Update problems make home network impossible.

[stevespeed]

-Hi, Hope someone can help me. I run a Pentium 4 machine with Windows XP
Media Centre Edition. I did the update to IE8 and then install SP3 thing
that other people have had trouble with. I had trouble too, (due to not
being aware of problem with add-on toolbars etc.) so I un-installed IE8 but
got into the problems others have had with that. To cut a long story short I
managed to get back to IE7 and recovered my settings for that. I
un-installed SP3 and got my machine back to pretty much how it was. Now I
want to install SP3 but Windows update won't offer it to me as it seems to
think I already have it installed. The thing is, I want to run this computer
as part of my home lan and my sons computer running Vista cannot see my XP
machine. I want to install the LLD file that fixes this but when I download
that fix it wont install as it says I already have a more recent version on
my machine, which I do not! (certainly my sons Vista machine just cannot see
my XP machine, you'd think someone would of thought about fixing this before
they put Vista out) So it seems to me that I have to get rid of the registry
entry or whatever it is that tells the whole Microsoft network that I still
have these things that I once installed but no longer have. If anyone knows
a way to do this, I would be very grateful to have your advice. regards,
Steve -

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

> ...I did the update to IE8 and then install SP3 thing

> that other people have had trouble with. I had trouble too, (due to not

> being aware of problem with add-on toolbars etc.) so I un-installed IE8...

Assuming "SP3 thing" means WinXP SP3, how did you uninstall IE8 if you
installed it before you installed SP3?

About IE7 & IE8 and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx

[stevespeed]

--
ss

[stevespeed]

Posting again because most of my last reply got lost in the ether! Maybe
some time and money should be put into updating these discussion pages?

Hi PA Bear,

I will try to be concise in my answers as I notice from your posts elsewhere
that you can be a grumpy old bear sometimes. (sore head?)

Unfortunately I have to start off by admitting I cannot remember how I got
back to IE7 (ducks below parapet). It was a while ago, I'm just a citizen.
When it all went wrong I was all over the internet discussions, forums, blogs
etc. I spent about 3 days on it and eventually managed to un-install SP3
(can't remember if that was hard or how) then un-installed IE8. I remember
it was not possible to un-install IE8 from add/remove, it was listed but the
option just wasn't available, (is there a un-install IE8 file in IE8 that
you can access directly?) I am sorry, I don't know. When I got back to IE7 I
had lost the IE and Outlook Express icons from the task bar, (still missing),
add-on toolbars didn't function (but did after un-install/re-install) and I'd
lost my DVD drive! (Maybe that's a separate issue, I've changed the drive and
now can play, and read from but not write too! Sorry about the digression) I
have since re-installed and un-installed IE8 without problem. Now that I
have tried it without add-ons getting in the way of installing I would like
to use it but want to install XP SP3 first this time but, as I stated before,
Windows update won't even offer it to me.

I see from another post (listed just above this one "SP3 annoying") that
Shenan Stanley has given very detailed instructions as to how one can install
SP3 on a pre-cleaned and prepared machine. Can I follow those instructions
and will I be able to download/install the SP3 package despite Update
thinking I already have it. (I have searched my machine and as far as I can
tell, I do not have SP3 on it now, though I know I did choose to install it
from the "critical" updates offered and I did have the "baked in" problem
that others have described. Is there a definitive way I can establish that
it is not lying dormant in my system somewhere?)

I await your reply with some trepidation but also hope, regards,
--
stevespeed

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Somewhere in your turgid* prose I think you're asking me how to install SP3
and get the computer fully-patched before reinstalling IE8.

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP2 fully patched
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b

TIP: You can probably skip Step #4.

TIP: If you have NOT uninstalled IE8, do so before installing SP3.

My personal recommendations for installing IE8:

=> Install IE8 manually, not via Windows Update/Automatic Updates!! =>
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx

NB: Save the installer to your desktop, do not Run it. When you're prepared
to install IE8, double-click on the saved file.

=> Uninstall all third-party toolbars (e.g., Google; Yahoo; Windows Live)
and third-party Windows Themes before installing IE8.

=> Close all open applications (i.e., anything with a taskbar icon) before
installing or uninstalling IE8.

=> I would strongly recommend disabling your anti-virus application and any
anti-spyware application's "system protections" (other than Defender's)
before installing (or uninstalling) an IE upgrade. If you're running a
third-party firewall, I would recommend disabling it and then enabling the
Windows Firewall before installing (or uninstalling) an IE upgrade.

=> Reboot twice after installing or uninstalling IE8, then check-in at
Windows Update and install any critical security updates offered. If a Root
Certificates update is listed in the Optional Updates category, install it
to take full advantage of IE's enhanced security.

=> For best chance of success with IE8, make certain that your anti-virus
application version, any anti-spyware applications (other than Defender),
and your third-party firewall (if any) are supported in IE8 before you
decide install it.

================
* http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turgid

[stevespeed]

Thanks for your help PA Bear, I can tell you're a lovely person really,
despite what evryone says. "Turgid" I was thinking more "mellifluous"
myself, regards,
--
stevespeed

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

YW. I'm glad that my reputation precedes me. You may rise now.
--
~PAÞ
"I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true." (Dorothy
Parker)

stevespeed wrote:
> Thanks for your help PA Bear, I can tell you're a lovely person really,
> despite what evryone says. "Turgid" I was thinking more "mellifluous"
> myself, regards,
>

> PA Bear wrote:
>> Somewhere in your turgid prose I think you're asking me how to install