Has XP SP2 downloaded?

[Mitch]

I am running an old Pentium 2 with XP Pro Service Pack 1. It's not lightning
fast but we're on broadband so it goes OK for the little I use it.

I have updates set to notify rather than automatic as I don't have a lot of
disk space.

Last night I tried to download Windows XP Service Pack 2. I clicked the
balloon in the bottom right hand corner, the box with the list of downloads
popped up, I uncheck all except SP2 and clicked "Download Now".

So my box started grinding away and as I hover over the icon in the system
tray, the percentage slowly creeps up.

I should mention at this stage I had 466MB free on my c: drive (not much I
know!) but the download size was (a cryptic) 75-265MB so I thought I'd be OK.

I go to bed and leave it running. Get up this morning and restart.

How do I know if it has taken effect? If I go into Explorer and click on
Help-About Windows, it still says Service Pack 1.
--
"I think I know a lot - I don't really - but I try"

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

Mitch <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> How do I know if it has taken effect? If I go into Explorer and click
> on Help-About Windows, it still says Service Pack 1.

Then it didn't install. You should download the SP2 installer to hard disk,
and run it yourself from there. It won't run unattended - it requires
interaction with the user.

--
Robin Walker [MVP Networking]
rd...@cam.ac.uk

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

Mitch <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I should mention at this stage I had 466MB free on my c: drive

This is probably not enough once the download is de-compressed, and
installed, and backup copies kept. You really need a lot more free hard
disk.

[PA Bear]

The hard disk space requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 2:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837783

More:

What to Know Before Downloading/Installing SP2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/sp2_whattoknow.mspx

Installing SP2 Step-by-Step
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];xpsp2insthowto

Troubleshooting Your Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];xpsp2insttshoot

WinXP SP2 FAQ: What to do after installing SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;ln;xpsp2installed

Service Pack (any) Installation Checklist (MVP Jupiter Jones)
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

WinXP SP2-specific Page (MVP Jupiter Jones)
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/xpsp2.htm
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)
AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org

[Mitch]

Wow! Thanks for the quick response.
When I went to install, I just looked at the size of the download and
thought "that's enough". Microsoft says I need 1.8Gb - so I think I'll suffer
on without.

The reason I mentioned I had 466 MB before I downloaded is that I was meant
to then say that after the download, C: drive now only has 266MB. So, it must
have put 200MB of something somewhere.
Where is it and how can I get rid of it?

There is a $hf_mig$ folder in C:/Windows that seems to have all the previous
KB update folders. Is it there?

Thanks in advance.

--
"I think I know a lot - I don''''t really - but I try"

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

Mitch <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> When I went to install, I just looked at the size of the download and
> thought "that's enough". Microsoft says I need 1.8Gb - so I think
> I'll suffer on without.

This is a high-risk strategy. Windows XP SP1 is now out of support, and so
your PC will remain vulnerable to all the security risks that have been and
are being patched for SP2. Just for your peace of mind it would be worth
deleting enough user files to be able to upgrade to SP2 and all the 80+
post-SP2 patches. You could, for instance, move large or infrequently
wanted files out to a backup device (can you burn CDs on this PC?).

> The reason I mentioned I had 466 MB before I downloaded is that I was
> meant to then say that after the download, C: drive now only has
> 266MB. So, it must have put 200MB of something somewhere.
> Where is it and how can I get rid of it?

Probably in a directory at the root of C:\ with a random name of hexadecimal
characters enclosed in curly braces. You can safely delete the entire
directory and its contents.
Clean out your temp files.
Clean out your Temporary Internet Files. Reduce the amount of hard disk
that can be used by TIF to about 50MB.
Reduce the amount of hard disk that can be used by the System Restore
feature.

> There is a $hf_mig$ folder in C:/Windows that seems to have all the
> previous KB update folders. Is it there?

Do **NOT** touch the $hf_mig$ folder or its contents. Seriously.

[Robert Aldwinckle]

"Mitch" <Mi...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AD13074B-165C-498D...@microsoft.com...

> Wow! Thanks for the quick response.
> When I went to install, I just looked at the size of the download and
> thought "that's enough". Microsoft says I need 1.8Gb - so I think I'll suffer
> on without.

Another alternative would be getting a CD version of the Service Pack.
Even better if you have access to another system which can create CDs
would be getting a slipstreamed update which would include all the relevant
updates; otherwise you will have more space problems trying to install all
the subsequent maintenance too. We really need an SP3, available on CD...

>
> The reason I mentioned I had 466 MB before I downloaded is that I was meant
> to then say that after the download, C: drive now only has 266MB. So, it must
> have put 200MB of something somewhere.
> Where is it and how can I get rid of it?
>
> There is a $hf_mig$ folder in C:/Windows that seems to have all the previous
> KB update folders. Is it there?

Check the root too. Sometimes downloads create new directories there.

Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
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