Windows XP service pack 2

[hammersley]

When will this be stable????? I installed and had a nightmare and had to uninstall - lost a hardrive.....

 

[John - K5AWO]

Yeah, and if it does install "okay", it slows everything down to a crawl. For some dern reason it deletes WINSERV. DLL from the startup files and then XP hangs on bootup because it needs winserv. dll to work right. The file is still in the system32 directory, but it isn't referenced on startup.

 

[bpenrod]

Strange, I have installed it on 4 pc's so far and all went flawless, wonder if the age fo the pc is a factor?? It even went great with my satelite connected pc even though Starband is not fully backing it yet.

 

[LandShark]

I did the SP2 upgrade last month on 3 computers; a 3 year old desktop, a 2 year old lap top and a 1 year old laptop. These computers are in use about 10 to 12 hours a day. No problem. Downloads were done on a cable network and took about 45 minutes each. I would never try a upgrade this big on a phone line.

 

[jjohn]

No problems here.

 

[GCross]

No problem on the one that I have tried, but have heard of many problems via a radio talk tech program (Leo LaPort on KFI). When reported to Microsoft the answer is that there are known problems being worked on. That's wonderful, so why didn't these problems manifest themselves while the 10,000 beta testers used it for almost a year. In general I like Microsoft, but releasing software before it's ready for "prime time" seems to be a persistant problem, who remembers the Millennium version of Windows? Ha. So now what, do we have service pack 2a to fix the bugs in Pack 2.



-George-

 

[bulabula]

I never had any issues with the three computers that I loaded SP2 on. I burned the 272MB file onto a CD prior to install. Installation was smooth, and no noticeable slowness on reboot noted either.



I think many of the issue folks are having are due to unknown issues (bots and/or spyware) currently residing within XP. Its when SP2 is installed, is when the wrench is tossed into the spokes.



Note: I did take it off this machine after a month when I found out that Pinnacle (DVD burning) didn't work.



I wouldn't worry about installing SP2.



Oh, Win98 and all its offspring were probably the lousiest OS's ever released.

 

[R-N-R]

I think many of the issue folks are having are due to unknown issues (bots and/or spyware) currently residing within XP. Its when SP2 is installed, is when the wrench is tossed into the spokes.

I support this statement as well, not to state that this caused hammersley's problem, but in general spyware is wreaking havoc in a lot of strange ways. I am constantly amazed what I find when I run privacy tools from multiple vendors. Numerous spyware items out today are blocking access to spyware removal tools and/or related web sites. Some viruses are also blocking virus protection and/or related web sites. XP SP2 incorporates a firewall that is turned on by default.



A good tool that I recently started using is Spy Sweeper from Webroot, This software finds considerably more than Ad-Aware from Lavasoft which I think is one of the best free spyware removal tools around. Run the free Spy Audit from WebRoot's web site, it will not clean it but it will provide a good idea what, if anything, is lurking around in your computer. If you really want an eye opener, run the free Privacy Analyzer on Webroot's website. Be forewarned, you might be really surprised what is still on your computer, therefore you might want to run the Privacy Analyzer when nobody else is around.

 

[George O]

Microsoft has established a help program. The company offers a number of options. If you cannot get online, call 1-888-772-4357. The company warns that hold times can be lengthy.



If you can get online, Microsoft offers a chat option. Or you can send e-mail. Several people have reported excellent experiences using these methods. Microsoft is apparently taking these problems seriously. There is more information on the Microsoft Web site.

 

[bnbrown]

I have installed SP2 on one computer, and got to spend about 45 minutes resetting all the network settings it changed, it automatically turned on the firewall (I use a hardware firewall instead) and since I run websites off my machines a firewall blocking those ports is something of a problem... I noticed that now when i change network settings I have to restart the machine, an annoyance i didnt have to deal with before. I am waiting on installing it on any of my other machines, not sure if i ever will. I also have one mac (G4 Powerbook) running OSX panther... the difference is kind of like going from driving an old chevy/olds diesel to running a cummins

 

[John - K5AWO]

Well, for one, I am not at all satisfied with the way SP2 runs. I have noticed a general overall slowness to my PC since the install of SP2. I have never tried to back out one of Microsoft's upgrades before, but I am sure going to do so with SP2. It isn't worth the troubles it has caused.



I use a hard firewall in my router with NAT turned on, PCcillin cranked up to the max, and Ad-Aware licensed version which is doing a tremendous job. In addition to that, I run Spybot S&D plus RegSupreme Pro and js16T package.



I have never had a virus make it thru to do damage in more than five years. I exercise a lot of diligence as to where I surf, and what emails I will allow to come thru. I never, but never ever open anything if I don't know who the sender is.



Based on the foregoing, I am going back to SP1 which pretty much fixed all of the glitches and it loads in less than 15 seconds from turn on. I am very jealous of anything that slows down my PCs.



My work PC is running Win2K with all of the latest patches. It runs circles around XP-SP2 and that is on a 666 mHz box compared to my 1. 7 gHz box at home w/XP-SP2 on it. Both have 512 mB of RAM.



Just 2 cents worth of warm air... .

 

[rweis]

Old box (XP), trouble with wireless DSL. Upgraded to SP2. Wireless worked way better. Connection stays connected.



No general prob with SP2 on XP clients. About 10 installs. Hardware (WatchGuard 1000) firewall. Symantec CorpEdit AV. NAT.



We have 100 clients and are going slow with the "upgrade". We run a very simple system and have seen no problems YET.



Bob Weis

 

[swexlin]

If you really want an eye opener, run the free Privacy Analyzer on Webroot's website. Be forewarned, you might be really surprised what is still on your computer, therefore you might want to run the Privacy Analyzer when nobody else is around.

That Webroot site is cool. I downloaded Window Washer for a free trial - think I'll probably buy it .