
I downloaded the 266mb, made a CD and used it. You don't even have to make a CD. Just install from where you downloaded it to on the hard drive. I had no problems at all.
The best way is to do a clean install. You can slipstream SP2 into your copy of XP. There are no-brainer programs to help you do this. http://flexbeta.net/slipstreamerxp/ I used this to make an "upgrade" version CD of my XP disc
Forget service pack....get mozillafirefox.
I never , but never use MS Explorer for anything.
I could me mistaken, but I think the MS Update site broke SP2 up into smaller pieces and kind of snuck it out. I have upgraded a bunch of machines and have had no trouble.
I really like to Beta version of the spyware stuff.
The reason I suggested a CD is so that in case the hard drive ever goes down, or if you need to update another computer to SP2, you won't have to download again. I always do the clean install, and have CDs of the latest version of XP with SP2 included. I got mine free from Microsoft, but I have integrated them in the past as you describe.
Well, I had a glitch (my mistaken keyin) during the SP2 setup, and I had to reboot before it finished. During reboot the XP operating system recognized SP2 did not finish the installation.
I followed the XP's directions by de-installing and re-installing SP2. After reboot, XP lost the hardware configuration, so I ran ' Add Hardware' under Control Panel (Another option is reboot to see if XP would find the missing hardware).
I rebooted the system again and everything appeared OK. The Microsoft Update popup reminded me to install SP2 and I did. No problems with the 2nd try, it went smooth.
save
I did the Service Pack 2 update using the downloaded version from Windows update without problem on three computers. You need reliable broadband access and I would recommend setting a go back point just in case. Other than some improvements to IE like a pop-up blocker, I didn't notice much difference, but the patches for some other security holes are important. However I use Mozilla Firefox as my default browser.
Ping!
I installed the SP 2 update on 4 computers (2 servers and 3 laptops - a mix of 3 different Dell processor families of varying age) from the mailed CD. I got the release shortly after it became available - 3 out of the 5 installed without any problems; 2 required a re-boot to find all the peripherals. I haven't had any problems of any signficance since then.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.