Disaster, can't boot after SP2

Hi,

I installed the SP2 from an automatic update and after the reboot it wanted
to do it was busy doing stuff and got a blue screen of death. I had no option
other than to reboot. It never started again. It said it was canceling the
installation and reverting back to the previous state but rebooted itself and
never completed. It was basically stuck in an install cycle and was failing
to cancel it.

I was left with only one option - a repair install. I did this and now it
starts up but after the Windows screen appears it flashes up (for all of
1/10th of a second) a popup that says the following text before it
immediately reboots again.

"Not enough virtual memory or paging file quota to complete the specified
operation"

This happens in safe mode or VGA mode also. I have no way of getting into
windows other than via a command prompt (emergency repair console).

I doubt another repair installation will help.

Are there any files I can delete that could help this? I looked for
pagefile.sys but didn't see it. I did see a hiberfil.sys and tried renaming
it but after the next reboot it was back with the same size.

I desperately need a solution as I'm leaving the country (and the people
who's computer it is) tomorrow and if I can't solve it for them then they'll
be at the mercy of some computer store who'll charge them hundreds of $$
probably.

You may need to perform a Repair Installation, but there are some things you
can try first.
How to use the Automatic Recovery feature to recover your computer if the
Windows XP Service Pack 2 Setup program is not completed successfully:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=875355

Reboot tapping F8 each second.
Select "Last known good configuration" at the menu.
If that fails, reboot tapping F8 again this time choosing Safe Mode.
Then System Restore to Date/Time before issue started:
Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore

Otherwise perform a Repair Installation:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm

When you are ready for SP-2, follow the Service Pack Installation Checklist:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/


"d d" <> wrote in message
news:07FE05DD-0BDE-4531-AEB6-...
> Hi,
>
> I installed the SP2 from an automatic update and after the reboot it
> wanted
> to do it was busy doing stuff and got a blue screen of death. I had no
> option
> other than to reboot. It never started again. It said it was canceling the
> installation and reverting back to the previous state but rebooted itself
> and
> never completed. It was basically stuck in an install cycle and was
> failing
> to cancel it.
>
> I was left with only one option - a repair install. I did this and now it
> starts up but after the Windows screen appears it flashes up (for all of
> 1/10th of a second) a popup that says the following text before it
> immediately reboots again.
>
> "Not enough virtual memory or paging file quota to complete the specified
> operation"
>
> This happens in safe mode or VGA mode also. I have no way of getting into
> windows other than via a command prompt (emergency repair console).
>
> I doubt another repair installation will help.
>
> Are there any files I can delete that could help this? I looked for
> pagefile.sys but didn't see it. I did see a hiberfil.sys and tried
> renaming
> it but after the next reboot it was back with the same size.
>
> I desperately need a solution as I'm leaving the country (and the people
> who's computer it is) tomorrow and if I can't solve it for them then
> they'll
> be at the mercy of some computer store who'll charge them hundreds of $$
> probably.

Thanks for that comprehensive reply. I had tried several
of those steps (choosing previous good configuration etc).

I did end up having to do a repair installation, but even
after that it wouldn't boot properly. I kept getting the error
"not enough virtual memory of paging file quota". To get
past that, I had to boot to recovery console and manually
copy the 5 hive files from system32/repair into /config. After
that everything was as before. I decided not to try installing
SP2 again

~dd

"Jupiter Jones [MVP]" wrote:

> You may need to perform a Repair Installation, but there are some things you
> can try first.
> How to use the Automatic Recovery feature to recover your computer if the
> Windows XP Service Pack 2 Setup program is not completed successfully:
> http://support.microsoft.com/?id=875355
>
> Reboot tapping F8 each second.
> Select "Last known good configuration" at the menu.
> If that fails, reboot tapping F8 again this time choosing Safe Mode.
> Then System Restore to Date/Time before issue started:
> Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore
>
> Otherwise perform a Repair Installation:
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm
>
> When you are ready for SP-2, follow the Service Pack Installation Checklist:
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm
>
> --
> Jupiter Jones [MVP]
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/
>
>
> "d d" <> wrote in message
> news:07FE05DD-0BDE-4531-AEB6-...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I installed the SP2 from an automatic update and after the reboot it
> > wanted
> > to do it was busy doing stuff and got a blue screen of death. I had no
> > option
> > other than to reboot. It never started again. It said it was canceling the
> > installation and reverting back to the previous state but rebooted itself
> > and
> > never completed. It was basically stuck in an install cycle and was
> > failing
> > to cancel it.
> >
> > I was left with only one option - a repair install. I did this and now it
> > starts up but after the Windows screen appears it flashes up (for all of
> > 1/10th of a second) a popup that says the following text before it
> > immediately reboots again.
> >
> > "Not enough virtual memory or paging file quota to complete the specified
> > operation"
> >
> > This happens in safe mode or VGA mode also. I have no way of getting into
> > windows other than via a command prompt (emergency repair console).
> >
> > I doubt another repair installation will help.
> >
> > Are there any files I can delete that could help this? I looked for
> > pagefile.sys but didn't see it. I did see a hiberfil.sys and tried
> > renaming
> > it but after the next reboot it was back with the same size.
> >
> > I desperately need a solution as I'm leaving the country (and the people
> > who's computer it is) tomorrow and if I can't solve it for them then
> > they'll
> > be at the mercy of some computer store who'll charge them hundreds of $$
> > probably.
>
>
>