XP SP2 and system restore?

Dear Chad Harris,

It sems you know about this issue.
My situation:
Windows XP professional. SP2 is installed.
Machine is getting slow.
I wanted to use the system restore facility torepair this.
The system restore programme does not start at all (it worked before after
installation of SP2):"System Restore Application has encountered a problem
and needs to close." error report:
"AppName: rstrui.exe AppVer: 5.1.2600.2180 ModName: srrstr.dll
ModVer: 5.1.2600.2180 Offset: 00009826"

Since I upgraded with SP2, I can not carry out the system repair from the CD
ROM, because it sees that I have a newer version.
Wat now?

Thanks for replying.
Jan

"Chad Harris" wrote:

Phyllis--

In summary--to go to SP2 you need Win XP Home or Pro, Tablet PC or Windows
Media Center Edition, not necessarily SP1. Add/Remove is the best way to
remove the SP. It's installation does set a restore point automatically and
you can use SR, but it's not the best practices way--Add/Remove is. SR can
have a problem with SPs but usually does not. References below:

You can put winver in the run box, or go to IE or OE Help About and see what
version she has. You can upgrade to SP2 however, from any Home or Pro XP
box. See:

What To Know Before You Download and Install XP SP2: System Requirements for
SP2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/s...on126121120120

Installing SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/default...psp2getinstall

SP2 Support Center
http://support.microsoft.com/default...S;windowsxpsp2
If you are running one of the following versions of Windows, you can update
it with Service Pack 2:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional


You cannot use Windows XP SP2 to update the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition or other earlier Windows
operating systems

• Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003

• Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition



The best practices way to go back to the previous OS before the SP, is to
uninstall SP2 from Add/Remove, however you can use System Restore. MSFT has
a KB though, that says it can fail. The install for SP2 does set a restore
point. I've seen it work, but there isn't 100% guarantee, so I'd use
Add/Remove which works well.

How To Remove Windows XP Service Pack 2 From Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp

You can but don't usually have a problem using SR to restore to before a
recent SP installation, so that's one reason to use Add/Remove as MSFT
instructs. See:

PRB: Windows System Restore Does Not Monitor Windows Installer Patch (.msp)
Files
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];814833

If you have a problem that you want to try to reverse, keep in mind you
can System Restore in SP2 to try to make things right after you install it.

System Restore
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_restore.htm

This is an excellent reference, but I noticed one of the write-ups says that
SR should not be enabled during program installation:

"When you first enable System Restore, this creates an initial restore
point. If you enable System Restore during a program installation, this may
corrupt the initial restore point."

This, I think, comes from Bobbie Harder's MSFT SR write-up on MSDN from
2001. In fact, most of MSFT's recent SP installations do set up a restore
point during program installation as do many of their application
installations and 3rd party application installations and they don't
corrupt--but I guess they could. The only way to determine if that restore
point is corrupted that I know is to try it. MSFT's MSDN write up is here
and says that i provided the application utilizes a current installer that
is System Restore RestorePT.API compliant, SR will create a point on
installation of the application.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...temrestore.asp

System Restore FAQ
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro.../faqsrwxp.mspx

Chad Harris
__________________________________________________ _



"Phyllis" wrote in message
...
I will be upgrading my sister-in-law's computer to SP2, do I need to
determine that she has SP1 before doing this? And if I run into mega
problems after upgrade, will I be able to use system restore to go back to
before the upgrade? Thanks