I've been trying this for some time now. I've been deleting various applications hoping to stumble upon the one that has a stranglehold of the system.

I'm using Windows Update. It has installed all the hot fixes and little security things that needed to be installed, but when it comes to SP2, it fails the install.

When it gets to roughly 40%, I get an error that says "Access denied" and then I have to let the install revert back to the previous install/files.

Trend Micro anti-virus has been removed as well as a few other items that were sitting in the systray. I've tried to install my Comcast modem and get errors I thought there might be something related.

 

Assuming the user you are logged on as has administrative rights, it sounds like there is a program blocking the installation files from properly running. Do you have any anti-spyware, or any programs looking for spam, firewall, privacy controls, or anything along these lines.

If not it, how about this. Is it possible the downloaded copy of SP2 is corrupted? Maybe another copy of the download would work?

 

Yes it is: SP2 Download

Nevermind what it says at the top about being for IT Professionals. It just downloads the setup file to your computer, then lets you run it when you want.

Look at your software that's running too. I've never had any problems with software interfering with SP2, but it's a possibility. If you're getting an error message, post the entire message here. That helps lots.

If that doesn't work, grap your XP install CD and pop it in while Windows is running. Go to Start > Run then type sfc /scannow. That checks your system files and makes sure they're in their original states. Once that's done, try running the SP2 install again.

If that doesn't work, there's other options we can consider. But I'll leave those out for now.

Of course, SP2 won't install on a computer with an illegal CD Key. If that's the case, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have an illegal key. If you're certain you don't, give MS a ring and they can sort that out for you.

 

Thank Pete. I have disabled everything that I know of. As far as I know, both my wife and I are both admins -I'm going to check that though, because that is one thing I haven't checked recently.

I just tried disabling everything in the "Startup" group through "Run...-> msconfig", but got the same error at the same point.

It takes so freakin' long it seems to get to the point where it dumps and then restore itself.

As far the file being corrupted - it's possible, but when I go to install it, it says the file is already downloaded. I don't know how to force it to DL it again.

 

Chris - the computer came with Win XP installed from Dell - as part of the Windows updates, it validates the Windows software (which it did).

The only error I get is the "Access Denied" popup. Then it says I must click OK for it to revert.

I'll try DL'ing the file you posted the link to.

Thanks!

 

Both users are Administrators BTW.

 

OK. I downloaded from the link. The first download said it was corrupt when I went to extract it. Second download started working, but around the same point gave me the "Access Denied" box again.

I need to see if I can find my old XP disk. Since it came pre-installed, I'm not sure I remember an actual disk.

This sucks.

 

If the software was preinstalled can I run the sfc /scannow from the HDD since there are likely cabinet files on the HD?

 

Not sure if this means anything, but when I was trying to install my new Comcast modem (Motorola 5101), the Comcast Software kept quitting and giving me an error that it couldn't access kernel32.dll

Think this problem is related?

 

One other nagging problem on my computer and my wifes is that every time we go into Outlook, we get a message titled MS Word that says:

"This file contains macros with an expired or revoked signature. Since you are running under High Security Level, these macros will be disabled". (with an "OK" box)

Then when exiting I get a message titled MS Visual Basic that says:

"The macros in this project are disabled. Please refer to the online help or documentation of the host application to determine how to enable macros." (with an "OK" and "Help" box)

I doubt this is having a bearing on the SP2 upgrade issues though since mine upgraded without a hitch (but still has these errors)

 

Somehow, some of your OS files have been corrupted. There should be a disc from Dell that came with the computer labeled "For reinstalling the OS" or something like that. Put that in, then run sfc /scannow. It won't (as far as I know) run otherwise.

If that doesn't work, you can do a repair install of Windows XP by booting off of that same CD. It's a good idea to be offline while doing this. Same for installing SP2 from the file you downloaded earlier.

What's troubling me is, how did the files get that way? Or what's causing XP to act that way? You may have an infection on your hands. A repair install will restore the system files to their original settings, but if your machine is still infected, it might not stay that way for long.

 

Ran the sfc /scannow and it seemed to change a number of files (when hitting the start menu, a bunch of "new" stuff appeared to be installed).

I discovered that my wife managed to shut off her virus software somehow, so I did a fresh scan. (PC-Cillin). It found 35 Trojans. Tried the sfc /scannow deal again.

Then I ran the SP2 upgrade. Same error in the exact same place. WTF.....

Next step is to try the repair install tonight.

 

maybe its something to do with your avatar

 

I was thinking of replacing my avatar anyway. How about this one:

 

about word and outlook, it sounds like you might have word enabled as your e-mail editor. it does a plugin to outlook if you enable that. go disable it and see if that helps. also, the document template ( .dot) file that represents the e-mail starting state may be corrupt given the macro that tries to run. that *might* be related to the trojans you had, or it could be something else. you might want to refresh that install as well, while you're at it with SP2.

and...speaking of SP2, the 'access denied' almost always means it's trying to replace a file that's in use by a process that it can't abort. just shutting down the active apps may not be sufficient, if you have a lot of things that run on startup, such as services. some of them will spawn other programs. if you're really gung ho on getting up to SP2 (and everyone should, given the raft of security problems facing you in SP1 or earlier), you might want to just safe-boot with no network, and run the install that way.

 

I forgot about safe boot. What's that F8 or something?? I'll try that also.

The Trojan issue is on my wifes machine, but we both have the Outlook issue.

In a nutshell, it says the certificate has expired. Sure enough, it has (from Microsoft) way back on 1/25/2005. I would think this is something that windows update would fix, no? It hasn't thus far - and my machine is running SP2 and it claims no "Ofice" updates are needed.

 

lol nah this one

 

Oh man oh man... Back to the refs?

 

yeah, F8 right after the black screen (unless you have some zipzowie video card, peripherals with secondary BIOSes, etc.) -- then be sure to do safe mode (w/o network) to try to get as few random extras running as possible. if you still have the problem, it's time for surgery -- time to start disabling processes, unregistering DLLs, and all sorts of fun for all.