Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Troubleshooting Service Pack 2

If you’re lucky, installing Service Pack 2 takes between 45 minutes and several hours.

If you’re not, you may be in for a troubleshooting sabbatical, as your existing software’s portholes to the network get sealed shut. Glitchiness seems to be especially prevalent in corporations, where, according to one study, one PC in 10 runs into trouble.

Microsoft has posted a list of several dozen common foundering programs—and ways to fix them—at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=842242. A number of popular games and utilities are listed there.

But there may be worse problems. Some people can’t even start up their PCs after installing the service pack.

The best way to avoid problems is to be slow and methodical before you install SP2. Then proceed through the following checklist with all the care of an archaeologist unearthing a skeleton:

1. Check your hard drive for free space.

   You need at least 500 megabytes of free space, or SP2 won’t even install. (For the speediest installation, defragment your hard drive first, as described on page 481.)

   Tip

   If your PC is your life—or your job, at least—you may want to take one additional, advanced step: Install a second copy of Windows XP, using the sort of dual-booting scenario described in Appendix A. Then install SP2 on the duplicate copy and test your most essential programs. This way, you’ll know about any potential crises before committing your “real” copy of Windows to SP2.

2. Remove spyware.

   Use a program like ...