General Chat

Hiya I have Windows XP and I keep hearing and reading about this new SP2 that Windows are bringing out. I have Norton Virus checker and firewall. Do I need to install SP2 aswell? and will Norton still work if I install SP2? Thanks for any info/hints anyone can provide me with. Karen

Hiya Sue Thanks for that, I've had a nose at the list, I dont think my Norton package is named, but i'm still not sure if i need to install it as it looks like SP2 does the same as Norton.

DONT install it, my hubby did, conflicts with Zone Alarm and over 200 other programs, including microsofts own. We have now uninstalled it which has caused problems with printer drivers. Hopefully once that is fixed we will be OK, but it means I can't view my trees on FTM even though I don't want to print them. Microsofts firewall isn't as good as Zone Alarms. Ros

Hi I have installed the sp2 and my norton is working normally. I have windows xp and so far nothing has changed. Mary in Sydney

I went ahead and installed it (because my pc kept giving me messages to do it!) but hubby says they're not installing it at work yet and he's in a large IT dept. This is because apparently Microsoft are still in the process of ironing out a few glitches in the system. SO WHY DID THEY TELL ME TO INSTAL IT grrrrrrr!!!! However, I haven't had any problems so far. Mandy :)

How can I tell if it has been installed. I only ask as I had a couple of updates popping up and couldn't see what it was for so left it .When it appeared again clicked on it to see what it was and nothing came up. When I put the mouse over it it said 30%. assumed this meant 30% installed. I was concerned as I had heard people saying they had had updates coming up that weren't from microsoft in the past. This box that came up was a different appearance and didn't tell me what the updates were until I pressed on manually install. One of them was a large file but I'm sure it didn't say sp2, it also said it couldn't be uninstalled once there. I've looked on the add remove programme list and it isn't there Help Diane

Hi Diane, I can't really be helpful in your query, only to say that as far as I know it won't just instal itself. You have to follow instructions etc. Hopefully someone will be able to help with what appeared on your pc. Mandy :)

Thanks Mandy Diane

hi karen, my hubby installed it and we haven't had any problems at all, even works with zone alarm too. best wishes melinda

When you download sp2 you will know it because it takes about an hour to download and an hour to load. Thats when on broadband. I dont know what its like any other way. So if you havent been through that I would say that its not on your PC. Mary in Sydney

I dowloaded Windows XP SP2 as ive got 'updates' and when i read about it, it said 3hours 58mins as im not on broadband. HOWEVER, i downloaded at 4pm and it had just finished at 9pm! upto now ive had no problems although it took off the avg i had, which i expected. It seems a little slower, but no major problems as yet. Ive got Mc Afee on too. My husband brought an article home out of the Daily Mail about 2 weeks ago, relating to microsoft causing meltdown on computer systems over the next few weeks. It relates to 'updates' that people have, that are on their computer and when people are downloading them the problem lies with microsofts firewall thus causing the systems to crash. Having read that, i've still downloaded the SP2 through 'updates' though, as i've not long since bought the comp, and I personally, don't know what microsoft 'software' is absolutely necessary for it. Just trial and error.

Hi Thanks everyone for your comments. I decided not to install it in the end, my Norton works fine and after my pc dying once before from a horrible virus I dont take any chances. Karen

I've had customers ringing me up at work to say they cannot view any Internet web pages, and this has been due to the firewall that comes with SP2, blocking them out. I can only conclude that not everyone has been affected otherwise I would have been inundated with calls.

According to the Symantec (Norton) website, this does not conflict with Norton at all and they recommend to install it. Am doing so on the PC now, laptop will have to wait. If it doesnt work properly will system restore get rid of it? Margaret

Margaret I tried system restore at a point before installation and it stayed on. I think you should remove it in control panel/add remove. Bob

Cheers Bob Will let you know how PC is after install. Is about halfway at the mo ( on broadband) Hope it doesnt do anything it shouldnt as hubby uses PC more than me, I tend to use my laptop, he'll blame me of course!!!!!!! Margaret

Bob Installed XP SP2 on PC, so far so good - Norton working OK, AOL working OK and Hubbys games OK. He'd have killed me if they didnt work. Margaret

I installed this package last night and it took a couple of hours. If you do install it and I would recommend you do, make sure that you switch off your antivirus first. I had to uninstall and reinstall my Norton AV and all is well. Computer Active has a complete rundown on the proceedure this week and they highly endorse its use. It offers very high protection for your PC. Good luck; Ernest

just installed windows sp2 through windows update all working well so far pc now faster

Nudging for Joan's info.