Sorry, but I can't see any snide remarks that I've posted - they were
supposed to be helpful ones.
Basic rules (as far as I'm concerned), if you have a 'brandname' PC, never
try to do a major upgrade without completely checking their upgrades first.
When XP2 was first released (check back through the NGs) there were so many
problems with HP owners, as HP didn't bother to publicly release pre-fixes;
that eventually came weeks later.
That's why I said (in other words), thoroughly peruse the HP website & make
sure you are completely up to date.
What many people do not realise is that SP2 is not a patch or Hotfix - it's
a complete reconstruction of XP!


--

johnf

On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 18:05:17 -0500, "Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)"
wrote:

Wild

If you want to be careless about what you do with a machine 'in
production', then that is your call..

Careless? I've installed the updates from HP and MS according to the
best available information from each on how to install updates, and
the computer doesn't work -- what's 'careless' about that?


but when somebody tries to help you out of the mess
for which YOU are responsible, at least show courtesy and respect..

Somehow the wires got crossed -- if you look at the thread, I
responded appropriately to the snide remarks of "johnf", and I
expressed appreciation to "Ron J" because, although there doesn't seem
to be a cure, he at least suggested some things and tried to help.


Re. your problem.. some makes of computer require patches available
from the manufacturer before SP2 can be installed.. regardless of any
previous contact you have had with HP, try them again for a patch..

There are several such updates, and I installed them (as noted in the
original post: points 5 and 9).

Then go to this website.. http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm ..

Except for the things that were unnecessary because I did a complete
system restore (format drive C: and return to factory installation), I
did all of that. in that order, except that I am forced by necessity
to download and install the SP2 through Windows Update.

I found four such checklists, some more complete than that
(specifically saying the order to install software and hardware
updates), and tried them all (I did a complete system recovery each
time, so absolutely nothing could carry through from one to the next).

Still no joy, and I have deadlines to meet, so can't play with it
anymore. I'll just have to live without SP2 until someone comes up
with a version that actually works on all HP computers that come with
WinXP (yeah, like that's going to happen).

Thanks for the comments, and sorry for the misunderstanding about who
I replied to "johnf" and "Ron J".