SP2 and PG

I finally decided to install SP2. I put PG in learning mode. The I went into safe mode and installed SP2 by CD. It trashed some of my protection list but PG seems to be OK. I had to reload some of the protection file. With being in the safe mode how did this happen.

 

Hi William,

(William is the english name of my french name Guillaume )

while doing a major update such as SP2, which does more than just installing two or three executables but modifies instead vital OS files, I strongly advise to disable any security software before, why not even uninstall them (because drivers running even the app closed can cause troubles).

Myself I ran into troubles and didn't be successfull to install the SP2 at first, whereas if I have had disabled everything first, all should have been fine.

regards,

gkweb.

 

William, What GK said is absolutely correct, indeed the PG help file specifically states that Process Guard should be disabled before applying OS patches, especially major ones like SP2.

Anyway I am glad it is working for you

Pilli

 

I was under the impression that in safe mode only Windows is running. I put PG in learning mode for rebooting . I didn't think I had to worry about it in safe mode. Please get me straight.

 

After the reboot, the windows installation continue before your login, and you are not anymore in safe mode, so PG is active.

regards,

gkweb.

 

Didn't think about that. Thank you. So to get things straight, I should shut down all protection ,click on the x and shut it down. Will that do the trick?

 

I found it best to disable PG, reboot into Safe Mode, install SP2, and then reboot normally (this allows SP2 to finish its post-install routine). Wait a few minutes after your Desktop appears, and then put PG in Learning Mode. Reboot once or twice before disabling Learning Mode.

Nick

 

Nick, what is the proper way to diable PG?

 

You can disable it either at the Main tab or by right-clicking on the tray icon and remove the check next to Protection Enabled.

Nick

 

Thank you for the help.

 

Thank you Nick and GKweb.

I didn't know you could (or should) install SP2 from safe mode.
Would that be still possible if you get SP2 through windowsupdate? Or is that only good to do if you have the CD?
If you go into safe mode, are software firewalls (like ZAP and Outpost) normally disabled?

I guess I was fortunate, I did not install it from safe mode, but I disabled most security during the update. So far no apparent problems. On some systems I installed SP2 through windowsupdate, and on others through the CD.

 

I had problems installing. I first clicked on the update icon on the task bar. A window popped up and I told it to install. The window disappeared and stayed gone. So I went to the update site. It ran for about 3 hours and got to 48.8 MB then stopped. The CD would start then said wstcodec.sys was running. So I contacted MS support. They told me to rename wstcodec.sys to .old and install in the Safe Mode. So there it is.

 

That's interesting William.
Getting the CD is certainly better, if you can afford to wait.
But, I wonder if it would be "safe" to get SP2 in safe mode from windowsupdate?
Considering someone without a hardware firewall, would their software firewall still protect them while going out to windowsupdate if they are in safe mode?

 

I ran into a problem installing one of the release candidates in normal mode. The install would hang and lock my system up. So I tried it in safe mode, and it worked. To be "safe", I used safe mode after that. ZA and Outpost will not be running in safe mode, but safe mode has no networking and you will be offline. You would have to choose "safe mode with networking" from F8 menu. But if you set Automatic Updates to only download (and not install), you should be able to locate and install them in safe mode.

Nick

 

Thank you Nick,

Do you know where I could learn where the downloaded SP2 setup file would be stored?

Thanks

 

Same here Peter ordered it on line in the UK and got it within 5 days.

Bowserman gave me this link: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=188337 : to AutoStreamer, a really easy way of creating a bootable XPSP2 CD.
Aall you need to do is have your original CD and copy your XP2 cd or files to a folder on your HD and AutoStreamer will create an XPSP2 ISO in a folder of your choice ready for burning, burn the ISO to a fresh CD & you have a bootable installer CD. Works great here.

Pilli