Installed XP Service Pack 2 yet?

[mtrawls]

Got to UVa, tried to register to the network, ... and I'm told I have to install SP2. Interestingly, UVa had it's on version on its own server (one download we had changed settings in the registry to point Windows Update elsewhere), due to the high volume of students who would be installing it in a short time span.

Since all this mention of anti virus programs, ... versions of Symantec prior to 9 don't work well with windows new security panel, so you should probably upgrade. (I had to upgrade, and I had Symantec AntiVirus installed when I got this computer some few months ago. But no complaints, since UVa pays for the liscences for its students ...)

[Tytus Gerrish]

DO not Instal it It has SO! many incompatibalitys Even on the simplest programs Ive gotten alot of friends coming to me with Dark and scary warnings of the update in one case over 132 incompadibilties

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Tytus Gerrish

DO not Instal it It has SO! many incompatibalitys Even on the simplest programs Ive gotten alot of friends coming to me with Dark and scary warnings of the update in one case over 132 incompadibilties

Incompatible? With what?

If it doesn't work for Quattro Pro for Windows 3.1, and 131 other programs just like it, it doesn't matter! So some examples of the incompatibilities, and their effects would be useful.

Most of these "incompatibilities" have been things like Windows blocking a port that is improperly used by some program (because of a lazy or inept programmer). They can be easily fixed as described above--simply unblock the port.

As for blanket statements, let me make one: if it runs on Windows 2000 (SP3 or SP4) and/or Windows XP (RTM, SP1 or SP1a), it will almost always run on XP SP2. I'd say that this is more probable than "dark and scary" effects.

[Matt Attallah]

Originally Posted by Tytus Gerrish

DO not Instal it It has SO! many incompatibalitys Even on the simplest programs Ive gotten alot of friends coming to me with Dark and scary warnings of the update in one case over 132 incompadibilties

Mind sharing some of the programs they are having problems with and the computer processor/ram/hard drive/ect...?

SP2 seems like it is going to help out MS alot with XP...

[Gary Dillard]

Originally Posted by Max Lobovsky

Processes taking 100% CPU resource for seemingly no reason is often caused by a virus. I suggest you try some other virus scanners.

If the CPU pegs for awhile, try opening task manager and check out which process is using the CPU. I had this problem and after finding the process, I checked and found it was a background program that was moved/loaded into my startup file and ran all the time. I took it out and haven't had any problems since. If you can isolate the process, even if it's a new XP feature, maybe it can be turned off.

[rbayer]

My only problem with sp2 was that it completely and totally killed Halo for me. After searching on google, I found out that this apparantly isn't just me either. Other than that, sp2 seems to work fine with the rest of my programs.

[Raven_Writer]

Originally Posted by Matt Attallah

...SP2 seems like it is going to help out MS alot with XP...

I've gotta agree with Matt here. SP2 has so many things that was basically cried for in previous Windows releases (including SP's). I personally believe that if Microsoft listened to their customers the most at anytime, it'd have to be during the creation of SP2 (just me though).

I personally haven't tried it yet, because I'm not a risk taker for incompabilities (sp?), but if/when MS gets this (mostly) all fixed, I'll be up for a test run.

[Astronouth7303]

Not yet, but that's just because it requires 600 MB! I'm thinking that would require me to re-partition (one NTFS, the other still Win32. One drive).

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by rbayer

My only problem with sp2 was that it completely and totally killed Halo for me. After searching on google, I found out that this apparantly isn't just me either. Other than that, sp2 seems to work fine with the rest of my programs.

Well, no problems with Halo here... Although, I did turn Windows firewall off. (Yes, I do have my own firewall. Hardware and software.)

[CmptrGk]

i have installed sp2, and if you use ISS, the windows xp ftp/smpt/http server program, it will not work, you will get a premissons error, and the session will time out. i tired a differnt ftp server program and it seemed to work.

[ahecht]

Originally Posted by Cory

I didn't install it.

WPI's network doesn't support it as of yet.

Cory

Yes it does. Netops doesn't want Faculty and Staff to install it on WPI owned computers, but a dorm computer should have no problems at all (mine doesn't). If you have trouble, you can always deactivate the firewall, and the network interface will act virtually identically to SP1 computers (unless you do something silly like join the WPI domain). Don't let NetOps scare you, they could honestly care less.

[Matt Attallah]

Allright.

Microsoft You better be listening.

I Just had a MAJOR problem when I was installing SP2.

I have XP Home Edition (it was upgraded from windows ME) and the download/install went perfect. Asked to reboot and that is when the problems came. I oked it to reboot and than it'd flash my compaq screen and than say that Windows could not start up because the file "biosinfo.inf" could not be found. I have spend about the past 2-3 hours trying to get this figured out - and finnaly did. Gotta have the old CD of XP and a copy of the file "biosinfo.inf" on a floppy. (ONLY that file on the floppy) and have to use recovery option ("r" selection) and manually copy the file to the \WINDOWS\INF\ directory. It was a huge pain in the rear.

Microsoft - for your sake - you better hope noone else has the same problem that I did. Eather than that SP2 seems to be rockin' pretty well...

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Matt Attallah

I have XP Home Edition (it was upgraded from windows ME)

Incidentally, a clean install is really a much better idea! Windows Me has essentially nothing in common with XP--the upgrade tries to preserve settings, but because of their notorious unreliability and the many concessions to the upgrade process (files in different places, no NTFS, etc.), it isn't particularly prudent to go from any Windows 4 to Windows 5 OS. (That's 95, 98 or Me to 2000, XP or 2003.)

Did you have Norton Antivirus installed when you ran the upgrade? There's an issue with Norton causing a biosinfo.inf error during an upgrade from Me to XP. If you didn't encounter the issue going to XP, maybe it is still relevant going to SP2? (That's only a hypothesis.)

[Ashley Weed]

I was weary on doing the install of SP2, but I decided I should do it before I start managing my network at my apartment with information traversing wildly through that. My zd7000 came equipped with XPSP1, so I was trying to push it off... but my thoughts....

1. I run Norton Corporate and first I was scared that it said it didn't detect a anti-virus program. I decided to just tell it to ignore it, and let me self-manage. It would be nice if SP2 had been able to at least recognize all virus programs, if nothing else.

2. The firewall - yes I know it says to only let one run. Well, I don't think you can ever be too safe. So, until I have a conflict with Zone Alarm, SP2 Firewall, and my router..... I'll let them all do their own thing.

3. My only annoyance so far, the old windows update would ask you once if you wanted to restart, and that was that. The new security "menu" will ask every 10 minutes if you want to restart.

Just so I find no major conflicts with applications I will be content.

[Astronouth7303]

I upgraded from ME to XP, and it's given me no problems.

I have 1 drive with 2 partitions, C: and D:.

When I installed XP, I told it to convert C: (where ME was installed) from FAT32 to NTFS. Thus, it wiped my OS (which, normally, is avoided ). But D: is still FAT32.

If you have 1 drive, then I recomend backing up to CD-R or another drive (my 20GB takes about 30 CD-Rs). Then you can copy them back on w/o problems.