Installing Windows XP SP3

In a previous post I outlined some important things to do BEFORE attempting the installation of the service pack. Good idea of me to follow my own advice…

On my prototype computer I attempting the installation and got an error which only goes to show that being systematic, or not, can have an impact on the installation.

Some things I learned/did:

1. If you have more than one user account log on as the computer administrator!
2. Turn off you anti-virus software before the installation.
3. If you have an Nvidia or ATI video card update the drivers. Nvidia has a new driver posted just this week and ATI has one for the Radeon series that was posted in April.

I attempted on first install by shutting down AVG but I got an error which delayed the install by some 30 minutes as Windows XP booted up again and in a two stage process reverted my OS to its former installation. An error was created because it recognized that a new driver was available for my Nvidia video card. I downloaded and installed it and started the install process again.

The install looks like it is going to be clean with no problems and the total time, if I had taken the precaution to upate my Nvidia drivers, to install the service pack would be just over an hour. I am just in the process as I write this of rebooting and the result is you will see a DOS (cmd) window open and some files being applied. Once that is complete you should be done.

Once you have a good install go to Windows Update and check the computer once more and apply any further updates listed. For this computer I had to install the latest version of Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool and a driver for my wireless network adapter.

All told, it went OK. Now lets see how it works for the next week or so before I trust the service pack.

PS: There is more than one version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Note  The version of the tool delivered by Microsoft Update and Windows Update runs in the background and then reports if an infection is found. If you would like to run this tool more than once a month, use the version on this Web page or install the version that is available in the Download Center.