[Levi]

I have similar observation but not Windows XP SP3 related. 

I have a Windows 2003 Server tried to boot on an external USB drive (My Book).  Removing the usb drive prior to reboot works fine.  Hmmm...

I installed SP3 on my Toshiba laptop and the only glich I have is that when I have my external drive plugged in, with my FLAC library, the laptop will not boot up. I have to boot up and then plug in the USB cable for the drive. A small, but annoying, problem. 

[konut]

Prior to the installation of SP3, it would boot up plugged in, no problem.

[Levi]

I feel you there.  This could be annoying having to unplug the USB drive every time you turn on the system.

-Levi

Prior to the installation of SP3, it would boot up plugged in, no problem.

[jaw5279]

Prior to the installation of SP3, it would boot up plugged in, no problem.

I am experiencing the same issue with an external drive connected via firewire.  Same solution...turn off dirive prior to reboot and turn back on once boot completed.

[satfrat]

I've tried 1/2 dozen times to download SP3 on my HTPC that's running 2005 Windows Media Edition with no success. I even deleted IE-7 and the SP3 still wouldn't initiate. Guess from what I'm seeing that's a good thing. I do have my system setup to automatic Windows Updates so I think I'll just wait for them to offer it to me and so far, they haven't. My automatic updates did reoffer IE-7 tho. 

Cheers,
Robin

[MaxCast]

Um...how do I know if I have sp3?  I have it set to auto update.

[satfrat]

Um...how do I know if I have sp3?  I have it set to auto update.

Go to http://www.update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/ and check out your update history. But I don't think SP3 has been offered as of yet.


Cheers,
Robin

[MaxCast]

Thanks Robin.

[WGH]

Um...how do I know if I have sp3?  I have it set to auto update.

Right click on "My Computer"
Choose "Properties"

You will see this:


Yes it is now available by Microsoft Updates, that is how I got mine.
Auto Updates is probably phased in, but you have to manually click the "OK" button a couple of times to install.
Allow about 45 minutes, this is a big download and install.

I use Boot It NG to make an image of the C drive before installing any updates.
Burn a  Boot It boot disk.
Restart the computer with the disk in the drive
Click "Cancel" at the install prompt.
You can still make and recover an image without installing.
Boot It is a very geeky program, but it is fast and works like a champ, one of the few programs I needed to read the instructions to make it work.
Read more about Boot It here

[satfrat]

Thanks  WGH!  Mine's still set on SP2,,, maybe it's because I'm using 2005 XP Media Center Edition?

[WGH]

Unfortunately, I never used the Media Center.
People using the XP MCE are on their own.

Just remember the mantra:

Backup, Backup, Backup.

OK, what's the difference between a backup and an image?

A backup usually is just your data: email, documents, music, movies, etc. When an OS crashes you will have to re-install the OS and all the updates, programs, tweaks, and data, this can take weeks if you have a system like mine.

An image can be put on a fresh hard drive in a few hours and the computer can be up and running like nothing happened.

[satfrat]

Just remember the mantra:

Backup, Backup, Backup.

OK, what's the difference between a backup and an image?

A backup usually is just your data: email, documents, music, movies, etc. When an OS crashes you will have to re-install the OS and all the updates, programs, tweaks, and data, this can take weeks if you have a system like mine.

An image can be put on a fresh hard drive in a few hours and the computer can be up and running like nothing happened.

  I backup my C-Drive operating system on an internal hard drive and on an external hard drive. I only have 1 external hard drive backup for my music library tho,,, it's just too damn big. 

Maybe someone with Media Edition who has successfully/or uncuccessfully updated to SP3 could post their results? I'm in no hurry but at some point I will go to Microsoft for some info and/or assistance. I've done it before and they're very good with their problem solving.

Cheers,
Robin

[Levi]

Just an fyi:

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows XP;
Windows XP Home Edition;
Windows XP Home Edition N;
Windows XP Media Center Edition;
Windows XP Professional Edition ;
Windows XP Professional N;
Windows XP Service Pack 1;
Windows XP Service Pack 2;
Windows XP Starter Edition;
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

[Derockster]

Hi guys,I've installed service pack3 on my system with no problems at all.It actually helped me to solve some problems I've been having with IE7.Regards derockster

[Levi]

Congrats!

It sure is nice to fix system anomalies.

-Levi

[Derockster]

Thank you Levi.Warm Regards derockster

[cryoparts]

FYI--to add to the knowledge base, I updated three XP machines on the 8th, all have been running 24 hours a day since then with nary a problem.

Peace,

Lee

[satfrat]

Got it! I haven't had SP3 downloaded long enough to know what issues I might have but at least I got it downloaded,,,, took about 30 minutes. 


I ended up doing a search of the download failure code 0x8007F0CC and came up with issues from the 2004 SP2 download that concerned an error code in the boot.ini. Basically I had to go to Start/search/Tools/Folder Options/View tab and check the box for Show Hidden Files and folders and uncheck the box for Hide protected operating system files. I then went to Start/Search/For files or folders and did a search thru my C Drive (operating drive) for boot.ini. When I found it, the notebook had multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /Kernel=LOGOOS.EXE. I was instructed to delete anything after fastdetect /,,, that being Kernel=LOGOOS.EXE,,, so I did,,, AFTER creating a System Restore starting point AND backing up my C Drive. I rebooted, had some Windows XP screens I hadn't seen before during the booting and everything came up, no problem. I then went to Windows Update and successfully downloaded Service Pack 3 and once again rebooted. Success finally and gotta say I feel good that everything worked w/o my usual screwups when it comes to messing with stuff I know nothing about. Gotta get lucky once in a while. 

I printed all this out just incase their's someone else out there that had the same headaches I had. In case the failure code's the same, I found my answers on http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/browse_frm/thread/bfc8886be7214d21/   

Cheers,
Robin

ps: oh yeah, I went back and rechecked the box for Hide protected operating system files which is recommended to protect your operating system from an unwanted mistake. 

[Levi]

Yeah, you can easily edit your boot.ini.  Congrats!

One thing I noticed after installing SP3 is that Windows Update stopped working for some reason.  Hmmm...

-Levi

[satfrat]

Yeah, you can easily edit your boot.ini.  Congrats!

One thing I noticed after installing SP3 is that Windows Update stopped working for some reason.  Hmmm...

-Levi

Levi, you can't easily do anything on a computer if you don't know what you're doing. Just trying to follow instructions for something you know nothing about is what I wouldn't be categorizing as easy.  I know as I'm usually learning the hard way everytime I try something with my eyes closed. This was a successful first for me w/o any outside help. Guess I was due. Even my Windows Update is working OK and I'm totally out of downloads for the moment. So far I haven't run into any issues (knock on wood).  aa

Cheers,
Robin