#271906 - 11/12/2005 14:04
Do I want SP2?
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Just wiped my computer and doingthe updates. Do I really need or want service pack 2? Is it going to cause more problems than it fixes?
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#271907 - 11/12/2005 14:14
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 1904
Loc: Leeds, UK
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I have SP2 on 2 machines here (one with MCE) and all seems fine, it does a much better job of blocking unwanted web nasties!
Not sure what the downsides are, I haven't seen them yet.
Cheers
Cris.
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#271908 - 11/12/2005 14:19
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
Do I really need or want service pack 2?
Yes, you do.
_________________________
-- roger
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#271909 - 11/12/2005 14:20
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Cris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Thats good enough for me. Installing now.
On a similar note, what codec pack/software should I be installing for my divx/xvid movies?
Is AVG antivirus still the one to have?
Anything else I should be downloading?
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#271910 - 11/12/2005 14:39
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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addict
Registered: 01/03/2002
Posts: 599
Loc: Florida
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Quote:
Thats good enough for me. Installing now.
On a similar note, what codec pack/software should I be installing for my divx/xvid movies?
Is AVG antivirus still the one to have?
Anything else I should be downloading?
Defilerpak for the Xvid/Divx videos.
Nod32 best virus scanner if you want to buy one since AVG has a free version.
Other stuff to download.
Zoomplayer
Real Alternative
QuickTime Alternative
I have others but need to got get brunch. Defilerpak is put together by Defiler from this form.
_________________________
Chad
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#271911 - 11/12/2005 14:40
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Attack]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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#271912 - 11/12/2005 15:39
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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The only big problems with service pack two seem to be when upgrading. The only real problems we've seen when upgrading are with spyware infected machines. Once it's there it's not a problem. So when reinstalling is the perfect time to install it.
Matthew
Edited by matthew_k (11/12/2005 15:40)
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#271913 - 11/12/2005 17:19
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Quote:
The only big problems with service pack two seem to be when upgrading. The only real problems we've seen when upgrading are with spyware infected machines. Once it's there it's not a problem. So when reinstalling is the perfect time to install it.
Matthew
How does that manifest?
I recently (yesterday) did a clean reinstall on my laptop. Half way through SP2's update, one of the cabs failed to checksum. The Error said that the install had partially completed and the system might not restart. Running the install a second time without restart seemed to work. Cause for worry?
For them that might be wondering, I had installed that Firefox extension , mentioned elsewhere (noscript), that gives the ability to block javascript on a site by site basis. I found it caused more problems than it seemed worth and uninstalled it. This left Firefox unstable when execuiting javascript. Reinstalling Firefox didn't help.
_________________________
Glenn
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#271914 - 11/12/2005 17:44
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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You really want ZoneAlarm or similar firewall - MS firewall is very poor, not very configurable, and for most power use (ie anything outside browsing  ) it does not have the granularity I would require. (my view is that you would then also have a hardware firewall, but I am in the paranoid industry)
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#271915 - 11/12/2005 17:50
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: frog51]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
(my view is that you would then also have a hardware firewall, but I am in the paranoid industry)
If you're reinstalling Windows, you need a hardware firewall -- otherwise you're gonna get hacked before you're able to download and install the patches.
_________________________
-- roger
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#271916 - 11/12/2005 17:52
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: frog51]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
MS firewall is very poor, not very configurable, and for most power use (ie anything outside browsing ) it does not have the granularity I would require.
In case you're remembering the original XP firewall, I'll just point out that it's much improved in SP2. If you still don't like the SP2 firewall, fair enough -- it's secure enough, and configurable enough for most people. Personally, I use the firewall in my router.
_________________________
-- roger
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#271917 - 11/12/2005 17:55
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: gbeer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
Running the install a second time without restart seemed to work. Cause for worry?
Probably not. What I tend to do is to create a slipstreamed SP2 disk, and then install from that. It has the added advantage that, when you do a repair, it restores the SP2 files, rather than the original ones.
Oh, and the fact that XP with no service pack wouldn't see all of my hard disk, so installing it was a bit of a challenge...
_________________________
-- roger
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#271918 - 12/12/2005 02:03
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
What I tend to do is to create a slipstreamed SP2 disk, and then install from that.
This works really well, by the way. There is a great utility called AUTOSTREAMER that lets you create a slipstreamed SP2 disc from your original Windows XP disc and SP2 files. Very happy I did this.
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#271919 - 12/12/2005 07:01
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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And it also helps with minimising the risk from being hacked while downloading SP2 
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#271920 - 12/12/2005 13:40
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: tfabris]
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veteran
Registered: 21/03/2002
Posts: 1424
Loc: MA but Irish born
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Do any of the slipstreaming programs let you slipstream in hotfixes?
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#271921 - 12/12/2005 14:47
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Phoenix42]
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veteran
Registered: 19/06/2000
Posts: 1495
Loc: US: CA
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nLite does*, I'm not sure about Autostreamer. * Only type 1 (post SP2) hotfixes, but since the point of this is to have an SP2 slipstreamed disc anyway, that's sort of a moot point. 
_________________________
Donato MkII/080000565 MkIIa/010101253 ricin.us
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#271922 - 12/12/2005 15:04
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Phoenix42]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1914
Loc: London
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Autostreamer sounds excellent, I'll have to try it.
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#271923 - 12/12/2005 16:39
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
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#271924 - 13/12/2005 01:02
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Quote:
Quote:
What I tend to do is to create a slipstreamed SP2 disk, and then install from that.
This works really well, by the way. There is a great utility called AUTOSTREAMER that lets you create a slipstreamed SP2 disc from your original Windows XP disc and SP2 files. Very happy I did this.
Unfortunatly I have no "original disk". Sony puts the restore data on a HD partition then nags the owner to create a pair of CD's Containing the same info. (1CD 1DVD)
I kind of dread trying to install generic MS onto any Laptop.
_________________________
Glenn
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#271925 - 13/12/2005 01:14
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: gbeer]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
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If you have the i386 directory and such in the restore directory then you should try nLite. I just built a custom install disk using some disc image of xp that I downloaded because I haven't a clue where my real one is. It seemed to only require the files from a couple of the directories.
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#271926 - 14/12/2005 03:04
Re: Do I want SP2?
[Re: Phoenix42]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
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I had no luck finding a program reliably to slipstream hotfixes. I can't trust any of them to slipstream them in the correct order.
I was presented with the solution of downloading hotfixes from Windows Update behind a Linksys router/firewall. It's a cheap solution to the "first patching" problem.
Though I kick Microsoft for not releasing a hotfix slipstream system. Maybe they assume nobody will reinstall their systems because they'll never get spywared to death because there are no weaknesses in IE.
_________________________
- FireFox31 110gig MKIIa (30+80), Eutronix lights, 32 meg stacked RAM, Filener orange gel lens, Greenlights Lit Buttons green set
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