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Tips for dealing with Windows XP Service Pack 2

With all the talk about the recent release of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 ( hereafter called XP-SP2), I thought it might be useful to share my experience, as well as some other tips that I have gleaned through research.  In spite of some minor problems, I recommend that all users with any version of WinXP installed on their system(s) should obtain and install the update as soon as possible.  The official Microsoft installation information site is here (MS site)--this article is intended as a supplement to, not a replacement for, the MS info.

Let's reuse a car analogy and twist it a bit.  It has been said (often) that buying a Windows-based PC is like buying a car with the hood welded shut.  If you own one of these cars, you may have added a few under-dash accessories or other enhancements to make your life easier, more useful, or more fun--but lately, you notice that the car is running rough and stalling a lot.  Suddenly, the Microsoft pit crew appears, cracks open the hood, replaces most of the engine, re-welds it shut, and disappears.  It runs better, but you suddenly discover that some of the add-ons and enhancements that you have so carefully installed stop working, or work differently than they used to.  This is very much akin to the situation with Service Pack 2.

There's been a great deal of concern and scuttlebutt over stuff that "breaks" when you install XP-SP2.  While this is a potential issue, I'm reminded of the old saying, "To make an omelet, first you have to break some eggs."  The stuff that breaks is mostly the stuff that needed breaking anyway (ActiveX is the best example), and you will get used to the work-arounds--it's not so much that stuff stops working, as it is that it works a bit differently.  Most home users will not experience much in the way of problems.

It's a good idea to prepare a bit before you install the service pack.  A good first step is to ensure that all of your drivers are up-to-date, especially those for video, audio, and networking.  If you have a branded machine (such as Gateway, Dell, HP/Compaq, or eMachines), the corporate sites usually have detailed instructions on driver updates.  If your machine was custom-built, a little digging may be in order.  One useful utility for this purpose is EVEREST Home Edition, which can report your system's hardware configuration in a useful manner.

Brand-name computer or not, the usual best course of action with regard to video drivers is to go to the chipmaker's web site for the most-recent official version.  This is especially true of nVidia and ATI, but Google can provide information on driver availability for other chipmakers, as well.  You may see a warning to the effect that use of the generic drivers may cause problems, but this is rare--and the chipmakers know what works with XP-SP2.  An aside: if you are tech-savvy, an excellent source for the newest video drivers is The Guru of 3D download site.  These drivers are sometimes newer than what the manufacturers provide, and some are clearly-marked beta versions--but sometimes, too, there are problems to be solved...

An incompatibility has been discovered with non-current versions of DivX.  You should remove it from your computer before installing SP2.  If you don't, it may cause Windows Explorer to lock up when you right-click a file or attempt to delete a file.  DivX has released updates that are compatible with SP2.  Remove the prior version of DivX, install XP-SP2,  then install the new version of DivX--or, better still, try the totally-free and open source video client VLC instead.

Machines built since June 2004 running certain Intel processors have this problem.  It's a good idea to make sure that your BIOS is up-to-date.

Make sure that your anti-virus utility (a version of Grisoft AVG is free) and software firewall (if you have one) are up-to-date; there are strong indications that some malware (also see my links) can interfere with the XP-SP2 install.  Run a full anti-virus scan, then use Spybot - Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware to check and remove any spyware and/or adware that might be present on your system.  Make sure that you are on-line when you install it, as they both update themselves during installation.  One major culprit appears to be the TVMedia (parasite-info link) adware application, usually introduced via an ActiveX drive-by installation.  Ironically, this is one of the issues addressed by XP-SP2.  Programs that include this parasite include zSearch, MemoryMeter, and SpeedBlaster; completely removing it may require editing the Registry, though most anti-spyware applications can handle it now.

Here is the procedure that I have used to install XP-SP2 on several machines, using the freely-available utilities ERUNT and NTREGOPT (they are packaged together) to prepare the system.  It's a good idea to back up the basic Windows partition as well (there are a number of free backup solutions out there), though I have had good success just backing up the optimized Registry:
    1. Use a defragmentation utility to clean up the drive before continuing.
    2. Use ERUNT to back up the Registry.  It's a more-complete backup than MS's own tools--and easier to use.
    3. Use NTREGOPT to optimize the Registry (it reduces the size by 9-10% for me, on average).
    4. Reboot.
    5. Use ERUNT again to back up the newly-optimized Registry to a new directory.
    6. Install the XP service pack.  That's it!
Once you have installed the Service Pack, you will need to do some configuration.  For example, the built-in firewall is turned ON by default, unless you have a current version of some software firewalls--Sygate for example (link is to the personal edition, which is free for personal use).  If you are already running a software firewall, make sure that only one is running--and that it's not the XP firewall, which is barely adequate, at best.  The only time I would deign to use it is if I were in the process of downloading some other firewall, on dial-up only, or had a hardware-based firewall in the form of a major-brand router.

You may also find my other XP-related article useful, as well.

Last revised: 2-September-2005.  Copyright © 2004/2005 Michael Rudas--all rights reserved.   The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the other members of the Oak Park Computer Club.   All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.   This article was created using the EditPad Classic text editor and Mozilla Composer, both free.   Permission is hereby granted to publish this article in an unmodified form, except for formatting (contact me for changes or updated versions).   Technical questions and help requests can be directed to my tech-support mailbox, the link to which can be found on this site or the OPCC site.  Greetings from Royal Oak, Michigan!