Hello and good-day to all. Looking for advice and technical help with XP pro /SP2 problem. I have been put in charge of updating all comps to SP2. The problem is, these comps are spread out over 3 states. How I normally work on these comps, is by using Symantecs PCAnywhere. I have been told by my boss that, when upgrading to SP2 remotely, I need to do the following:

1. Set automatic updates to on.
2. Set XP Remote connection to enable.
3. Download and install XP SP2.
4. Do not restart computer.
5. Turn XP Pro firewall off. (There is where the problems start to happen)
6. Restart comp.
7. Reconnect using XP Remote Coneection.
8. Reset all the settings for PCAnywhere.

Now, how ever when i download and install the SP2, the problems start to occur, first off the XP does not like the fact that I don't want to restart the comp (HATES IT AS A MATTER OF FACT) everything get real slow at that point. When i try to go and shut down the XP Firewall, I get a message telling me I need to start the ICF/ICS. However they wont come up. While in the process of finding a backdoor to the ICF/ICS the comp will freeze up.

I need some assistance on this one, Microsoft is no flipping help at all, they keep telling me to ask the people we bought the comps from (Dell), Dell is no help, they say ask Microsoft.

I wouldnt mind the fact that after restarting the comp, I can't get logged back into it, until the settings have been reset. But, the people at these locations don't come in till late in the evening, after I have allready gone home for the day, and trying to explain to them over the phone is difficult, some have a hard time just turning a comp on, lrt alone changing settings.

Thanks in advance for any assistance on this subject.

CAInc,

I'm assuming SP2 auto-enables the ICF. Rather than manually disabling after install, but before reboot, why don't you use a startup script for the machine to disable the firewall? This will avoid any issues concerning the required reboot, which is obviously causing issues.

XP ICF scripts: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...2apb.mspx#EDAA

If the scripts don't meet your needs, I found a more simple yet abrasive solution regarding batch files.

J_

I strongly recommend a reboot after installing SP2.

You could slipstream SP2 into your original Windows XP CD, and then just upgrade the OS. Although I believe that would be overkill, it's the simplest way.

For instructions on slipstreaming, go here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...slipstream.asp