Solved VISTA SP2 INSTALL - Should I or Shouldn't I ?

C

ComputerDad

New Member
My 5 year old Dell Towel started failing to what I though as a virus and a mother board issue of not turning on so I put the drive into another tower and started over and re-installed Vista. Due to a unknown reason SP2 was never installed on the original drive. In the new old tower SP1 was installed and everything was fine for a week and then I installed SP2. Immediately after the software crashed all over again with not able to boot issues. I determined that the hard drive had failed so I then replaced it with two other drives and memory from another system. I have now built a new old computer with parts from two others. The system is perfect again and now I am at the point of installing SP2. Should I fear that a SP2 install will create software issues all over again? All this sounds silly but after two weeks of broken computers I do not want to risk anything. Should I put off the update indefinitely or just go for it? Your thoughts.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    DELL E310
    CPU
    Pentium 4 HT 2.8Ghz
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA FX5200 250MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL 19"
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    2-160GB
    Case
    Tower
    Internet Speed
    50Down 10Up
Yes, install SP2. Once that's done, do several Windows updates to get all that have been released.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s)
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" C27F398 Curved Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (HDMI)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB Seagate ST2000NM001 2TB Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB
    PSU
    500W
    Mouse
    Lenovo USB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Internet Speed
    50MB Down, 10MB Up
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP xw4400 Workstation
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 0A68h
    Memory
    5GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer KN242HYL 24" (KVMS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST3120026As 120GB SATA (boot) Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB SATA
    Mouse
    Logitech via KVMS switch
    Keyboard
    Dell USB via KVMS switch
    Internet Speed
    50 Down, 10 Up
    Other Info
    Apache Web Server since 2001
Thank you Sir. I will go for it. I just needed to accept the fact that these were hardware problems and not software issues. Sometimes you cannot tell the difference.
Ztruker said:
Yes, install SP2. Once that's done, do several Windows updates to get all that have been released.
Click to expand...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    DELL E310
    CPU
    Pentium 4 HT 2.8Ghz
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA FX5200 250MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL 19"
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    2-160GB
    Case
    Tower
    Internet Speed
    50Down 10Up
So true about hardware vs software problems. Good luck.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s)
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" C27F398 Curved Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (HDMI)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB Seagate ST2000NM001 2TB Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB
    PSU
    500W
    Mouse
    Lenovo USB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Internet Speed
    50MB Down, 10MB Up
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro X64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP xw4400 Workstation
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 0A68h
    Memory
    5GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer KN242HYL 24" (KVMS)
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST3120026As 120GB SATA (boot) Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB SATA
    Mouse
    Logitech via KVMS switch
    Keyboard
    Dell USB via KVMS switch
    Internet Speed
    50 Down, 10 Up
    Other Info
    Apache Web Server since 2001
Welcome to our Forum
If it were my computer, I would download and try to install Ubuntu, it is free. If you have no problems, your trouble is with your OS, if you have problems its hardware. Whatever you decide, good luck.
Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer
Put Ubuntu on another drive (but the same hard drive of course). In this way you will be able to install SP2 and then remove Ubuntu. Doing it in this manner, you should not have problems with the OS that is currently on the computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
It may be worthwhile downloading the stand alone SP2 again, in case there is a problem with the one you have, unlikely but worth a try :)

Chose the correct advanced option for your system (32/64/Bit)

Service Pack and Update Center - Microsoft Windows
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest Release Preview
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G276HL 27", (DVi) + Samsung 39" HDTV (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1080 @50Hz
  • Manufacturer/Model
    Real World Computers (Custom by Me)
    CPU
    AMD FX8350 Vishera 8 Core @4GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M USB3
    Memory
    32GB [4x8GB] DDR3 1600 MHz
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xoner DG + SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" TV
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Internal Crucial CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SSD, Seagate ST2000DM001-1CH1 2TB, External (USB3) Seagate Backup+ Hub BK SCSI Disk 8TB 2.5/3.5 Hot Swap Cradle, USB3 + eSata (client HDDs) NAS 4TB
    PSU
    Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver
    Case
    AeroCool X-Warrior Red Devil Tower
    Cooling
    Hyper103 CPU, Rear 120mm, Front 2x120mm, Side 2x120mm
    Internet Speed
    68 MB Down 18.5 MB Up
    Other Info
    Six Sensor Auto / Manual Digital cooling (Fan) control with Touch control Panel
I prefer the manual downloads for the service packs. I have never had any issues that route.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1 Industry Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion Elite HPE-250f
    CPU
    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
    Memory
    8 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 &1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
  • Operating System
    Windows 2012 R2 Data center/Linux Mint
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Poweredge T140
    CPU
    i3 9100 3.6GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T
    Memory
    8GB 2666MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB & 360 GB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
I prefer a source with the newest service pack integrated, especially in the case of Vista x64. This build combination has just ALWAYS worked well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Windows 8 Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP xw8600 Workstation
    CPU
    Two Intel Xeon Core2 Quad 3.2 GHz Processors
    Motherboard
    Proprietary
    Memory
    16 GB DDR2 800 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    nVidia Quadro FX 3800 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 213T 21" 4x3 Flat Screen
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    Two Seagate Cheetah 300 GB SAS Disks
    PSU
    Proprietary
    Case
    HP xw8600 Workstation Case
    Cooling
    Two CPU Fans and One Larger Cooling Fan
    Mouse
    Microsoft USB Optical Mouse
    Keyboard
    PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    7 mbps
    Other Info
    Storage Interface: Two LSI 3000 SAS Adapters Browser: Firefox ESR 102
A current note to my original Post. I did install SP2 along with the 139 updates that followed and everything went smoothly. Vista has been a favorite and very stable OS for me. No issues. Next time I will blame the hardware instead of the software. Thanks to all that replied.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    DELL E310
    CPU
    Pentium 4 HT 2.8Ghz
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA FX5200 250MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL 19"
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    2-160GB
    Case
    Tower
    Internet Speed
    50Down 10Up
My dad had a laptop go bad. He blamed Vista but think that his laptop had a bug. After Vista though he isn't interested in Windows anymore.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1 Industry Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion Elite HPE-250f
    CPU
    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
    Memory
    8 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 &1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
  • Operating System
    Windows 2012 R2 Data center/Linux Mint
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Poweredge T140
    CPU
    i3 9100 3.6GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T
    Memory
    8GB 2666MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB & 360 GB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
Nobody mentioned that Microsoft ended support for SP1 in 2011, which is a pretty strong incentive to install SP2. SP2 is also a prerequisite for IE9.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Elite m9150f
    CPU
    Intel Q6600
    Memory
    3 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
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