Wt?

W

wrench1

New Member
A really cheap friend of mine is still using dial-up. Running XP Pro. His machine pulled in SP2 months ago. Recently, it pulled in SP3, which I believe was corrupt. His internet will connect, but goes to a go.microsoft.com web address, but says page can't be displayed. His home page is set to yahoo. I managed to get rid of SP3, and computer properties says SP2 now. The install CD is SP1. I cannot get rid of SP2, because I cannot find it. I have been everywhere on the machine. Install CD says software is newer than CD, but SP2 is not on the list of installed programs. Can anyone help me find and dlete SP2? If I can uninstall, then I can start over with the operating system CD. I suspect a virus.
 
Just boot to the install cd and do a windows repair or a fresh install which should be done. However, I would slipstream SP2 into a new install cd before installing.
 
His machine will not boot to CD. I figured that it was because SP2 is newer than the CD.
When I open the CD drive and click install, it says the same thing. I must find and uninstall SP2. I am not good with MS DOS, but there must be a way.
 
It will boot to the cd if its a genuine microsoft install cd or manufacturer install cd. Do you have boot to cd first set in the bios?
 
When you first turn your computer on or restart it, look for how to enter setup, usually you press the del key, f2 key, or whatever key it tells you. Thats the way you enter the bios, then you would look for boot priority between the hard drive, cdrom, floppy, usb, lan boot.
 
I am somewhat of a novice. My friends machine is a Dell. I helped him insatall the XP Pro software. I need more info on a fail proof way to access bios settings. His machine refuses to boot from the XP Pro CD. CD is SP1, and he now has SP2. At my house, I tried both F2 and delete on start up, and my machine just continued with start up. Any ideas on a definate way to access bios on startup? Thanx John for the replies. I tend to rehearse things on my machine before I waste time at his house.
 
The thing is, to enter the bios, its different on all machines. I gave you the most common keys to enter setup. It might even be f10.

edit, just saw that its a dell. it should either be f2 or the del key. If you are running a usb keyboard you may need to use a ps/2 type keyboard as the usb may not be enabled in prewindows environment.
 
Thanks John, delete works on my machine.(test) F2 works for bios. One more thing. I gave my friend the XP pro CD, because I went back to XP Home on my machines. It is an upgrade edition, so I selected upgrade. Now I want to do a fresh install, but he has no drivers CD. He got the machine from a family member. I am worried that he will have no speakers or modem. I have drivers CDs for my machines, but not Dell. Should I select repair instead?
 
To get the drivers all you will need to do is go to the manufacturers website to download the drivers for that specific model.
 
Thanks. I have downloaded drivers before. He uses dial up. If his modem becomes inop, is it doable for me to downloaded drivers as an .exe file to a memory stick from my house? Don't want to dig a hole I can't climb out of.
 
Yes, you can download the drivers on your computer and put them on a flash drive and install them from there.
 
A friend of mine is still using dial-up on an old Dell. Was running probably '95 or '98. He got the machine from a family member with no OS or drivers CDs. Some time ago he upgraded to XP Pro with a purchased CD, and activated software. After some time(with dialup) he pulled in SP2 . After pulling in SP3, his dial up connects, but tries to go to a go.microsoft search link. Says page can't be displayed. His home page is set to yahoo. Homepage changing does not work. From my past expereience, this is a virus or a glitch in IE. I deleted SP3, and he's now back to SP2, which is not listed on the installed programs list. It's not listed on the machines at my house either. His machine will not boot from CD no matter what I do. What is installed is newer than the CD (SP1). When I go to CD drive, open, click install Windows XP, it says the same thing. How can I repair this copy? The CD is SP1. I need to get rid of SP2, but I can't find it. 1 person needs an answer
 
You must boot to the install cd, if you can't, then either you don't have the correct setting in the bios to boot to cd first then hard drive or the install cd isn't bootable.

If sp2 isn't in add/remove programs then most likely XP was installed with SP2 already applied to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top