What's the FASTEST way to discover if sp2 is installed.

[lllusion]

Read carefully:

I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
all can manage this.

Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
installed?

TIA!

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[Darrell]

It doesn't get any simpler than that.

"lllusion" wrote:

> Read carefully:
>
> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
> all can manage this.
>
> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
> installed?
>
> TIA!
>
> --
> Howie
> "The very belief that violence is unavoidable
> is a root cause of violence."
> Samdhong Rinpoche
> 1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
> Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile
>

[D.Currie]

"lllusion" > wrote in message
...
> Read carefully:
>
> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
> all can manage this.
>
> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
> installed?
>
> TIA!
>

I wouldn't say it's faster, but if it's the right-clicking that's got them
flummoxed, they can go to the control panel and click on system, and you're
in the same place.

If they're not in the classic view of the control panel, you're adding
another click, either to switch to classic or to choose the category.

Also, if you go to any explorer window and go to help and about Windows, the
information is there. Or go to the command prompt and type winver. You get
the same thing.

Which of those is "easiest" depends on the person. Personally, I think
right-clicking on my computer is fastest, but I've known some people who
just can't get the hang of right clicking and choosing from the menu.

[Harry Ohrn]

Click the Start Button
Click Run
type winver
click Ok

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"lllusion" > wrote in message
...
> Read carefully:
>
> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
> all can manage this.
>
> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
> installed?
>
> TIA!
>
> --
> Howie
> "The very belief that violence is unavoidable
> is a root cause of violence."
> Samdhong Rinpoche
> 1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
> Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[Bruce Chambers]

lllusion wrote:
> Read carefully:
>
> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
> all can manage this.
>
> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
> installed?
>
> TIA!
>

Start > Run > winver.exe.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> Click the Start Button
> Click Run
> type winver
> click Ok
>

Perfect. Thanks.

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> I wouldn't say it's faster, but if it's the right-clicking that's got them
> flummoxed, they can go to the control panel and click on system, and you're
> in the same place.
>
> If they're not in the classic view of the control panel, you're adding
> another click, either to switch to classic or to choose the category.
>
> Also, if you go to any explorer window and go to help and about Windows, the
> information is there. Or go to the command prompt and type winver. You get
> the same thing.
>
> Which of those is "easiest" depends on the person. Personally, I think
> right-clicking on my computer is fastest, but I've known some people who
> just can't get the hang of right clicking and choosing from the menu.
>
Great info. Thanks.
As Harry points out, winver works from run too.

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[DanR]

When SP2 is installed the image on the monitor when Windows is booting says
"Windows XP". It no longer says "Home" or "Professional".

"lllusion" > wrote in message
...
Read carefully:

I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
all can manage this.

Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
installed?

TIA!

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> When SP2 is installed the image on the monitor when Windows is booting says
> "Windows XP". It no longer says "Home" or "Professional".
>
Now that's an interesting twist. Thanks.

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[OShah]

lllusion > wrote in news:MPG.1c26a969215e0393989729
@news.microsoft.com:

> In article >,
> says...
>> Click the Start Button
>> Click Run
>> type winver
>> click Ok
>>
>
> Perfect. Thanks.
>

Slightly more intuitive than winver:
In Explorer, click Help -> About Windows.

Comes to the same thing as winver

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
oshah
Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Error Reporting -> Choose Programs
-> Do not report errors for these programs:

Acrobat.exe
waol.exe

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Ken Blake]

In ,
lllusion > typed:

> Read carefully:
>
> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or
> not.
> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer,
> choose
> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some
> reason, not
> all can manage this.
>
> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2
> is
> installed?


I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told
you what I think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key
and press the "Pause | Break" key.

That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My Computer
and choosing Properties.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

[Plato]

=?Utf-8?B?RGFycmVsbA==?= wrote:
>
> It doesn't get any simpler than that.
> >
> > I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
> > Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
> > Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose

OP has a point. I have to say that in my many years of doing this there
are a jillion folks out there who never have used the right click and
have no idea what you are talking about.

You often have to say, "put the arrow over the my computer icon, now
press the right hand button on your mouse with your middle finger".

[Plato]

Ken Blake wrote:
>
> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told
> you what I think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key
> and press the "Pause | Break" key.
>
> That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My Computer
> and choosing Properties.

Then you will have to walk them through where that key is on their
keyboard :)

[JerryMouse]

Plato wrote:
> =?Utf-8?B?RGFycmVsbA==?= wrote:
>>
>> It doesn't get any simpler than that.
>>>
>>> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
>>> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
>>> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer,
>>> choose
>
> OP has a point. I have to say that in my many years of doing this
> there are a jillion folks out there who never have used the right
> click and have no idea what you are talking about.
>
> You often have to say, "put the arrow over the my computer icon, now
> press the right hand button on your mouse with your middle finger".

I use my middle finger for the scroll wheel and ring finger for the right
mouse button.

Do you think that's okay? Will I damage my computer?

[JerryMouse]

lllusion wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>> When SP2 is installed the image on the monitor when Windows is
>> booting says "Windows XP". It no longer says "Home" or
>> "Professional".
>>
> Now that's an interesting twist. Thanks.

But the screen says "Windows 98" or "Windows 95" or "Windows 2000" or
somesuch at every boot. When I ask my customers what version of Windows
they're running, the answer is often "I don't know."

Every boot, every day, for years and years, and they still don't know.

[DanR]

My point was that Illusion could ask his/her client to reboot the machine
and read to him/her what he/she saw on the screen. If the client can not
restart his/her computer he/she is beyond help and should be ___________.
(fill in the blank)

"JerryMouse" > wrote in message
...
lllusion wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>> When SP2 is installed the image on the monitor when Windows is
>> booting says "Windows XP". It no longer says "Home" or
>> "Professional".
>>
> Now that's an interesting twist. Thanks.

But the screen says "Windows 98" or "Windows 95" or "Windows 2000" or
somesuch at every boot. When I ask my customers what version of Windows
they're running, the answer is often "I don't know."

Every boot, every day, for years and years, and they still don't know.

[Plato]

JerryMouse wrote:
>
> I use my middle finger for the scroll wheel and ring finger for the right
> mouse button.
>
> Do you think that's okay? Will I damage my computer?

Yes. It will crash and burn.

[Ken Blake]

In ,
Plato <|@|.|> typed:

> Ken Blake wrote:
>>
>> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told
>> you what I think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key
>> and press the "Pause | Break" key.
>>
>> That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My
>> Computer
>> and choosing Properties.
>
> Then you will have to walk them through where that key is on
> their
> keyboard :)


OK. -:)

On a standard keyboard, it's the rightmost key on the top row.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

[Ken Blake]

In ,
JerryMouse > typed:

> lllusion wrote:
>> In article >,
>> says...
>>> When SP2 is installed the image on the monitor when Windows
>>> is
>>> booting says "Windows XP". It no longer says "Home" or
>>> "Professional".
>>>
>> Now that's an interesting twist. Thanks.
>
> But the screen says "Windows 98" or "Windows 95" or "Windows
> 2000" or
> somesuch at every boot. When I ask my customers what version of
> Windows they're running, the answer is often "I don't know."
>
> Every boot, every day, for years and years, and they still
> don't know.


Well, I know what version of Windows I'm running, but I don't
know by looking at that screen, which I almost never see. I power
on my computer when I get up in the morning, then go get my
coffeee. I almost never watch what it's doing.

I suspect that lots of others don't watch, either.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

[leftred]

"Ken Blake" > wrote in message
...
> In ,
> lllusion > typed:
>
>> Read carefully:
>>
>> I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
>> Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
>> Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
>> properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
>> all can manage this.
>>
>> Is there a simpler and more reliable method to discover if sp2 is
>> installed?
>
>
> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told you what I
> think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key and press the "Pause |
> Break" key.
>
> That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My Computer and
> choosing Properties.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
Sir,
I dip my lid to you.
An elegant, simple, solution.
Gunner

[Alex Nichol]

lllusion wrote:

>I work for an ISP as a telephone service tech.
>Many of our customers haven't a clue wether sp2 is installed or not.
>Previously I've asked customers to right click on My Computer, choose
>properties and read what it says. Unfortunately, for some reason, not
>all can manage this.

Not all machine have My Computer on the desktop. There are two ways:

Control Panel - System (which is where you were getting)

Start - Run - WinVer and see if that mentions Service Pack 2


--
Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
Bournemouth, U.K. (remove the D8 bit)

[Plato]

Ken Blake wrote:
>
> > Then you will have to walk them through where that key is on
> > their keyboard :)
>
> On a standard keyboard, it's the rightmost key on the top row.

True. But you can be on the phone with somebody for 1/2 hour and then
find out they have a laptop and as you know, the keys may be anywhere :)

[Al Smith]

>>I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told you what I
>>> think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key and press the "Pause |
>>> Break" key.
>>>
>>> That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My Computer and
>>> choosing Properties.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>> Please reply to the newsgroup
>>>
>
> Sir,
> I dip my lid to you.
> An elegant, simple, solution.
> Gunner

Doesn't work for me. I hold down the Windows key, press the Pause
key, and nothing happens.

[Bob I]

Humm, maybe the Break key broke! System properties should pop up.

Al Smith wrote:

>>> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told you
>>> what I
>>>
>>>> think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key and press the
>>>> "Pause | Break" key.
>>>>
>>>> That brings up the same screen as right-clicking on My Computer and
>>>> choosing Properties.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>>>> Please reply to the newsgroup
>>>>
>>
>> Sir,
>> I dip my lid to you.
>> An elegant, simple, solution.
>> Gunner
>
>
> Doesn't work for me. I hold down the Windows key, press the Pause key,
> and nothing happens.

[Bruce Chambers]

Al Smith wrote:

>
> Doesn't work for me. I hold down the Windows key, press the Pause key,
> and nothing happens.


Try a new keyboard.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

[Al Smith]

> Al Smith wrote:
>
>>
>> Doesn't work for me. I hold down the Windows key, press the Pause key, and nothing happens.
>
>
>
> Try a new keyboard.

Could possibly be the keyboard, I guess. I've had to clean it
twice. The last time my Enter key was failing to work some of the
time (very annoying). I took the keyboard apart, sucked out all
the crap, and it seems to work fine now -- except for this Windows
Key + Pause|Break thing, which does nothing at all. Hmmm, I wonder
what other keys don't work?

[Bruce Chambers]

Al Smith wrote:

>
> Could possibly be the keyboard, I guess. I've had to clean it twice. The
> last time my Enter key was failing to work some of the time (very
> annoying). I took the keyboard apart, sucked out all the crap, and it
> seems to work fine now -- except for this Windows Key + Pause|Break
> thing, which does nothing at all. Hmmm, I wonder what other keys don't
> work?

Apparently nothing crucial, or you'd have noticed something, I'm sure.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

[DanR]

Have you checked each of these keys independently? The "windows" key is easy
to check. To check the pause key go to a command prompt and type dir <enter>
and press pause before the files are done scrolling. You should be able to
pause the scrolling.

"Al Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Al Smith wrote:
>
>>
>> Doesn't work for me. I hold down the Windows key, press the Pause key,
and nothing happens.
>
>
>
> Try a new keyboard.

Could possibly be the keyboard, I guess. I've had to clean it
twice. The last time my Enter key was failing to work some of the
time (very annoying). I took the keyboard apart, sucked out all
the crap, and it seems to work fine now -- except for this Windows
Key + Pause|Break thing, which does nothing at all. Hmmm, I wonder
what other keys don't work?

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> My point was that Illusion could ask his/her client to reboot the machine
> and read to him/her what he/she saw on the screen. If the client can not
> restart his/her computer he/she is beyond help and should be ___________.
> (fill in the blank)
>
In most cases we can solve problems without a reboot while the customer
is on the phone. However, it's good to have in the back of my mind for
the other circumstances.

Regarding Jerry's comment. He has a point in that many people wouldn't
correctly answer the question regarding what they see on the screen.
Quite often the answers to questions are incomplete or wrong. Other
times when I ask a customer to click on something they say "I don't have
that" whereupon I reply that they do and then try to help them find
something that is directly beside something they are already looking at.
(Then the customer replies, "Oh there!".) :~

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> Slightly more intuitive than winver:
> In Explorer, click Help -> About Windows.
>
Nice. Thanks.

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[lllusion]

In article >,
says...
> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told
> you what I think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key
> and press the "Pause | Break" key.
>
I was looking around for that quick key. Thanks.
But as Plato points out, some people don't even know what PrtScn means.
And here in Sweden there are lots of different keyboards and few would
know what I'd mean by that key.

--
Howie
"The very belief that violence is unavoidable
is a root cause of violence."
Samdhong Rinpoche
1st Democratically Elected Chairman of the
Tibetan Cabinet-in-Exile

[Ken Blake]

In ,
lllusion > typed:

> In article >,
> says...

>> I see you've gotten lots of answers, all good. But nobody told
>> you what I think is the fastest way: hold down the Windows key
>> and press the "Pause | Break" key.
>>
> I was looking around for that quick key. Thanks.


You're welcome. Glad to help.


> But as Plato points out, some people don't even know what
> PrtScn
> means.


The problem, of course, is that it no longer means what it says.


> And here in Sweden there are lots of different keyboards and
> few would know what I'd mean by that key.


Yes, a good point. I assume that what it says on keys like that
is different in different countries.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

[Alex Nichol]

lllusion wrote:

>I was looking around for that quick key. Thanks.
>But as Plato points out, some people don't even know what PrtScn means.
>And here in Sweden there are lots of different keyboards and few would
>know what I'd mean by that key.

And there are still quite a lot of Keyboards around which do not have a
WinKey. The only way I regard as reliable - as being possible on *any*
machine, is Control Panel; System (in its Performance and Maintenance
Category if using Category View)

--
Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
Bournemouth, U.K. (remove the D8 bit)