SP2 installation hung [Archive]

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William B. Lurie

October 5th 04, 10:14 PM

As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
of my main system. It did a bunch
of initializing and looked like it was progressing
properly, and then halted with message
"Unable to read from or write to the database".
I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
"SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
switch the HD out and revert to this main system
(I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
instead of a backup clone).

I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
--
William B. Lurie

Colin Barnhorst

October 6th 04, 12:20 AM

You may have gotten a bum download or the cd you burned might have error.

"William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
...
> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> of my main system. It did a bunch
> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> properly, and then halted with message
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> instead of a backup clone).
>
> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
> --
> William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 6th 04, 06:13 AM

Well, of course, those are possibilities, Colin.....
but I'm hoping that one of the MVPs will come back
and tell me to start over with a Microsoft CD....
and tell me that it will correct whatever boo-boos
were caused in the abortive installation.
W B L

Colin Barnhorst wrote:

> You may have gotten a bum download or the cd you burned might have error.
>
> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>of my main system. It did a bunch
>>of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>properly, and then halted with message
>>"Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>"SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>(I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>instead of a backup clone).
>>
>>I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>--
>> William B. Lurie
>
>
>

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 6th 04, 06:02 PM

Okay, here's the follow-on.
I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
I followed the advice and turned off everything that
was running, in the way of application programs. Even
my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
to the database".
When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
now reporting.

Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
installer can communicate with some database that way?
And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
while it does this?
W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:
> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> of my main system. It did a bunch
> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> properly, and then halted with message
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> instead of a backup clone).
>
> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.

--
William B. Lurie

Colin Barnhorst

October 6th 04, 08:16 PM

The last thing you want running while you install a service pack is ANY
virus scanner. If you want to insure that all such background programs are
disabled (this is known as a Good Thing), go to Start>Run and type
'msconfig' (no quotes, of course) to bring up the System Configuration
Utility. Select the Selective Startup radio button and leave only Load
System Services checked. Reboot. After the reboot, cancel messages about
the SCU to remain in this configuration and proceed with another attempt to
install SP2. This should settle any issues related to installed software on
your computer that might interfere with the upgrade and what to turn off or
on.

Hope this helps.

"William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
...
> Okay, here's the follow-on.
> I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
> I followed the advice and turned off everything that
> was running, in the way of application programs. Even
> my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
> the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
> autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
> perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
> It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
> to the database".
> When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
> error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
> now reporting.
>
> Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
> it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
> installer can communicate with some database that way?
> And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
> while it does this?
> W B L
>
> William B. Lurie wrote:
>> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>> of my main system. It did a bunch
>> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>> properly, and then halted with message
>> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
>> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>> instead of a backup clone).
>>
>> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>
>
> --
> William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 6th 04, 08:43 PM

Yes, Colin, and thank you. That's what I thought. But I will wait to
proceed until one of our MVP contacts interprets the actual error
message for me. The message is cryptic:
"Unable to read from or write to the database".
*What* database?
If it's Microsoft's database, why isn't what's needed, on the CD?
If it's my database, what do I have to do to make it available?
If it's Microsoft's on-line, how am I supposed to make it
accessible and still retain A-V protection?
WBL

Colin Barnhorst wrote:
> The last thing you want running while you install a service pack is ANY
> virus scanner. If you want to insure that all such background programs are
> disabled (this is known as a Good Thing), go to Start>Run and type
> 'msconfig' (no quotes, of course) to bring up the System Configuration
> Utility. Select the Selective Startup radio button and leave only Load
> System Services checked. Reboot. After the reboot, cancel messages about
> the SCU to remain in this configuration and proceed with another attempt to
> install SP2. This should settle any issues related to installed software on
> your computer that might interfere with the upgrade and what to turn off or
> on.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Okay, here's the follow-on.
>>I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>>I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>>was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>>my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>>the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
>>autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>>perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>>It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>>to the database".
>>When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>>error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>>now reporting.
>>
>>Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>>it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>>installer can communicate with some database that way?
>>And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>>while it does this?
>>W B L
>>
>>William B. Lurie wrote:
>>
>>>As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>>from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>>down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>>of my main system. It did a bunch
>>>of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>>properly, and then halted with message
>>>"Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>>I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>>"SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>>It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>>switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>>(I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>>instead of a backup clone).
>>>
>>>I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>>them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>>but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>
>>
>>--
>> William B. Lurie
>
>
>

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 05:00 AM

Okay, here's the follow-on.
I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
I followed the advice and turned off everything that
was running, in the way of application programs. Even
my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
to the database".
When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
now reporting.

Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
installer can communicate with some database that way?
And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
while it does this? presume not)
W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:
> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> of my main system. It did a bunch
> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> properly, and then halted with message
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> instead of a backup clone).
>
> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 05:01 AM

Okay, here's the follow-on.
I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
I followed the advice and turned off everything that
was running, in the way of application programs. Even
my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
to the database".
When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
now reporting.

Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
installer can communicate with some database that way?
And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
while it does this? presume not)
W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:
> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> of my main system. It did a bunch
> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> properly, and then halted with message
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> instead of a backup clone).
>
> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 05:01 AM

Okay, here's the follow-on.
I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
I followed the advice and turned off everything that
was running, in the way of application programs. Even
my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
to the database".
When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
now reporting.

Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
installer can communicate with some database that way?
And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
while it does this? presume not)
W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:
> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> of my main system. It did a bunch
> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> properly, and then halted with message
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> instead of a backup clone).
>
> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 05:04 AM

Okay, here's the follow-on. I tried to post this earlier
and didn't seem to get it to post.

I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
I followed the advice and turned off everything that
was running, in the way of application programs. Even
my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
to the database".
When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
now reporting.

Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
installer can communicate with some database that way?
And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
while it does this? presume not)
W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:

> Yes, Colin, and thank you. That's what I thought. But I will wait to
> proceed until one of our MVP contacts interprets the actual error
> message for me. The message is cryptic:
> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> *What* database?
> If it's Microsoft's database, why isn't what's needed, on the CD?
> If it's my database, what do I have to do to make it available?
> If it's Microsoft's on-line, how am I supposed to make it
> accessible and still retain A-V protection?
> WBL
>
> Colin Barnhorst wrote:
>
>> The last thing you want running while you install a service pack is
>> ANY virus scanner. If you want to insure that all such background
>> programs are disabled (this is known as a Good Thing), go to Start>Run
>> and type 'msconfig' (no quotes, of course) to bring up the System
>> Configuration Utility. Select the Selective Startup radio button and
>> leave only Load System Services checked. Reboot. After the reboot,
>> cancel messages about the SCU to remain in this configuration and
>> proceed with another attempt to install SP2. This should settle any
>> issues related to installed software on your computer that might
>> interfere with the upgrade and what to turn off or on.
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>> Okay, here's the follow-on.
>>> I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>>> I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>>> was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>>> my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>>> the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
>>> autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>>> perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>>> It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>>> to the database".
>>> When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>>> error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>>> now reporting.
>>>
>>> Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>>> it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>>> installer can communicate with some database that way?
>>> And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>>> while it does this?
>>> W B L
>>>
>>> William B. Lurie wrote:
>>>
>>>> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>>> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>>> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>>> of my main system. It did a bunch
>>>> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>>> properly, and then halted with message
>>>> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>>> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>>> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>>> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>>> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>>> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>>> instead of a backup clone).
>>>>
>>>> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>>> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>>> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> William B. Lurie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>

--
William B. Lurie

Wislu PLethora

October 7th 04, 04:57 PM

>-----Original Message-----
>Okay, here's the follow-on.
>I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
>autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>to the database".
>When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>now reporting.
>
>Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>installer can communicate with some database that way?
>And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>while it does this?
> W B L

Billy, Billy, Billy. You've posted this same message in
this thread 5 times now, 4 of them after Colin gave you
good advice. The message you're getting simply means that
SP2's read-write operations are failing, and it's a good
chance that having your AV running is the cause. There
is no MS database that you need to connect to. You should
not be online when you install SP2. It is to your
everlasting credit that you had the good sense to try this
on a clone.

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 06:16 PM

Now 12 hours later, no new advice to answer the question,
but I proceeded anyway.

I followed Colin Barnhorst's procedure, and did msconfig>>
Selective Startup>>ONLY System Services loaded, and I
restarted. This time I left my Ethernet connection intact.
It booted up fine (as before), and I inserted Microsoft's
SP2 CD, and followed instructions, accepted the EULA, and
it proceeded with the SP2 Installation........

And stopped at exactly the same place as I reported before.

And now I'm back on my Master system, again waiting for advice,
hoping that one of the MVPs will take an interest in this
problem (are you listening, Sharon and Michael?).

W B L

William B. Lurie wrote:
> Okay, here's the follow-on. I tried to post this earlier
> and didn't seem to get it to post.(SORRY! I see it ended
up being posted twice, right in sequence).
>
> I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
> I followed the advice and turned off everything that
> was running, in the way of application programs. Even
> my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
> the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
> autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
> perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
> It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
> to the database".
> When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
> error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
> now reporting.
>
> Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
> it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
> installer can communicate with some database that way?
> And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
> while it does this? presume not)
> W B L
>
> William B. Lurie wrote:
>
>> Yes, Colin, and thank you. That's what I thought. But I will wait to
>> proceed until one of our MVP contacts interprets the actual error
>> message for me. The message is cryptic:
>> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
>> *What* database?
>> If it's Microsoft's database, why isn't what's needed, on the CD?
>> If it's my database, what do I have to do to make it available?
>> If it's Microsoft's on-line, how am I supposed to make it
>> accessible and still retain A-V protection?
>> WBL
>>
>> Colin Barnhorst wrote:
>>
>>> The last thing you want running while you install a service pack is
>>> ANY virus scanner. If you want to insure that all such background
>>> programs are disabled (this is known as a Good Thing), go to
>>> Start>Run and type 'msconfig' (no quotes, of course) to bring up the
>>> System Configuration Utility. Select the Selective Startup radio
>>> button and leave only Load System Services checked. Reboot. After
>>> the reboot, cancel messages about the SCU to remain in this
>>> configuration and proceed with another attempt to install SP2. This
>>> should settle any issues related to installed software on your
>>> computer that might interfere with the upgrade and what to turn off
>>> or on.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps.
>>>
>>> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>
>>>> Okay, here's the follow-on.
>>>> I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>>>> I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>>>> was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>>>> my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>>>> the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
>>>> autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>>>> perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>>>> It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>>>> to the database".
>>>> When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>>>> error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>>>> now reporting.
>>>>
>>>> Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>>>> it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>>>> installer can communicate with some database that way?
>>>> And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>>>> while it does this?
>>>> W B L
>>>>
>>>> William B. Lurie wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>>>> from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>>>> down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>>>> of my main system. It did a bunch
>>>>> of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>>>> properly, and then halted with message
>>>>> "Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>>>> I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>>>> "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>>>> It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>>>> switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>>>> (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>>>> instead of a backup clone).
>>>>>
>>>>> I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>>>> them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>>>> but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> William B. Lurie
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 7th 04, 06:27 PM

Colin and MVPs:

Please see latest failed attempt, using Microsoft CD
and being online online to my ISP at same time, and
following theLoad System Services only Selective Start.
In brief: failed at exactly the same place.
WBL

Colin Barnhorst wrote:
> The last thing you want running while you install a service pack is ANY
> virus scanner. If you want to insure that all such background programs are
> disabled (this is known as a Good Thing), go to Start>Run and type
> 'msconfig' (no quotes, of course) to bring up the System Configuration
> Utility. Select the Selective Startup radio button and leave only Load
> System Services checked. Reboot. After the reboot, cancel messages about
> the SCU to remain in this configuration and proceed with another attempt to
> install SP2. This should settle any issues related to installed software on
> your computer that might interfere with the upgrade and what to turn off or
> on.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Okay, here's the follow-on.
>>I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>>I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>>was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>>my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>>the Microsoft SP2 CD in the CD drive and waited. It
>>autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>>perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>>It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>>to the database".
>>When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>>error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>>now reporting.
>>
>>Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>>it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>>installer can communicate with some database that way?
>>And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>>while it does this?
>>W B L
>>
>>William B. Lurie wrote:
>>
>>>As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>>from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>>down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>>of my main system. It did a bunch
>>>of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>>properly, and then halted with message
>>>"Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>>I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>>"SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>>It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>>switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>>(I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>>instead of a backup clone).
>>>
>>>I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>>them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>>but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>
>>
>>--
>> William B. Lurie
>
>
>

--
William B. Lurie

Mikemap

October 11th 04, 01:01 AM

I have the same problem. Product support said it might be a corrupted log
file or database in \windows\system\Catroot.

I was sent a file "UPDATE.ZIP but I did not recieve it.

Other cause identified
2. "Cryptographic Services" is disabled
3. other windows files corrupted or missing
4. The local security database has been corrupted.

I still can not apply SP2

"William B. Lurie" wrote:

> Okay, here's the follow-on.
> I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
> I followed the advice and turned off everything that
> was running, in the way of application programs. Even
> my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
> the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
> autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
> perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
> It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
> to the database".
> When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
> error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
> now reporting.
>
> Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
> it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
> installer can communicate with some database that way?
> And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
> while it does this? presume not)
> W B L
>
> William B. Lurie wrote:
> > As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
> > from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
> > down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
> > of my main system. It did a bunch
> > of initializing and looked like it was progressing
> > properly, and then halted with message
> > "Unable to read from or write to the database".
> > I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
> > "SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
> > It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
> > switch the HD out and revert to this main system
> > (I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
> > instead of a backup clone).
> >
> > I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
> > them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
> > but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>
>
> --
> William B. Lurie
>

William B. Lurie

October 11th 04, 11:22 AM

Microsoft Online Support (!) listened to my problem and
promptly send me a .BAT file to run. I ran it and it
cleared up the problem. I would like to post it here
and have asked Microsoft for permission to do so. The file is named

FIXDB.BAT

If I don't hear from them in a day or two, or get advice
from one of the MVPs, I will publish it here, for everybody
to use.

Bill Lurie

Mikemap wrote:
> I have the same problem. Product support said it might be a corrupted log
> file or database in \windows\system\Catroot.
>
> I was sent a file "UPDATE.ZIP but I did not recieve it.
>
> Other cause identified
> 2. "Cryptographic Services" is disabled
> 3. other windows files corrupted or missing
> 4. The local security database has been corrupted.
>
> I still can not apply SP2
>
> "William B. Lurie" wrote:
>
>
>>Okay, here's the follow-on.
>>I reconnected that drive, and it booted up just fine.
>>I followed the advice and turned off everything that
>>was running, in the way of application programs. Even
>>my Norton A-V. I disconnected from my DSL line, put
>>the *Microsoft SP2 CD* in the CD drive and waited. It
>>autostarted as it should, and everything proceeded
>>perfectly normally up to the same point as before.
>>It stopped with the same "Unable to read from or write
>>to the database".
>>When I closed it, I got the same "SP2 did not complete"
>>error, which I closed and shut down gracefully and am
>>now reporting.
>>
>>Again I'm asking what to do next. More specifically, is
>>it telling me that I have to be on-line so that SP2
>>installer can communicate with some database that way?
>>And if so, can I leave my Norton Anti-Virus enabled
>>while it does this? presume not)
>> W B L
>>
>>William B. Lurie wrote:
>>
>>>As reported 2 days ago....I downloaded full 279M SP2
>>>from website, burned it to CD, went offline, closed
>>>down all I could and tried to install on a good clone
>>>of my main system. It did a bunch
>>>of initializing and looked like it was progressing
>>>properly, and then halted with message
>>>"Unable to read from or write to the database".
>>>I closed that out and it then proceeded to tell me
>>>"SP2 Setup error. Install did not complete".
>>>It gave me no alternative but to recycle power and
>>>switch the HD out and revert to this main system
>>>(I'm glad I didn't try it first on my Main System
>>>instead of a backup clone).
>>>
>>>I just received two SP2 CDs from Microsoft. I'll use
>>>them henceforth instead of what I downloaded.......
>>>but I'm waiting for advice.......and thank you.
>>
>>
>>--
>> William B. Lurie
>>

--
William B. Lurie

William B. Lurie

October 11th 04, 11:23 AM