In the previous section, I went through the history of Windows XP, its enhanced security features and why Microsoft had to introduce Service Pack 2 with sweeping changes to the operating system.
In this section, I will give a tour of the installation of Windows XP Service pack 2. The most surprising fact about Windows Service Pack 2 is that it was a whopping 270 MB application and was available through 2 channels. One was the “Windows Update” where users downloaded and applied Service Pack 2 as part of their security updates. And since it was too large and could not be downloaded by those who had low bandwidth, Microsoft made this pack available through CDs. While both the installations are same, the Windows update is only around 80 MB since Service Pack 2 is a culminate update of previous fixes including Service Pack 1 and hence consumers who had their computers patched regularly only had to download the remaining package which resulted in a 80 MB download.
Since I was on sufficient bandwidth I decided to download the package through Windows Update. Microsoft also had introduced a new version of Windows Update Version 5.0 (v5) with the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2. The reasons for releasing the new version of Windows Update are
Windows Update v5 had three new modes of downloading the security patches and hot fixes. They are:-
This Express install option automatically selects all high priority updates for your computer so you can select them with one click. To choose from the optional updates as well, the Custom install option can be used.
If the Internet connection is lost or if the user disconnect while updates are downloading, no information is lost. The download will resume next time from where it was interrupted so that valuable connection time is saved. If Automatic Updates is enabled then, Windows Update will not download any updates that is already downloaded.
Automatic Updates, automatically delivers the latest high priority updates to your PC silently and seamlessly without any performance penalty on the computer’s performance or bandwidth resources.
The windows update also comes with a new interface to give more information to the user about the security fix that was being downloaded. This is how the download screen looks like.
Figure 1.The enhanced download screen for downloading critical patches.
The most important things to do before starting the process of downloading/installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 are :-
This is the most important step since Trojans and spy-ware have to be removed before installing Service Pack 2. Installing Service Pack 2 on a computer infected with Trojans and spy-ware can have unpredictable results. There are a number of third party tools to detect and remove unwanted software from your computer.
This applies for the computers that are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). Since these computers are pre-installed with the operating system, the users might not have the original software CDs to perform the re-installation in case of failed installations. Also OEM dealers pre-configure the computers with additional softwares and have specialized configuration which cannot be altered by the user. It is recommended to visit the PC manufacturer's Web site first and search for any information about SP2 that might apply to your computer. Users of retail versioned computers are also encouraged to update their hardware drivers if any.
It is strongly suggested that you back up or make a copy of your important and irreplaceable personal information, such as pictures, documents, music, and financial data.
Now I was ready to install Windows XP SP2 and went to Windows update through the link “Get updates for your computer” from “Help and support”. A notice in the right hand side of the window informed that the computer had to be updated to XP SP2. Clicking on that link took me to the Microsoft Windows Update and asked me to update the version of Windows Update from v4 to v5.
After updating the computer with Windows Update v5 this is how the screen looks like.
Figure 2. Windows update v5.
Clicking on the Express Install (remember that this is for critical updates and updates which should be installed immediately as soon as they are available) notified me that Windows XP SP2 was ready to be installed. And the screen is seen below.
Figure 3. XP SP2 notice board.
Based on the state of my computer (critical updates and regular updates) Windows Update determined that the download size would be 75 MB and it would take around 1 hour and 36 minutes to download. Clicking the “Download and install Now” button invoked the End user license agreement screen which is a part of all installation applications.
Figure 4 End user license Agreement for Windows XP SP2.
Accepting the agreement, invokes the download screen where the package is downloaded and the long process of downloading the 80 MB file began. First the verification of the file was done.
Figure 5 Verifying the download.
Figure 6 Downloading Windows XP SP2.
After the downloading finished, the installation wizard started to guide me in the installation of the update. The starting screen of the wizard is seen below.
Figure 7 Wizard to install the package.
The wizard proceeded through the steps that are found in most service packs. They are
For XP SP2, the wizard creates a new folder called sp2.cab to as part of its installation. Then it uses this folder for performing the installation of XP SP2. The screen shots for the installation are seen below.
Figure 8 Creating the file sp2.cab.
Figure 9 Backing up the existing files.
Figure 10 Updating the registry keys after installing.
Figure 11 Finalizing the installation.
Figure 12 Successful install notice of XP SP2.
Finally after the successful installation, the application prompts me to restart the computer. If you thought that it was the end of the installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 like other service packs where rebooting meant the completion of the installation and the computer would boot as normal, you are completely wrong. The configuration of Windows XP Service Pack 2 continues after the reboot and we will see in the next few paragraphs.
When the computer booted up I expected to see the new logo on the splash up screen which would say Windows XP Professional – Service Pack 2 like most other applications where the Service pack version is indicated on the splash screen to distinguish it from earlier versions. But I was taken by surprise to see the new screens and more baffled at the process how Windows XP prepared itself with the introduction of Service Pack in its armour. The new screen is seen below.
Figure 13 Splash screen of Windows XP – after installing SP2.
Not only that the words Service Pack 2 hasn’t been implemented, but the word Professional is also removed and it has a totally new screen.
Now when Windows starts loading, it loads as if it is loading for the first time. This is because the screen seen below comes only at the first time when Windows XP is installed on a new computer. It says Please wait…
Figure 14 Preparing for the configuration of Windows XP SP2.
Clearly this is an indication that major changes are made to the boot sequence of the operating system and indeed there are a host of changes that are made in the boot sequence, which I will cover in a future article.
Now Windows requests to wait for sometime while it does something mysteriously in the background. No idea at all what is happening but no other choice to do but wait.
Figure 15 Initiating the final configuration of Windows XP SP2.
Now the welcome screen comes and I login to the computer. Pre to the release of Windows XP SP2, Windows didn’t warn the user about the implication of turning off Windows Update and it was up to the user to secure his computer from the threats of hostile attacks from outside when he was on the Internet.
But with the release of Service Pack 2, Microsoft isn’t taking any chance to let the user work without keeping his computer up to date and so gives this configuration screen to the user to let him make the choice. So if the user declines to turn on Windows Update, he is already warned that his computer is more vulnerable to viruses and other security threats.
Figure 16 Giving a choice about the settings of the firewall.
So the best choice is to turn on Automatic updates and this is the recommended approach since the user need not worry when the patches will be released. Automatic Updates does this silently in the background. There are certain features to help the user work with the settings in Automatic Updates which will be discussed later.
With the release of Windows XP SP2, Microsoft has introduced a new concept to manage the security settings of the computer like firewall, Internet Options and Automatic Updates. It does a check to see if all the requirements are met with. If any of these requirements are not met, then it shows a warning and displays the recommended solution for the same. In my case the antivirus scanner was not installed and so I got this screen as seen below.
Figure 17 Windows Security Centre warning that Antivirus is not installed.
This completes the installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2. Now I am glad that my system is patched with the most advanced security package ever developed in the history of Microsoft.
In the next article, I will continue with the tour of the system to see what are the areas that are affected with the installation of Service Pack 2 and how it impacts our day to day functioning.
To be continued...