Makou
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Well, I still haven't updated WinXP to SP2, partly out of laziness, but mostly because I just don't want to. I've heard of a lot of people on my college campus and elsewhere having major problems after installing it, and I really didn't want my machine going down since I depend on it for a lot of class-related items.
Unfortunately, my college has a Microsoft security program that we have to install and run, and that determines whether or not we are granted access to their network. My machine (and everone else's) will have to be re-certified in January, and it is likely that Service Pack 2 will be considered a necessary update by then.
So, here's the deal. Has anyone had issues that would be helpful to know about, and (other than "back up everything") what can/should I do if any of these problems arise?
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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Angst
Rabid Doomer
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Elite
Posts: 1011
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sp2 doesn't cause TOO many problems beyond the addition of the security system. Which is an obnoxiously bouncy icon that bitches about not having firewalls/antivirus/etc installed until you disable it. Oh yeah, it kills a number of microsoft titles and automagically enables the xp firewall for you...
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"Who says a chainsaw isn't a ranged weapon?"
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Phoenix
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CLEAN OFF SPYWARE!!! This is the the second most important thing you can possibly do before installing SP2.
Spybot S&D Ad Aware
The most important thing you can do is MAKE A RESTORE POINT. I don't care if Windows says it will make one, make one yourself prior to even thinking about installing SP2. Restore points are your friend, I cannot emphasize this enough. I had to re-image a drive because a friend of mine's registry corrupted, and it was one of those "you can't fix it no matter what" kind of corruptions. If he had a restore point I wouldn't have had to format the drive. Fortunately he was a rather lean user and had all his data in the default "My Documents" locations, so I was able to recover all his info (CD Burner) and he just had to re-install programs.
Also, if you have a copy of Norton Utilities I'd recommend running Windoctor and fixing all invalid Registry entries. SP2 on a clean, fresh install of Windows XP goes in quite easily. The problem is when you have "flaws" in your windows installation. Those flaws are picked up and compounded by the SP install. Be sure to shut down any resource-hogging applications you might have running when you do the update as well, especially file-sharing programs, instant messaging software, etc. The cleaner you can make your Windows install, the less likely you are to have a problem.
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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shambler
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I have SP2 on my 3 comps. No problems with anything, except on the one, where it cleared my control settings in UT99.
Other two where fine. (mind, I have norton ghost images of them all, just in case. do the same if you can.)
BTY I use norton firewall,and that seems to workwell alongside the new windows one.
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Tabun
Pixel Procrastinator
Team Member
Elite (3k+)
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I approached this 'dilemma' from another PoV. What does SP2 add that I need? Nothing. I only have one XP system, and if it ever needs a reformat, it'll run 2000 again. I don't need newbie-friendly firewall and security applications other than the usual gaping-security-flaw-fixes by MS. So.. I won't run the risk for that :]
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| Tabun |
?Morituri Nolumus Mori? |
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Makou
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Unfortunately, Tab, if I want to be able to fully use my own PC at school, I'm going to have to have it. If I didn't need it, I wouldn't bother. Heck, even ATi's latest Radeon drivers have a recommendation that the user has WinXP SP2. Luckily, Pho, I already have AdAware, Spybot, and Norton SystemWorks 2004, so I'm all set as far as that goes. Now I just have to find the damn button to manually create a restore point (yes, I'm an idiot) and do that, as well. Judging by what happened to my laptop, having the newest drivers for everything probably wouldn't help. Now if only Turtle Beach's site was a little more friendly...
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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ReBoOt
Mean ol Swede
Team Member
Elite
Posts: 1294
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Well i have winxp SP2 installed and so far i have no problems! everything runs smooth!
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Woolie Wool
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Well, I still haven't updated WinXP to SP2, partly out of laziness, but mostly because I just don't want to. I've heard of a lot of people on my college campus and elsewhere having major problems after installing it, and I really didn't want my machine going down since I depend on it for a lot of class-related items.
Unfortunately, my college has a Microsoft security program that we have to install and run, and that determines whether or not we are granted access to their network. My machine (and everone else's) will have to be re-certified in January, and it is likely that Service Pack 2 will be considered a necessary update by then.
So, here's the deal. Has anyone had issues that would be helpful to know about, and (other than "back up everything") what can/should I do if any of these problems arise? Your best hope is to pray Microsoft doesn't spork over Longhorn even worse than its previous products. Which it probably will. I've heard its system requirements rival Doom 3, for chrissake.
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Makou
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What the heck does "Longhorn" have to do with XP Service Pack 2..?
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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Woolie Wool
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It's the next incarnation of Windows. Microsoft will probably do its damnedest to make you use it.
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« Last Edit: 2004-12-17, 21:26 by Woolie Wool »
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Makou
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Which means nothing in terms of my current situation, or this thread. *slaps the smilie on the last few posts*
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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McDeth
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Horseshit Bird.
He needs to completely uninstall ALL Norton software before he can proceed. They both have conflicting drivers it would seem and that is why my lappy crashed so many times.
Edit: Of course you can install all your Norton applications once SP2 is installed.
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« Last Edit: 2004-12-18, 00:39 by DaMan McDeth 666 »
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Beer? I'm down.
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Makou
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And update, for you many people who probably don't care. I contacted my school's tech department today, and inquired about needing Service Pack 2. It turns out that someone named Greg told me no, I do not need it at this time. That's fantastic news, since I seem to have lost every backup I've created for this computer within the last few months. Thanks for your help guys. I'm sure it'll come in handy to know once I do upgrade it, since I'm sure it will be needed next fall.
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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yea , what the hell do you have against horseshit anyway man ?
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McDeth
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Dec 17 2004 - 11:38 PM Jan 11 2005 - 04:53 AM 25 days. 5 hours. 15 minutes. I was wondering when I was going to see a response to that. But yea, sorry.
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Beer? I'm down.
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Makou
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I revived this thread to thank people for their help, not to contribute to some kind of argument or disagreement. Thanks.
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If you see a "Rona Altana" out there on the internet somewhere, that's probably me
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