farfaraway Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 It's a long long story, but I have a 4+ year old Fujitsu laptop that I love, but I need to reformat the drive due to serious hard drive overload that won't uninstall without freezing. Either way - reformatting or re-setting it to factory settings, is screwing me over as it only came with the XP SP1 disk. Unfortunately, I need SP2 to install all of my wifi software and other software to get on the internet to download all the updates that I need to get on the web at all, etc. (going in cirlces) It's also not an Intel Processor, which is why I can't just buy the SP3 disk. Even the patch to install before you install SP3 (to stop the reboot issue) requires SP2, which I can't get anymore. When I tried to buy the CD legitimately Microsoft and all other sites is linking me to buy or download the SP3, sending me in circles once again. Microsoft really needs to continue to sell SP2 on its own, my only option now is possibly outrageously priced fake copies on ebay - 10+ bucks for a free CD??. I'm a student. I'm so frustrated, and my laptop needs to be fixed and working properly by August - and I'm not rich enough to buy something better. Help - even with kindness. But advice or help or telling Microsoft this so they'll keep it available for purchase would make me happier. In the meantine: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dencandy Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Keep asking your friends for an old copy of SP2, and ask them to ask their friends. Windows XP SP2 is (was) readily available for free all over the world. When I was last in the UK, 4 years ago, SP2 was often given away free with computer magazines. There's no need to pay for it (but to install it your copy of Windows must be genuine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 You can also download it for free from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...45-9E368D3CDB5ASee this topic on how to slipstream an SP2 installation disk. But then while you're at it, why not make an SP3 installation disk? The SP3 package can be downloaded from https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...08-1e1555d4f3d4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farfaraway Posted June 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 You can also download it for free from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...45-9E368D3CDB5ASee this topic on how to slipstream an SP2 installation disk. But then while you're at it, why not make an SP3 installation disk? The SP3 package can be downloaded from https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...08-1e1555d4f3d4When I try to download SP2, it tells me it's already installed, won't let me save/download it as a separate .exe file, then goes to download SP3 just the same. I need it separate to install offline when I format the hard drive, as I won't be able to access the internet to download without SP2 already installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 That will happen if you try to download it via Windows Update or Microsoft Update. If you click on the Download button on the link I gave you, it will download WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe to your HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dencandy Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 When I try to download SP2, it tells me it's already installed, won't let me save/download it as a separate .exe file, then goes to download SP3 just the same. I need it separate to install offline when I format the hard drive, as I won't be able to access the internet to download without SP2 already installed.This could be a problem in trying to install SP2 even when you get a copy. It seems you've already installed parts of it & the system thinks it's all there, which is part of the reason for getting these endless loops. So it's probably necessary to try to clean out old parts of SP2 first. There's a MS SP2 Help Page HERE & you can use the search box to find out how to uninstall the old SP2 before trying to install a new version (start by typing in something like "uninstall SP2").Please let us know how you get on, as feedback is very helpful. P.S. Further to the above (and Pat Willener please correct me if I'm wrong) but I think you may have to use Windows Installer to clean up your machine before trying to install SP2 again. You can read about Windows Installer here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942288/en-us - note: it helps uninstall as well as install Windows compnents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Your link is indeed the latest version (4.5) of the Windows Installer. But this will not clean up anything.The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility however can be used to clean up / remove incompletely installed or uninstalled applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dencandy Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 P.S. Further to the above (and Pat Willener please correct me if I'm wrong) but I think you may have to use Windows Installer to clean up your machine before trying to install SP2 again. You can read about Windows Installer here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942288/en-us - note: it helps uninstall as well as install Windows compnents.Sorry I got the last part of this advice wrong, farfaraway. Pat Willener gives the correct cleaner reference in his post above. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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