I downloaded and installed SP2 about a WEEK ago and, well it didnt play nice with my computer, so I did a system restore to about 4 days before having it downloaded/installed. ( I have XP, obviously). Now that I no longer run with SP2, what exactly happened to all 76-200 mbs (or so microsoft says) of it and how can I re-install/download it later when bugs have been worked out? Also, I use to have the automatic update icon in my quicklaunch constantly, its not there anymore, is this a side effect, or better yet, what happened to it?Sean.....What did you mean ....."it didn't play nice" exactly what happened when sp2 was installed?
By any CHANCE ....did you have any XP hotfixes ( SP2 )installed before you d/l SP2? The REASON I ask is that I had 4 of the sp2 hotfixes before sp2 installed .....and I also had problems .

Let us know

dl65 Some programs stopped working and everything slowed down, horribly. By SP2 hotfixes do you mean the automatic updates...?, Yes.

Besides that though, what happened to it?Sean......SP2 has issue with some 3rd party software and real issues with 3rd party drivers.....I had 4 updates that were called hotfixes for sp2 ...that was several months before sp2 came out....But I suspect they conflicted with the current sp2 release .......anyway ,my solution was to format ....reinstall XP.......and then update to sp2 ........had no problems...... ( I have 2 pcs with sp2 on them ) Both run fine .
I have a cousin back east who had a similar problem with sp2 .....format was the solution .......nothing else seemed to solve the issue.

dl65 Yea, I have about 12 of those hotfixes....instead of formating and re-installing could I just remove the hotfixes....(I think I remember seeing them in the add/remove menu), and then update to SP2?

Either way, I'm going to end up doing it, but heres the real problem, my automatic update quicklaunch is gone and I have no idea where my download of SP2 went....any ideas!?!?Sean.....The only hotfix's that are in issue I believe were that specificaly refered to SP2 ........and you had on your machine prior to attemtping to d/l and install SP2...
when you used system restore ....the SP2 that you downloaded and didnt function was removed so you would have to go into control panel and click on folder options.....then view and scroll down untill you see show all hidden files ( tick it ) then go down lower until you see show hidden system files ......not recomended....tick it . Now you should be able to find what you are looking for.
But as Ihave just been through all this .....I would suggest ....just save all your important stuff ....format your drive and do a clean install of XP......then reinstall your anti virus .......then go to MS update site and GET the few update files needed to allow the D/L of SP2 and then D/L and install SP2 ....now things should work as they should....

let us know how you make out
dl65 Just to throw it out there:
Hotfixes on my computer, SP2 and non-SP2:

SP2:
Q817606
Q817287
Q815021
Q814995
Q814033
Q811493
Q810833
Q810577

There were 12 more SP2 hotfixes, I just don't feel like typing the exact names.

I also installed 24 Windows XP hotfixes. (non-SP2 hotfixes)

Also, when I was looking through the add/remove programs list, I came across Service Pack 2, but it didnt have a size listed beside it, as all the other programs do...hmmm?

But just to get it straight, it would be much better to just reformat my drive and reinstall windows?

If I do this, I'll lose ALL of my files, correct?......Anyway I can prevent this from happening besides burning everything important to a cd?Sean.......Based on my experience with XP2......If your machine was doing funny things after installing XP2.....and it sounds like it was.....I would definately format it and reinstall XP and then get the SP2 upgrade.
I cant TELL you which SP2 hotfixes to remove as I dont know which ones were possibly causing the problem ....(when I was talking to MS .....they couldnt either )
I can tell you that after formatting and reinstalling XP and SP2 .....and then reinstalling the programs I had installed before ....that things seem to be running good.
Now as far as will you lose everthing ...yes you will ...but if you have a 2nd hard drive or even if you can borrow one from a friend and copy whatever files you need to it ....do the format and then copy them back.
Dont worry about any XP files ( because they will be all replaced and SP2 contains all the previous fixes etc. ) The other thing I found interesting was that I didnt have to reinstall any drivers for any of my periphials.....even my scanner and graphics card. I was impressed. Oh yes .......be sure and copy the WAB file (windows address book ) .....I forgot to do that and am still rebuilding it , but other than that all went well.
And yes you can copy to a cd if you wish .

Hope this helps you.....
Let us know how you make out .
dl65