"Al Waschka" wrote in message
...
OK, I cleared the CMOS memory, reloaded defaults, and set the date/time.
Same problem.
"Rant mode ON"
While I understand your philosophical comments about troubleshooting (I am
an MSEE with 35 years in the design of hardware, firmware, software and
systems), that is only one perspective. In my case, it was the addition
of
SP2 that caused the original problem. I had a working configuration with
all
hardware supported and everything was fine until I installed SP2. All
this
other stuff (printers not working, etc.) was fallout from installing SP2
or
from changing the BIOS to try to get compatible with SP2. And don't
forget
that I had EXACTLY the same problem with the older currently working
configuration several months back. When I upgraded it to SP2, it started
halting during startup exactly like the new configuration does now. I
bought
a new HD, loaded it up, moved over to it and that is the configuration
that
is not working now, again after installing SP2. I rebuilt the old HD up
to
just before SP2, turned off updates and now it is running. I have no
doubt
that if I installed SP2, it would also crash.
As to your comment that I may have hardware or software that is not
compatible with SP2, I can't imagine that it should be necessary to go
back
to a clean pre-SPx boot configuration, add SP-x, then reload every piece
of
software and hardware (until the system stops working) to find
non-compatible
hardware and software everytime MS comes out with a SP. They should be
testing SPs to determine what the the SP confoguration doesn't support
that
the pre-SP configuration did, and they should notify users so that they
can
make an intelligent decision as to whether or not to install a SP. I
guess I
am going to have to reload windows, upgrade to just before SP2 and then
strop
installing upgrades. Thats a crappy way to run a business.
I just got a phone call from my daughter. Her computer (HP Notebook) had
been in for repair. She reloaded it and it was working fine. She started
"upgrading" it with MS updates, and after SP2 somehow her WLAN was
indicating
low signal and couldn't stay logged on. She wiped it slick again and
reloaded to just before SP2 and everything is fine again.
I rest my case.....
"RANT mode off"
Regardless, Kerry, thanks for trying to help. I appreciate your efforts,
but I'm becoming convinced that this is an inherent problem with SP2 that
I
will not be able to fix.
Al
The HP laptop problem has a known fix that's quite easy to find. I'm
suprised the repair shop didn't know about it. Do a google search for HP XP
SP2 WLAN.
There is no possible way Microsoft could test every possible combination of
hardware and software. They have a section of their web site dedicated to
installing SP2 with many helpful troubleshooting tips.
http://support.microsoft.com/default...r=windowsxpsp2
I have done several hundred installs of SP2 and only seen one computer that
was not compatible. I have seen a few USB devices that aren't compatible. I
have seen lot's of software including software from Microsoft that is not
compatible. If you don't figure out what is causing the problem you are
stuck with your computer as it is now. You may be locked out of future
updates as they may require SP2. That decision is up to you. Personally I
think the security improvements are worth the effort to get it working.
Rant mode on (it's a rant not a flame)
With your experience you must know the logistics involved with testing such
a varied and large installed base. You also must have developed a methodolgy
of testing when something goes wrong. It is common for upgrades to cause
problems with previously working systems whether the upgrade is hardware,
firmware or software. An upgrade changes things by it's very nature. What
you are saying is that once you purchase a computer no one should ever come
out with something that won't work on it. That is unrealistic. And yes it
sometimes comes down to a clean install of Windows, then SP2, then drivers
and programs to find the incompatibilty. That is a last resort. I suggested
a couple of other steps first. In any case your argument about doing a clean
install, then rebuilding the system, then installing SP2 is clearly
backwards and will only get you to the same place that doesn't work every
time.
Rant mode off
Like I said earlier I believe the increased security of SP2 is worth the
effort but it's your computer. I have several paying customers who think
likewise so you are not alone. They are of the opinion that they upgrade
their systems every few years anyway so the next upgrade will solve the
problem. For them the cost of troubleshooting the current working systems
isn't worth it. As long as you have a good firewall in place and practice
safe computing SP2 isn't essential.
Kerry
"Kerry Brown" wrote:
"Al Waschka" wrote in message
...
Oh,yeah....
Wouldn't the fact that loading from one partition "repairs" a load from
a
different partition indicate that some driver or dll or whatever isn't
getting loaded into memory by the defective partition and survives a
restart
but not a cold boot? And this is not a random occurrence. I had
exactly
the
same problem (symptoms-wise) a few months ago. It came back, exactly
like
before, when I "upgraded" to SP2.
To find out what is causing the problem you have to eliminate the simple,
obvious things first. Booting into a working install of Windows may
initialise some hardware that is not happening on the other install with
SP2. If the installs were exactly the same except for SP2 then I would
suspect SP2. The installs are not exactly the same. You mentioned that
some
time elapsed, printers were installed etc. Troubleshooting is a time
consuming process with few if any shortcuts. Test for the problem after
each
change. Start with the simplest steps first. 1) Reset the CMOS. Test for
the
problem. 2) disconnect the printer that had problems and remove it's
drivers
Test for the problem. 3) download and install the latest drivers for all
your other hardware. Test for the problem, and so on and so on until it's
solved. It may very well end up that something, hardware or software, is
not
compatible with SP2. Until you eliminate all the other possibilities
you'll
never know.
Kerry
"Kerry Brown" wrote:
"Al Waschka" wrote in message
...
My defective SP2 installation is on Drive0
My working pre-SP2 installation is on Drive1
When 0 will not start, if I switch boot device in CMOS to 1, windows
comes
up, as expected.
If I then switch back to 0, IT WORKS!
But then, if I cycle power, i.e. shutdown followed by startup, it
hangs
again.
That's nice, but it doesn't answer my question. :-) Did you reset the
CMOS
via the jumper on the motherboard after flashing the BIOS? Failure to
do
this can sometimes cause erratic results like you are describing. This
may
not solve the problem but it eliminates one possible cause.
Kerry