XP SP2 install failure

Had fully updated XP SP2 Home + OneCare Live running cleanly, but installed
new MB and had to reinstall (repair) XP Home. Applied all updates up to SP2;
however, SP2 install fails with message
"The file c:\windows\system32\smss.exe is open or in use by another
application. Close all other ..."
Updated and ran AdAware and Spybot, but problem persists. I disabled all
startup apps, so that only User processes are explorer.exe, iexplore.exe, and
update.exe.

Any advice / suggestions on getting SP2 installed are welcome

A friend of mine ran into a blank desktop after SP2 update on a rebuild. We
used MSCONFIG to use the half split method and disabled startup items 1/2 at
a time to determine which component was causing the failure. Then you can
either leave the failure in a nonstart mode or uninstalling the failing
application.

"Rory" wrote:

> Had fully updated XP SP2 Home + OneCare Live running cleanly, but installed
> new MB and had to reinstall (repair) XP Home. Applied all updates up to SP2;
> however, SP2 install fails with message
> "The file c:\windows\system32\smss.exe is open or in use by another
> application. Close all other ..."
> Updated and ran AdAware and Spybot, but problem persists. I disabled all
> startup apps, so that only User processes are explorer.exe, iexplore.exe, and
> update.exe.
>
> Any advice / suggestions on getting SP2 installed are welcome

I just dealt with this issue. It's simple to fix and you do NOT have to do a
clean install of Windows. What you'll need to do is create a new Windwos Xp
installation CD that is slipstreamed with SP2, and then run Windows setup in
repair mode and everything will be fine. For steps on creating the
slipstreamed CD, go to http://pcstats.com and use their search field to
search for the word slipstream. Also, I was only able to get the CD to boot
correctly using Nero to create the CD. For whatever reason, Roxio wouldn't
setup the boot sector of the CD correctly.

"Rory" wrote:

> Had fully updated XP SP2 Home + OneCare Live running cleanly, but installed
> new MB and had to reinstall (repair) XP Home. Applied all updates up to SP2;
> however, SP2 install fails with message
> "The file c:\windows\system32\smss.exe is open or in use by another
> application. Close all other ..."
> Updated and ran AdAware and Spybot, but problem persists. I disabled all
> startup apps, so that only User processes are explorer.exe, iexplore.exe, and
> update.exe.
>
> Any advice / suggestions on getting SP2 installed are welcome