Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Microsoft Madness!

I got an early Christmas gift from Microsoft on Monday. I downloaded the "service pack 2" update for XP and it hosed my home computer (I am posting from my work computer). Windows will not come up, it tries but then shuts down (over and over again).

I've been on the phone with Microsoft but the windows repair from the cd did not work. They have promised to have a "level 2" tech call me within 24-72 hours (45 hours and counting) with more/better help. It looks like I may have to reformat the hard drive and loose everything.

Is there anyway to avoid reformating the hard drive. Thanks for any advice in advance.

You can get another drive and load XP on it. Then make your old drive a second drive in the system. Then copy all of your data over to the new drive. Or you could just reload XP in a different directory on the drive you have now. You shouldn't have to reformat.

But it won't even start up to do anything except boot from cd.

I'm not on XP, I use 2000, but am curious, is there a Safe Mode you can boot up with...? I know in 95 and 98SE, you could hit like F8 or something like that during the BIOS boot sequence to get into a Safe Mode, then maybe from there you could make some progress...

That's why I said reload it into a different directory and call it winxp or something. It will be fresh install. You don't have to format your drive. All of your data will still be intact. You will need to reinstall your programs.
It will create a new boot.ini file and reload all of the drivers. After the install you will need to move your .dat files to the location(s) your programs will find them.

It won't even boot up in safe mode. It just shuts down as soon as it tries to start.

But it does boot from CD, correct? That means that at least the thing gets somewhere (which starts to rule out a hardware problem. I'm surprised you can't hit safe mode; that usually comes up very soon in the boot process. I'd try the second hard drive thing, myself. You just have to be careful that you're installing on the correct drive!

When you say when it tries to start, do you get to the Windows XP splash screen (with the little green progress bar on the bottom? If so, it's crashing after the point where safe mode would be accessed. Start hitting F8 right after you turn it on (just keep pressing it) and see if you hit the list of modes. If you can get it up in Safe Mode, then you can uninstall SP2 (and reapply it if you're brave!)

I (well Roger did most of the work) just upgraded my computer. New motherboard, new processor, new SATA hard drive, new RAM...XP didn't like it. We had the same problem you're describing. It wouldn't boot...just kept rebooting over and over. We had to load from the XP installation disc and do a "repair" rather than a full install. It took quite awhile, but once it was done I was good as new. (Well actually better since I added all the new stuff!)

you have whats called "the service pack 2 reboot cycle" spk2 is conflicting with something in your sys. did you say tried a repair install off the ms cd (which is essentially reloading a new os over the current os without losing data). also i dont know how computer savy you are but you could try these
ms article
repair install
prepare for spk2
but if you have access to another hard drive i would back everything up first then try or at that point just do the format and reload of os. also what cpu are you running if it is a intel presscott cpu there may be extra steps to get your pc to accept spk2. ****disclaimer advice is given free of charge with no liabilty to me if you want to try the above you do so at your own risk****

mwc, the second hard drive option is your best bet at preventing data loss. Drives are dirt cheap right now at under $1/gig. Install the new drive in your computer and installa fresh copy of XP on it. You'll be able to access your original drive and all the files on it. The only downside to this is that you'll still have to reinstall all your programs.

I had the same problem and couldn't be bothered to sort it out, I simply went in and restored an earlier version.

I'll look at the "fixes" and see if I can make sense of it all.

From what I read, the best (only?) way to effectively install SP2 is to do it immediately after a fresh install of XP. That would indicate a need to 1) wipe your current drive completely and start over or 2) start with a new drive.

I installed SP2 on a year+ old XP installation with no problems what-so-ever. I dunno...

I had troubles when I upgraded all my hardware, but my initial SP2 install went without a hitch.

Yeah, I've only had one problem with SP2, and it wasn't a boot issue. I had to roll it back because it was incredibly slow. Once I reinstalled it, it was fine.

No problems here with SP2 either. IIRC, I had to reset a couple of programs in my ZoneAlarm, but after that it's been smooth sailing all the way (saying a profound "thank you" to the computer gods).

I can get to the "list of modes" but it shuts itself down even in safe mode. I'm still waiting for a call from microsoft but I'm not optimistic. They said 24-72 for a level 2 tech to call but here it is at 67 hours and they haven't call yet.

Local repair shops have quoted me 150.00-200.00 to fix it without loosing all my files. They also said that they are doing a brisk business fixing problems caused by sh!t pack 2. It's enough to make me want an Apple. I'm not computer savy and all this stuff is making my head spin and throb. I may just bite the bullet and get the computer doctor to make a house call.

BTW, thanks for all the great advice and help from all of you folks. It is times like these that make me glad I'm a member here.

Happy Holidays to all!

I'm so sorry you have to go through this Mike. I rely on my computer SOOOO much for everything (not really a good thing) that it makes me crazy (crazier? ) when it's not working correctly. I'm not proud of this, but sometimes, when it's not functioning properly, I actually sleep very poorly. I'm just too dependent on it for many of the basics.

Hang in there. Though saying it ain't gonna make ya feel much better, the truth is, "this too shall pass."

Thanks for the kind words Jack.

I mostly use the computer to visit this board (and a few others) and make my silly little posts once in a while. I personally have nothing on the computer that I will loose sleep over if it gets lost.

It is the rest of my family that I really feel for because they use it for school and work and fun stuff (music,games,etc.)

It just grates my nerves to no end to think that Microsoft's s#!t mucked up my computer and that they will get away with it. I guess it's partly my fault for not doing a back up before installing but I really had no clue that anything this bad could happen. Oh well, live and learn

I'm sorry to hear that you're having so much trouble. I'm afraid this has left my area of expertise... But to you Windows experts out there, would it help if he did a repair from the Windows XP CD?

I think he did the window's repair already.
Personlly, I'd go with the 2nd hard drive. I've had boot issues with 2000 and xp and when it gets this bad, I slave the drive to another and try to pull the data I want. After that I do a complete fresh install. XP is by far the best OS from MS (and pretty good overall), but it still has problems.

jr

I work in the IT at the Principal Financial Group, I'll check with some of my IT contacts for areas that have migrated to XP to see what I can find out...Randy

yeah at this point 2nd hd fresh load or computer shop and have them fresh load it for you. XP is a great os but with so many manufactures of soft and hardware ms can't be compatible with everything.sorry you are one of the unlucky ones. do you know what cpu you have or how old your pc is.

The MS level one folks must really stink if they didn't have you try the option that says "Disable automatic restart on system failure".

You computer should now simply crash and sit there. Hopefully, you will see some meaningful error message to get you started.


Good luck,

I'll check back later to see how you're doing...

Here's another vote for doing the second hard drive thing. Even if you can find a cheaper smaller drive than your existing, you'll be able to back up and then us it as a secondary drive once you've finished reformatting/reinstalling. One word of advice, if you go this route, make sure you do not boot up and install back to the old drive while the new drive is attached. I did this recently and found that the boot drive was assiged to f: instead of c:. Since it's the boot drive, you cannot change the letter, which leaves you with one remedy.....reformat and reinstall....again.

As far as your problem goes, I cannot speak too much to SP2, as I have not upgraded. I will say that it is alarming that you are not getting to the splash screen. I'm not super well-versed on the boot process, but it sounds like this may not be a simple windows thing. You may have to get advice from a stronger geek than me, but you may have a problem w/ your drive boot sector or even worse, your BIOS....not sure.

Here's a guide that I found that shows you the boot sequence of a PC. You may want to follow along w/ it and see where in the sequence you think your PC is dying. Hopefully, you don't have one of those PC that covers all this up w/ their damn company name splash screens (big pet peeve).

I recently had an issue where my computer would continue to hand at the XP splash screen. I repaired the boot sector, the master boot record, and replaced the Windows boot files and still could not get it to boot successfully. After talking to the IT guys at work, they informed me that it sounds like a bad boot sector on the drive. They said that it can be fixed, but they strongly suggested that I consider replacing the drive and shifting that one to a secondary drive, because drives w/ bad sectors continue to develop bad sectors once they've started.

So, went down to BB and found a 80GB WD hard drive for $30 after rebates and I'm good to go.

Hope I've not convoluted the issue. Just want to make sure you don't spin the wheels on fixing Windows if your issue is happening prior to boot.

Good Luck

This entire thread is specifically why I have loved my Mac since 1989. . Simple, effective, easy to maintain very little issue with viruses/attacks. The old "..pry it out of my cold, dead hands.." applies here.

Having said that, I use a PC at work and because my wife (the teacher) ties the Mac up for 10 mos./year, I grudgingly got a PC for the den. Picked up a great kit deal from TigerDirect (but that's another story).

Anyhow, the Mac just works. I find I must "work at" the PC. I also had XP and SP2 issues, so I feel your pain. Hang in there.

"pry it out of my cold, dead hands."
I'm with you Ray.

Wow, I'm impressed you've managed to keep it working for 15 years! That would make it what, a IIcx, IIci tops.

I was trying really hard not to go there...

Ken - yer killin' me!!!

Right now I've got the 17' Mac that looks like a lamp. Upgradeitis apparently runs through the common thread of MAN THINGS and all related to them!!! I have been looking at the G5 for a few months, but this HT hobby is keeping me broke.

Another area of things I don't need but really want one of. The iMac is functional and works well, so I'll likely keep it.

Problem solved!-kind of. All is almost right with the world again but I tell ya it wasn't fun. Went through 3 Microsoft techs before one of them woke up an figured out how to do it without loosing everything. He did a second XP install without completely wiping the hard drive, but don't ask me how we got to this point. I feel like I've just emerged from the computer maze from hell-it's all just a blurr now.

I still have much of the stuff that was stored in "my docs.", "my pics." etc. Had to reinstall drivers and programs but I didn't loose everything. MX-Editor for my remote control was lost but thats not really a bit deal.

Norton Antivirus wouldn't install on the new XP install so I just spent another 2 1/2 hours with a Norton service tech. The Norton guy really knew what he was doing and the fix probably would have gone a little faster but his broken english was so poor that I had him repeating almost everything.

A great big hug and a kiss........maybe scratch the kiss......to all who offered advice and all the other member on this board. You guys & gals(sonic) are terrific.

Mike;

Since you got the system back up I find that most of the time it is still corrupted somewhat. Your better to backup the good data now and reformat the thing and install a fresh copy with SP2. I have built over a thousand systems and most that recovered from a corruption end up corrupted within months even days.

Thanks for the advice. One of the IS guys where I work has offered to come over and take a look at my computer. I'll tell him what you said.

I know this is probably a stupid question but why do I need SP2 at all? I don't know exactly what it is supposed to do but I've felt the pain that it can inflict .

Mike, you can upload from your MX remote to the Editor, once you get the program reinstalled. By doing so, you are able, once again to edit, and save, your current settings. Please excuse me if you're already well aware of this.

I'm so glad you got it straightened out. I've had relatively little problem with XP, but I'm a veteran of the '98 wars, and was used to reformatting my hard drive about every 4 months. Boy am I glad THAT'S a thing of the past. I wonder what "Longhorn" has in store for us?

>>I know this is probably a stupid question but why do I need SP2 at all? I don't know exactly what it is supposed to do but I've felt the pain that it can inflict .

The big deal with SP2 is that it includes a collection of fixes for the stupid security holes that MS should not have included in the first place. It also adds a few new things like their security panel (forget the name) which everyone usually turns off and replaces with their 3rd party AV / firewall software since the MS solution can actually reduce security in some cases.

IMO it is worth having.

Yeah, thats why I wasn't too worried about losing MX-Editor.

In reply to:

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I wonder what "Longhorn" has in store for us?

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What evil this way comes, eh?

I didn't know about the security holes but I just can't bring myself to click on that update again.

Are there other alternatives to pluging the security holes?

In reply to:

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What evil this way comes, eh?

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LOL! Yes, or, as Dorothy Parker (one of my favorite curmudgeons) used to say when she heard a knock at her door, "OH GAD! What fresh new hell is this."

I figured it's fine with just the Security updates, ignoring SP2. My biggest problem with it thus far is it ends up blocking the backups when ignorant users install it and leave the firewall on.

"OH GAD! What fresh new hell is this"

I too f up my sp2. The upgrade was successful, however it experienced sudden reboots once in a while. Last week, just 2 days before I go on vacation, the computer reboots before it reaches login menu. Safe mode has the same behavior. I think I will not loose much data because my c drive is windows only and has nothing else.

My friend has similar problem with his laptop when he upgrade to sp2. However, when he freshly reinstall XP SP2 (the sp2 iso, not upgrade from sp1), all the problem goes away. I might do the same thing when I get back home after my vacation. The question now is should I reinstall xp sp2 or Media Center Edition 2005.

You can update most of the security updates without installing SP2. It is the option below the main update screen after the scan for updates that says "Install other updates"

I personally run Win 2003 Server on most of my systems even the laptop other than the HTPC where the DVD player software works better on XP. Win 2003 is rock solid and I have yet seen a crash or blue screen of death.

the reason you get the reboot cycle or spontanious reboots is because of a default setting by MS. Its set to in case of error reboot. It is because MS 1.knew a lot of users would get blue screens and not know what to do and would be afraid to hard boot there pc. 2. they did not have to here crap about bluescreens of death anymore. to change this setting right click my computer> go to advanced> click settings next to start-up and recovery> under system failure deselect automaticly restart>click OK

Jacob, I think you left out a step. When I right click on "My Computer," I have to click on "Properties" before I find the "Advanced" tab.

Thanks i always assume (incorrectly of course) that people know to go to properties first..lol also i appreciate you using my name as opposed to my handle but Jake will do just fine. otherwise i will think my mother has just stepped onto the forum.

LOL! OK Jake. I'm OLD enough to be your Mother, but I doubt you'd confuse the two of us.

Ok before we go all nuts and stick more hardware in the computer, let's try a few things first.

First off, define "it wont' boot and just shuts down"...

How far does it get? If you have no CD in, does the windows XP boot screen come up at all? Are there any errors? By "Shutdown" does it turn completely off, or what?

If it's turning completely off, that's not XP's fault, and if it is, that's a really messed up computer you have there. I did two brand new installs today, and they both are running happily with SP2.

Oh and for those of you that re-install alot, you may want to investigating slipstreaming SP2. What is slipstreaming you ask? Well in short... *holds up a CD*, see this CD in my hand? It's a Windows XP CD, when I install it, it already has SP1 and SP2 installed, so I have maybe 5 little updates to do, and that's it

- D