Re: xp updates

stonecreek wrote:
> I've been putting XP on several PCs lately which previously had
> W2000 or ME. In each case, I've done a thorough format of the
> drives and installed XP. When the install is complete, I do the
> "windows update" thing and eventually get to SP2. Once at SP2, I
> do the "windows update" thing and then get different results. In
> some cases, it says there are 3 updates, in some cases 5, and in
> some cases, none. Why aren't they all the same. And even worse,
> in one case where there were 5 updates, I downloaded them, rebooted
> and some of my previous icons disappeared and some software
> disappeared including Outlook which I had to reconfigure. It seems
> to me that if I take 10 PCs, format the drives, load XP, they
> should all look and act the same. That does not seem to be the
> case. Any ideas why. It's very frustrating.

Make them have NONE. Slipstream all the updates into your CD so this all
goes faster - also create an unattended process that truly makes the
machines identical because it takes the one wild-card out of the picture
(the human factor.)

Why would you "eventually get to SP2"? That should be the first thing
installed and before you ever connect to the Internet if you are not going
to slipstream/integrate it in to the installation.

Rather than give you just a little information - I will tell you how to get
the updates, how to integrate them into your own CD, etc.. That way you are
better informed about your options when it comes to the Windows Updates.

Direct Download of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP
http://snipurl.com/8bqy

What to Know Before You Download and Install Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/s...hattoknow.mspx

You can download all updates and burn them to CD..

You can download each update manually - based off the KB Article number,
etc. That way you can back it up/burn a CD of them in case you need them or
use them to keep a slipstream/integrated (updated) Windows XP CD.

How to use the Windows Update Catalog
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323166
(In order to use the Windows Update Catalog, you must use IE to get the
patches..)

Windows Update Catalog
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.co...en/default.asp
(In order to use the Windows Update Catalog, you must use IE to get the
patches..)

Creating an Integrated Installation
http://snipurl.com/el43

Integrate software updates into your Windows installation source files
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/828930

Really customize your CD..
http://unattended.msfn.org/

Produce an up-to-date XP Distibution CD
http://xpcreate.com/

AutoPatcher
http://www.autopatcher.com/

AutoStreamer
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=223562

You can see the critical (security and other) patches released for a given
month using the following:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms##-***.mspx

At the end of this line you see "ms##-***.mspx" .. If you simply replace ##
with the two-digit year and the *** with the three character month
abbreviation, you will see the list of "critical" and "important" patches
for that month (since it only happens once a month usually, if you check by
the second Tuesday (wait until afternoon) of each month - you should be
fine) - note that future months will not work.

As an example...

December 2004's patches..
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms04-dec.mspx

March 2005's patches..
None released.. so that one will fail...

May 2005's patches..
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms05-may.mspx

July 2005's patches..
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms05-jul.mspx


Once you get on the page with each month's list of patches.. You can go to
the related KB articles and grab the appropriate files from there.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html