Windows XP Service Pack 2

[s*t*a*r*m*a*n]

Why dont you just make your hard drive removable? stick a caddy in and away you go. its not that difficult to do if you feel comfortable around the innards of a pc, just make sure you switch it off and unplug it first though . Gives you much more flexibility and if the system goes down then you can just stick in another hard drive and your back online again. HD Caddys only cost about £8 to £10 pounds roughly. Obviously you need a spare slot on the front of your case for it though but most people have this anyway.

 

[PoloMint]

Have installed SP2 on three machines and had no problems whatsoever.

Doesn’t really change the feel of windows, it removes the ‘professional’ and ‘home edition’ words from the splash screen. The firewall is terriable, compared to the last one its probably ok, but compared to even the free Zone Alarm it's not worth having.

It also warns you if you don’t have antivirus software, auto updates or a firewall running every time you start windows which can be annoying (especially as it doesn’t detect all anti virus software) but you can disable the warnings.

Networking has changed slightly also, if you are on a network that isn’t set up properly it now tells you that you have ‘limited connectivity’ and the connection might not work and some other things like that, they are stating the obvious, but it’s still more informative than before.

Not had any problems with programs, Zone Alarm 5.something works fine as does Norton Antivirus. You can also uninstall it if you want to.

 

[john_graydon]

Downloaded It but had`nt enough space to put in on. have to delete all my movies. maybe I wont load it. Annoying the icon keeps popping up to tell you to upgrade.

 

[cjgall]

I downloaded it but I decided not to install it.

My dad's HAM radio software stopped working after upgrading, and he can no longer run Microsofts(!) Combat Flight Simulator 3, uninstalling SP2 didn't help.

I think I will wait for the first SP2 patch just to be on the safe side. In fact I might skip it altoghether.

 

[mo1965]

Has anyone had the same problems that I have just encounted.
I have just downloaded Windows XP Service Pack 2 and lost all Internet connection.
Nothing on IE, MSN, or Opera, does anyone know why !

I have been running for 2 weeks and no problem. I used a cd from a compter magazine though. I also disabled the autoupdate.

 

[BGonaSTICK]

Hey fellas, it would be real useful if you could say what key-types you're using (i.e. legit, or thieving-bstard-pirate)... ;)

Still not convinced, but I'll probably be persuaded when something I'm running requires SP2.

 

[HutchTheCrutch]

I have XP Pro on 2 machines and Tablet PC on my .... er ....tablet !! All legit keys. I upgraded 1 XP Pro machine and the tablet PC about a month to 6 weeks ago and I've only found 1 problem so far and that's with my webcam re-booting the machine whenever I try and use it.

The tablet edition is superb .... it's far more accurate and translates about 95% of my handwriting with no problem.

I've left all the firewall crap in place and I run Adaware & Norton and it seems to be happy.

I'm certainly no 'Billophile' but I've not been stuffed by Gates since I got rid of that bloody awful NT4 crap and went to XP, (apart from having to download all new drivers of course!)

 

[PaulR]

Well, after several weeks of prevarication I finally hit the "update" button in the system tray.

Apart from one minor problem it seems to have been quite painless. The installation proceeded smoothly taking about 1/2 an hour in total. It even recognised my Zone Alarm firewall and didn't switch the integral firewall on.

The one little problem? I run an HP Omnibook 6100 and there are separate volume and mute switches on the side of the case. Before the upgrade these would bring up a volume bar or mute sign on the screen for a few moments when operated. Now,they've gone. I don't suppose I'll ever get them back but it would be nice.

PaulR

 

[BGonaSTICK]

Installed SP2 from WU on a test machine the other day, and so far no probs.

It checked my 'independantly-sourced' key at the beginning of the installation, but installed fine.

I'll test it for a month, then move onto one of my other machines.

I turned off SP2 anti-virus monitor, as I know it's running (duh), turned off the new firewall, as I have two others running (duh) and turned off auto-update, as I don't trust the bu99ers (duh), so I'm not sure what exactly it's doing for me, but hey, I don't like to miss out!

I notice that the Norton default for sharing its A-V status to other apps (namely WinXP SP2) is 'No'!

 

[Rob]

The one little problem? I run an HP Omnibook 6100 and there are separate volume and mute switches on the side of the case. Before the upgrade these would bring up a volume bar or mute sign on the screen for a few moments when operated. Now,they've gone. I don't suppose I'll ever get them back but it would be nice.

PaulR[/QUOTE]


Hi Paul, I saw something in a computer mag that might help you get them back, will check it tomorrow (left mag at work) and let you know.

 

[AForester]

Finally gave in to the endless prompts on saturday and allowed the download. Machine ran ok for the rest of the evening. Turned on sunday, could not get onto the web, had to do a system restore, so I will continue to ignore the prompts in future.

XP home, legitimate.

 

[BGonaSTICK]

My Internet gateway went west yesterday, so I re-built that to SP2 as well, and it too is fine.

I think that the vast majority of folks' problems are down to the fact that either they haven't followed Micro$ofts' pre-install guidelines and/or that their system is not free of gremlins to start with (which is the main thrust of the MS guidelines anyway). There is just a continual stream of sh!t hitting my firewalls and being picked up by other defences that I have in place. It's unbelievable. I was even 'infected' with some unwanted code as I was downloading SP2 onto a virgin build! What a waste of resources. It must generate more IP traffic than spam.

I'm all for freedom of use etc. but the creators and distributors of this stuff should be boiled in oil. After I've hacked their heads of with a blunt machete obviously.

 

[rolfw]

I installed SP2 before the weekend, now my Goldtach firewall won't work, have had to uninstall it, I have to set up a network connection everytime I start the computer and my Mailwasher Pro tries to start but never appears. Not very happy with it, I can't switch off the XP Firewall, as it just reappears every time I restart and throws up these bloody annoying popups evry time.

I may well go back to the old XP Pro or perhaps even 2000, so far it is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Rob]

@PaulR or anyone else who has an old program that won't start.
Found this in a computer magazine and I hope it is of some help, I can't voucher for it myself as I have not had any problems with SP2.

Try the Compatibility Wizard.
Right click on the short cut to the program.
Choose Properties then click on the Compatibility tab.
You should now be able to set the program to run as if it were installed in a previous
version of Windows.
Hope this is of some help.

 

[PaulR]

Rob

Thanks for looking. I was aware of the compatibility tab but this won't have any effect on my problem as the buttons are part of the computer and override the Windows audio settings.

The search goes on...

PaulR

 

[BGonaSTICK]

I installed SP2 before the weekend, now my Goldtach firewall won't work, have had to uninstall it, I have to set up a network connection everytime I start the computer and my Mailwasher Pro tries to start but never appears. Not very happy with it, I can't switch off the XP Firewall, as it just reappears every time I restart and throws up these bloody annoying popups evry time.

I may well go back to the old XP Pro or perhaps even 2000, so far it is more trouble than it's worth.

You can be sure that if some of your S/W doesn't work, then the firms concerned will issue a fix PDQ with the number of folks installing SP2 now.

Does Mailwasher appear in the process list in task manager? Have you checked your logfiles? If not, they are a very useful resource. Start/All Programs/Administrative tools/Event Viewer.

As far as the popups go, do you mean from the tray? If so you can shut them up by right-clicking an unoccupied section of the taskbar, properties, hit the taskbar tab at the top, then the customise button. Locate the offending tray icon and set it to 'always hide'.

 

[rolfw]

Yes, the Mailwasher shows in the processes list, but doesn't open, just seems to run in the background, have disabled on startup and am starting manually for the moment. Have uninstalled Goldtach and may try reinstalling or move across to something else. Can't understand why the Windows Firewall keeps reopening though. Sure I'll get there, just may take a while, want to get it right, as this installation will be moving to a new high performance home in the mext couple of weeks.

 

[BGonaSTICK]

If you're adding a new network connection every time you start Windows (ouch!), isn't that why the Firewall is re-appearing (as the default is 'on' for a new connection)?

 

[rolfw]

No, actually expressed that incorrectly. The network connection is already there, I can find my other PCs in network places and open directories, but have to make a new internet connection in IE. Again, may have solved that now by uninstalling Goldtech, but can't see why that should happen.

 

[BGonaSTICK]

Hmm, that sucks. FWIW I have Zone Alarm Pro V4.5.594.000 running OK.