Service Pack 3

Repa,
I just checked Win Updates & I had no new ones. I got KB 890830, (Software removal tool) last month, August. But, I'm not sure if I'm still getting offered Win. other updates every month now.

While on Windows website, I clicked a link about SP3. There was a notice that said: Support for Windows XP with SP2 ended on 7/13/2010. Win XP with Sp2 is what I have.

1) Do I now need SP3 now?

2) The page also said there's no SP3 for 64 bit version of Windows XP. It went on to say, if running 64 bit version with SP2 you have the latest version, & have support and updates til 4/08//2014. I don't think I have Win. 64 bit version but I don't know how I'd know for sure?

1, you need SP3 now. Get the instructions for installing SP3 here -

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717

and read them before attempting to do the update. You really shouldn't have any problems if you follow the instructions.

2. On your desktop, right-click on My Computer and select Properties from the pop-up window that appears. On the Properties window, in addition to telling you what version of Windows you have, what processor you have and how big, and how much RAM you have, it will tell you if you have a 64 bit machine. If it doesn't tell you that you have a 64 bit machine, then you don't. You most likely don't.

Mine is not a 64 bit machine.

Got some concerns.

1) It said to Disable antivirus apps. Should I?

2) Talked about backing up files. I don't think that applies to me, does it?

3) Talked about possibly getting Error messages during install. Is that a problem?

4) I'm thinking I need set Restore point?

5) I went to Win. Updates from my Start menu. And, realized, since I discovered yesterday, that "updates" has been trying to get me to install SP3 for a good while. You'd think they would have told me that support had expired for SP2 at that time, wouldn't you?

6) While reading instructions it said that SP3 is a cumulative update that includes all previously released updates for Windows XP. Does that mean that any that I have previously "Removed" or not installed be re-installed? And, will that be a problem?

7) Why does SP3 have to be such a pain in the butt to install? Sounds like it could be troublesome.?

Yeah, I remember it mentioning that KB, I don't think I have it, but, I'll double check.

My problem, is that I dislike doing these maintenance installs, in the first place. And, it seems that invariably, something will go wrong, and cause me more problems. The computer requires so much maintenance, for the little time that we use it, is my gripe.

QUOTE:
- sometimes things can happen that you don't expect, the same as in life

But, in life, as opposed to the computer, I know what to do. With these computers, very different.Switching gears here. I can't get the colors to work for me in my messages anymore. Have you changed the way to hi-light posted messages now?

I have NoScript in Firefox forumotion.net is allowed. It doesn't work for me in any browser anymore. It used to work on all browsers though.

I hi-lite text, click colored dots icon, that click makes the high light go away. And, when I click the color icon, a border of black dots goes around the color icon, like a picture frame.

Won't work for me currently, but, used to work.

If it just started recently, do a system restore back to when it was working correctly. Remember, a system restore will fix many problems if you do it when you first notice a problem. Have you done the SP3 update?

Have you done the SP3 update?

Gonna do it when I get the instructions, and the other stuff you mentioned, printed up so I'll have it, if needed.

As u can see, got the color dots icon to work in Chrome browser this time.

The color dots icon also works in Opera browser. But, it does not work in Firefox for some reason.

did you try a restore to back when it did work in Firefox?

Repa wrote:

did you try a restore to back when it did work in Firefox?

It never crossed my mind. I'm using Firefox now, & I tried everything up there where the color icon is( whatever all that stuff is called?), & nothing works when I click it except the BBCode Guide.

Was the Restore point, since it's been too long ago, the only fix for this problem?

Quote: Just below the Reply text box is a blue bar with the word "Options" in the middle of it.

Repa,
There is no box there on mine.

EDIT @ 3:09 PM: When I was doing the last edit, I saw the OPTIONS box you mentioned. When making a ordinary post that options box is not available on mine.?

EDIT:The box in right corner of mine has a "minus" in it. The options are already visible, & Disable BBCode in this post is already unchecked.

When I returned to computer to check on the SP 3 Download & Install, it said it failed to install. No reason was given.

What can I do now?

Edit @ 3:06 PM: I just had a thought, Avast was the only AV that I disabled, was I supposed to disable anything else?

A. Answer the following questions:

1. When you received the message: “Service Pack 3 installation did not complete”, did you click OK? If you did, what did it say after that?

2. At what stage of the update did the installation fail? A status is given as the install progresses, and you need to be paying attention to what step of the installation it is in if a hang or failure should occur (e.g., "Finishing installation," or "Performing cleanup.")

B. Did you do all of the following:

1. If you have Ad-aware or Windows Defender running, those should be turned off also. Do you have any other anti-spyware software that I don’t know about that could be running? Do you have a 3rd party Firewall on your system other than Windows Firewall. Any one of these can prevent changes to the registry. Step 4 of the link I gave you says:

“Although disabling your antivirus software is not usually recommended, some antivirus software prevents certain system files from being changed. This may cause the Windows XP SP3 installation to fail. To make sure that you can successfully install Windows XP SP3, temporarily disable your antivirus software including any antispyware and third-party firewall programs. To do this, right-click your antivirus program icon, and then click Disable. The antivirus program icon typically appears in the lower-right corner of the computer screen.”

Before you begin the SP3 update again, check the Task Manager to see what is running. Disable any programs (in the Applications tab) that run automatically at startup.

Note: If you’re not sure that everything that should be disable is disabled, then do a print screen of the Task Manger on the Processes Tab (will probably have to do 2 print screens to show it all) and post them here so I can see what runs on your computer at startup. You won't see things like Windows Defender in the Applications Tab, but it is in the Processes Tab.

2. You have more than one User Account on your system. Log out of all User Accounts if you haven’t done so except for the Owner account, which is an Administrator account.

3. Did you verify the hardware prerequisites? The hard drive needs at least 1 GB of free space, and you should have at least 512GB of RAM or more. How much RAM does your system have (Right-click My Computer >Properties to find the amt of RAM). How much free space on your C:\ drive? (right-click on C:\ drive > Properties to find out). If you don’t have at least 512MB of RAM (1GB would be better as 512MB might cause problems, but I’m not sure about that), and more than 15% free space (free space divided by capacity) on the C:\ drive, you might have problems and probably should not do the update.

4. If you use Internet Explorer 8, did you uninstall it before trying to install SP3? This will roll the browser back to IE6.

C. If you did not do everything in B. above, restore your computer to the restore point you set before doing the SP3 update. Set a new restore point, reboot your computer, do all of the above in B. and then try again, following the instructions below:

1. Run the installation process, following any prompts. This may take 30 - 60 minutes or so.

2. If the installation hangs or you receive an error, give it at least 2 hours to resolve itself on its own. Then, open the Task Manger by hitting "Ctrl-Alt-Del." Click the "Processes" tab. Check for processes "cscript.exe" or "fixccs.exe" in the list. If you find either or both of these processes, right-click each and click "End Process." This should force the installation to continue.

D. If you did everything I mentioned in B. above, then we need to see if there is an error code available before proceeding. There should be an error code or codes in the “WindowsUpdate.log” file or in the “svcpack.log” file. These files are located in C:\Windows. Find them, copy their contents for the date and time of the update only, and post them here.

.How much free space on your C:\ drive? Free Space is 15.3GB. Used Space is 16.3GB.

4. If you use Internet Explorer 8, did you uninstall it before trying to install SP3? This will roll the browser back to IE6. NO, I'm still using IE6.

C. If you did not do everything in B. above,
If you don't mind, I'd like you to read my reply, and comment before I go at it again. This is starting to give me a headache. And, I'm finishing in this new reply box, because when I was using the "QUOTE" above, the computer began scrolling across the page on it's own, & I was afraid I'd lose all 2 hours I spent replying to you post. If that had happened, I'd have to commit haricari!!

BTW, I'm writing this in Opera, I was having a problem in Chrome, which I was replying in at first, & decided to try Opera, to try not to lose the post. I was also thinking that maybe all my other computer problems might be solved if I can get SP3? What say you?
I've got to get to bed!



restore your computer to the restore point you set before doing the SP3 update. Set a new restore point, reboot your computer, do all of the above in B. and then try again, following the instructions below:

1. Run the installation process, following any prompts. This may take 30 - 60 minutes or so.

2. If the installation hangs or you receive an error, give it at least 2 hours to resolve itself on its own. Then, open the Task Manger by hitting "Ctrl-Alt-Del." Click the "Processes" tab. Check for processes "cscript.exe" or "fixccs.exe" in the list. If you find either or both of these processes, right-click each and click "End Process." This should force the installation to continue.

D. If you did everything I mentioned in B. above, then we need to see if there is an error code available before proceeding. There should be an error code or codes in the “WindowsUpdate.log” file or in the “svcpack.log” file. These files are located in C:\Windows. Find them, copy their contents for the date and time of the update only, and post them here.


______

[quote="wcturner"]

Repa wrote:

I read that, but, since you did not say to disable any but, Avast, I assumed that the ones we have did not need to be disabled. But, after the Failure, I remembered it mentioned antispy, & malware Apps. And that's when I posted the question to you. In my "Owner's" Admin. account, the Icons for Malwarebytes, & SuperAntispyware is not in the task tray for me to right click on to disable. They reside on the START menu list, and require a left click to open, can they be disabled from there, since i don't know how to place them in the Task Tray? And, Ad-Aware, I did mine as you told me yours is. I only update it when I perform my weekly scans with it. So, I don't have to do anything to it since it is always dis-abled. Am I correct?


I think you're right, WC, I don't remember what I told you, but if Ad-Aware isn't in the system tray, it shouldn't be running.

Before you begin the SP3 update again, check the Task Manager to see what is running.
Disable any programs (in the Applications tab) that run automatically at startup.
I'm not sure how to disable programs in the Apps Tab, please refresh my memory, or lack of memory.? Can you give me an example of what could be running automatically at StartUp?

To get to the Task Manager, Press the Ctrl>Alt>Delete keys simultaneously. On the Applications Tab, Highlight an Application if it is there and then click the End Task Button below. Post a print screen of the Processes tab. You'll probably have to do 2 of them to get all the processes showing.

Before you try the SP3 upgrade again, I need to see if there is an error code available before proceeding. There should be an error code or codes in the “WindowsUpdate.log” file or in the “svcpack.log” file. These files are located in C:\Windows. Find them, click on them to open them (they will open in Notepad), and copy their contents for the date and time of the update only, and post them here, designating which is which. You will probably see a long list of stuff dating back several days. I just want the day and times during which you did the SP3 update. To find the files, click on your C:\ drive > Windows. Find the files (alphabetically) in the list, open them and copy only the lines that apply to the update date and time, and paste them into the text window with a heading that tells me which file the post came from.

After you answer the above and do the screen prints, I'll take a look and advise you from there what to do next.

On second thought, after reading your last post above, it reminded me that your computer - from what you've said for several months now - seems to be rather unstable, and that bothers me. You might save yourself a lot of time, grief and headaches and it might be worth it to you if you take your computer into a local repair shop (even Staples, if you have one there - they do repair work and might be less expensive - and have them back up any files you don't want to lose, wipe your hard drive clean, reinstall Windows XP Home with SP3 and put your backed-up files back on for you. If you don't want to do that, I'll keep trying to help you this way. But, that system has been giving you trouble for quite a while, and without being able to see it, it's hard to know exactly what your problems are. It really sounds like you need to start from the beginning and do a clean install of windows. It's not hard if you have a recovery disk or a Windows XP Home disk, but a repair shop can do if for you and save you a lot of stress and grief, and it should cost under $100. And they should be able to do it without putting on any of the bloatware that came with it.

You could call around, describe what you want done, and get a few estimates before you decide. But, I really think a clean install of Windows on your computer is probably the right thing to do, with all the problems you've been having and not finding any malware. It really doesn't sound like you have a stable system.

I'm just now seeing your last post, I've been doing my weekly scans earlier, since I failed to get them done last week. Yeah, computer's been unstable for a while now. I'll check around for a local repair to get prices when possible.. It'll be Sunday or Monday before I can do that though. What you are talking about a repair shop doing, when they finished, it would be like me having a new computer, wouldn't it?

I'll check to see, but, I don't think I have a Win. XP recovery disk, but, I clicked "My Computer" and in (D:) Drive, I've got HP_RECOVERY. A disk could be made from that, could it not?

In the meantime, if you don't mind, I'd like to try to get the screen shots for you, of the Task Manger on the Processes tab.
BTW, when in my Owner's Account doing the scans, when that account opened before doing any scans, I opened Task Manager to see what was running. In the Applications tab, nothing was running. In the Processes tab, only 8 things running, so one screen shot should do it.
When finished, I'll try to post screen shot here, and we'll go from there. Thanks you so much for helping. Maybe we can get this done, one way or another.

Selective StartUp was radio dial marked. Under this was 4 boxes are check marked.
And, under those 4 is:Radio Dial marked: Use Original Boot.INI

I tried to do a screen shot, but, it won't work. I can write out the 4 check marked boxes if you need to see them. I didn't leave it set in "Normal" StartUp, because the computer will need to restart & I wanted to come to post this first.

So, I'll go back now and put it in Normal StartUp, & you can let me know if you want the 4 boxes posted here, and to leave it in Normal startup?

EDIT:10:44PM CDT: I got the Owners account changed over to Normal StartUp . Should all accounts be changed to Normal StartUp, if they're not already?

No, just leave it as it is - I know what they are. Normally, that option is selected deliberately. Normal Startup is the default, but what you have is ok. If you've already changed it and it's working ok, than that's ok too. Sorry I didn't mention that before.

1) I'm gonna change it back to Selective Start Up as it was before. Start up is taking longer after I changed to Normal.

When I tried to do the screen shot of the Processes for you, couldn't do it. When I got to "File" step, the option window only had New Task(Run...), and below that was "Exit Task Manager".
What a dilemma! Will I be able to try SP3 again without that screen shot?


2) QUOTE: "It might be worth it to you if you take your computer into a local repair shop, and have them back up any files you don't want to lose, wipe your hard drive clean, reinstall Windows XP Home with SP3 and put your backed-up files back on for you."

a) When asking for an estimate from a repair shop, is there anything else to include in the list above?

b) I assume Avast, Java, and all those type of things would be included in "Files to be Backed Up"?