Service Pack 2 Installation Guide

Expected time: 1-2 hours
A description of what SP2 changes, what it adds, and why it's important that you install it.

Step 1: Scan for viruses and spyware

Service Pack 2 has a nasty habit of breaking your computer if you have a lot of spyware or viruses running around in your machine. Before you install SP2, make sure you've scanned your computer for spyware and viruses. Instructions on removing spyware can be found in our spyware section. Once you've cleaned out the spyware, run whichever antivirus program you have installed. Specific instructions on doing so can be found at these locations:

• AVG Anti-Virus
• McAfee Antivirus
• Norton AntiVirus

Pomona students can download McAfee for free from http://antivirus.pomona.edu. Make sure you uninstall all other antivirus programs beforehand!

Step 2: Make sure your computer is plugged in

If you have a laptop, make sure it's plugged into the wall (using your power adapter). Depending on your machine, SP2 might take a few hours to install, so you want to make sure it has enough power to complete the process (or it might break your computer). Also do not attempt to install SP2 in a situtation where the power might suddenly go out!

Step 3: Install SP2

You can get SP2 from Microsoft Update.

Installation is fairly straightforward once it's started, mainly just requiring that you stare at a progess bar for a few minutes/hours (depending on your machine). Some things to keep in mind:

• Before installation, Windows creates a System Restore point, to which you can regress if the installation goes sour. See troubleshooting below for more information.
• SP2 changes a lot of important system files, so make sure that you don't lose power halfway through the process (or some files may end up only half-changed or corrupted).
• Computers with relatively little system memory (e.g. 256MB or less) may take up to 2.5 hours to complete the installation. Please be patient!

Troubleshooting

I installed SP2 and now my machine doesn't work!

The installation probably corrupted some system files. You have a few options:

• Attempt a repair installation.
• Boot into safe mode and restore your machine back to a previous restore point.
  • Booting into safe mode
  • Using System Restore

Everything is now reeeaalllly slow

For some reason, certain installations of SP2 will really slow down the computer in question. Your options:

• Uninstall SP2 (Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Windows XP Service Pack 2), scan for viruses and spyware again, and try to install it again. This is option doesn't always work, but is a good starting point, and isn't as extreme as the next option.
• Call ITS and get us to reinstall a version of Windows that already has SP2 slipstreamed into it. This means that you won't have to install SP2 separately, but your hard drive will get erased! We will also save all your files and put them back on once the new version is installed, but everything else will get toasted. This includes all your programs and preferences will be gone, but so will your speed issues.