Microsoft Rant!

Way to go Tom!!!!
Usually there's a work around, it just takes a sharp mind to decipher it!!!

Pat KK6PD

 

Wait until he gets the call about it failing b/c of a upgrade instead of a clean install.

 

Was going to suggest this, ran into this issue a few times already and found a SP3 discs floating around. Since the real money is in the license keys i have no problem with a "frankenware"....sounds like a hefty bill to me.

 

Tom, you done good.

I have a daughter that is amazingly inept at computers... I don't get it.
I've twice completely cleaned, vaccinated, and set up her system, and in no time, it's completely stuffed up.
Seriously, I think it's because she thinks that "Mom" can't possibly know more than some dork her husband shot the s**t with at the bar, who told him something about using some program instead of the one that I installed for her... so, she downloads it, and runs BOTH...

At least, at work, she's on a Mac, and the IT guy keeps her in line...

 

Ahahhaa.... don't tempt me!
Seriously, though, I've been known to smudge and bless our PCs.

 

A bit late but...
Wouldn't the simplest solution have been to downgrade the system first from SP3 to SP2? In principle, that should be as easy as
(1) Open the Control Panel
(2) Open "Add or remove programs"
(3) Click on XP Service pack 3
(4) Click on the "remove" button

or see How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer for more details.

Anyway, MS's licensing and upgrading strategy is a complete nightmare. I never upgrade an existing system anymore. It's not worth the effort anymore these days.

 

I never have had one problem with my low level cost Vista machine. And I'm an Apple guy! But I do think Microsquish is often rotten to the core. Sorry for your woes.

 

This can be a frustrating issue with XP and NTFS. I've had similar issues with my work machine at home

It has two hard drives. Drive C is the boot drive, and is used just to store programs. Drive D is the work drive, has all the data on it

The Registry can get buggy after awhile. I like to wipe the C drive, then use the XP Pro install disk to repartition (Simple partition) and reformat the C drive. Usually, once everything is running again, it will have issues opening some files on D drive: access is denied. Especially files that were created when I was logged in as an Administrator

You have to "force" ownership of the files and folders. This is the latest version of how to do so. Hope it helps

How to take ownership of a file or a folder in Windows XP

I've also had issues with portable hard drives. I'll encrypt the files with the same user and password that I use at work. I'll get home, mount the drive, and access is denied even though the user id and login is the same on my home computer. I have to force ownership. Note this doesn't happen all the time, it's just random enough to be a royal PITA

 

We have tried to roll back or uninstall Service Packs at work. Overall, this is a highly risky procedure, and it usually leaves the machine very unstable.

I agree that upgrades are not worth the effort. A clean install, then application of necessary Service Packs, is the proper way to handle this. We have pretty tight policies at work regarding backing up files.

If a user is too lazy or careless to properly back up their files, they can expect to go into work one morning to a freshly-installed XP Pro. If their critical work files were not backed up - TFB

 

Tom

Unless this person has saved your life - and your children - numerous times, this is simply not worth it. Walk away before you totally lose your grip on reality

jay

 

There's one sure fire cure for computer "breakers" and that's a good imaging program and copying the images to an external drive. That way when you get the call that the machine is broken again, you do an image restore from the external drive and it all goes back to the prior working state. If they don't backup their data between images that's too bad for them. Sure beats trying to fix a mucked up system that you have no idea what's been done to it. Also this is a perfect fix for any viruses or malware that's been picked up via the net. It all goes away with the restore. Acronis True image is worth its weight in gold IMHO.