Windows Update SP2 install "Eddy Kolmogorov" <nospam[ at ]nospam.com> 10/16/2008 11:36:39 AM Started getting 'delayed write failed' messages and tried all the fixes in KB and assorted forums to no avail. Eventually I reinstalled WinXP Home from my oroginal CD - SP1 I downloaded SP2 from Windows Update but I can't install it. It starts installing but always hangs after a few minutes (for 8 hours last night) on 'Creating cabinets' while 'Running processes before install'. I'd like to get a clean SP2 download but WU insists on using the copy I have already downloaded. Can anyone tell me where this copy is likely to be stored so I can delete it? I've tried the usual suspects - temp folders etc but found nothing so far. Any thoughts on why I started getting the 'delayed write failed' messages in the first lace very welcome? Ed K Gigabyte GA-M61SME-S2, Athlon Dual 4800+, 1GB RAM, SATA HDDs 250GB Seagate and 500GB Western Digital.

Re: Windows Update SP2 install "Shenan Stanley" <newshelper[ at ]gmail.com> 10/16/2008 12:17:56 PM Eddy Kolmogorov wrote: [Quoted Text] > Started getting 'delayed write failed' messages and tried all the > fixes in KB and assorted forums to no avail. > > Eventually I reinstalled WinXP Home from my oroginal CD - SP1 > > I downloaded SP2 from Windows Update but I can't install it. It > starts installing but always hangs after a few minutes (for 8 hours > last night) on 'Creating cabinets' while 'Running processes before > install'. > > I'd like to get a clean SP2 download but WU insists on using the > copy I have already downloaded. > Can anyone tell me where this copy is likely to be stored so I can > delete it? > I've tried the usual suspects - temp folders etc but found nothing > so far. > > Any thoughts on why I started getting the 'delayed write failed' > messages in the first lace very welcome? > > Ed K > > > Gigabyte GA-M61SME-S2, Athlon Dual 4800+, 1GB RAM, SATA HDDs 250GB > Seagate and > 500GB Western Digital. (Everything in reference to Windows XP) First - Why SP2? Why not go from SP1 to SP3? Service Packs are cumulative - with one caveat: you have to have SP1 or greater in order to install SP3 onto a functioning OS install. You have a great opportunity to skip installing SP2 and jump to SP3 (which includes everything in SP2) and have a current machine. You are on a clean slate. Second - stop trying to use automatic updates for it. Download the full file and install it that way. Ignore the badly worded warning about "this download is for installing on more than one machine' - one, 1000 or 1,000,000 - doesn't matter - the full download works the same. I would still likely go tstraight to SP3 - but, that is your decision. For now - choose one (or get both.) Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Full Installation File) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Full Installation File) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en Want to order the Windows XP SP3 CD? https://om2.one.microsoft.com/opa/Validation.aspx?StoreID=d7a098f4-4034-4ccb-a785-9e890e6b4f5b&LocaleCode=en-us&JavaScriptOn=yesThird - test your hardware. It sounds to me like you may have some issuesthere. I would suggest at least a hard disk drive check (use CHKDSK) and amemory test (you can grab a memory diagnostics from Microsoft...) Thoseerrors you are getting - that could be bad. I can only hope that before youeven started the clean install - you did a full diagnostics with the harddisk drive diagnostics utilites that your hard disk drive manufacturerlikely provides on their web site. If not - you may even want to do thatnow... How to scan your disks for errors http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265 Windows Memory Diagnostic http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.aspDidn't check your drive with the hard disk drive diagnostics utility? Wantto now - before you invest more time and energy into something that may failon you? Figure out the manufacturer of the hard disk drive you have and ifit is one of the ones below - grab the utility and read up on how to use it(usually booting up from whatever media it has you make) and run the fullseries of tests. Seagate http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools Western Digital http://support.wdc.com/download/ Hitachi http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm Maxtor (Now 'Seagate') http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatoolsAfter testing your hardware - given the position you are in (freshinstallation) - you should verify you have the latest hardware drivers thatare available for your system. If it is a system from one of the third-tiervendors (IBM, Dell, HP, Packard Bell, Sony, etc) - visit their web pages,the support sections, the downloads/drivers sections and download the latestdrivers for everything from there and install them. Even if you think thatpart is working fine - in this case (given the CD you installed with, etc)the drivers they will be offering on their site at this point are tried andtrue and you would be best to guarantee those are the ones you are running.If this is a computer that you built/had built for you at a shop - youshould list out the hardware components and visit the manufacturer for eachone and get the latest drivers (motherboard chipset, video card, networkcard, sound card, etc.) You are starting fresh on an older machine. Thiswill help ensure you start out on the right foot.After all that (assuming it went well) - now you are ready to install SP2 orSP3 (I highly recommend going with SP3 at this point.) Just run the fileyou downloaded and start the installation. If you do get any errors - comeback and repeat them verbatim in response to this conversation - so thatpeople can know what you have done and where you are at now.Good luck to you!--Shenan Stanley MS-MVP--How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Re: Windows Update SP2 install "Eddy Kolmogorov" <nospam[ at ]nospam.com> 10/19/2008 11:53:09 AM Thanks for the info I did the SP3update download and install - very straightforward. I've always updated on-line before with no problems so never looked into alternatives. Both HDDs have passed all the (read-only) tests in the WDC and Seagate diagnostics - I have run them occasionally in the past and, of course, now. Coincidentally (?) while doing all this the syatem started to fail to boot - beeping but no error message on screen in POST. I noticed the CPU fan started at usual speed then fell to a much slower speed after a couple of seconds when the beeps started. I installed a new 650W PSU - no difference. So I have reverted to a previous mobo/CPU/RAM ( MSI MS-7181/Sempron 3000+/256 MB) but left other hardware (case/PSU/HDDs/DVD/FDD) as before. Installed new drivers from mobo CD and system now runs OK but relatively slowly as expected from spec. XP needs MS reactivation in 2 days because of hardware changes. BUT - it still gives 'delayed write fail' messages despite all the hardware substitutions. As hardware seems to check OK, is it reasonable to suspect the XP installation and, if so, can I achieve a completely clean installation of XP (from my XP SP1 CD then SP3update already on my HDD?) without affecting my applications/data etc on the HDD? Advice welcome. "Shenan Stanley" <newshelper[ at ]gmail.com> wrote in message news:%23Bk2Bl4LJHA.6000[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... [Quoted Text] > Eddy Kolmogorov wrote: >> Started getting 'delayed write failed' messages and tried all the >> fixes in KB and assorted forums to no avail. >> >> Eventually I reinstalled WinXP Home from my oroginal CD - SP1 >> >> I downloaded SP2 from Windows Update but I can't install it. It >> starts installing but always hangs after a few minutes (for 8 hours >> last night) on 'Creating cabinets' while 'Running processes before >> install'. >> >> I'd like to get a clean SP2 download but WU insists on using the >> copy I have already downloaded. >> Can anyone tell me where this copy is likely to be stored so I can >> delete it? >> I've tried the usual suspects - temp folders etc but found nothing >> so far. >> >> Any thoughts on why I started getting the 'delayed write failed' >> messages in the first lace very welcome? >> >> Ed K >> >> >> Gigabyte GA-M61SME-S2, Athlon Dual 4800+, 1GB RAM, SATA HDDs 250GB >> Seagate and >> 500GB Western Digital. > > (Everything in reference to Windows XP) > > First - Why SP2? Why not go from SP1 to SP3? Service Packs are > cumulative - with one caveat: you have to have SP1 or greater in order to > install SP3 onto a functioning OS install. You have a great opportunity > to skip installing SP2 and jump to SP3 (which includes everything in SP2) > and have a current machine. You are on a clean slate. > > > Second - stop trying to use automatic updates for it. Download the full > file and install it that way. Ignore the badly worded warning about "this > download is for installing on more than one machine' - one, 1000 or > 1,000,000 - doesn't matter - the full download works the same. I would > still likely go tstraight to SP3 - but, that is your decision. For now - > choose one (or get both.) > > Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Full Installation File) > http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en > Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Full Installation File) > http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en > Want to order the Windows XP SP3 CD? > https://om2.one.microsoft.com/opa/Validation.aspx?StoreID=d7a098f4-4034-4ccb-a785-9e890e6b4f5b&LocaleCode=en-us&JavaScriptOn=yesThird - > test your hardware. It sounds to me like you may have some issuesthere. > I would suggest at least a hard disk drive check (use CHKDSK) and amemory > test (you can grab a memory diagnostics from Microsoft...) Thoseerrors > you are getting - that could be bad. I can only hope that before youeven > started the clean install - you did a full diagnostics with the harddisk > drive diagnostics utilites that your hard disk drive manufacturerlikely > provides on their web site. If not - you may even want to do thatnow... > How to scan your disks for errors http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265 > Windows Memory Diagnostic http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.aspDidn't > check your drive with the hard disk drive diagnostics utility? Wantto > now - before you invest more time and energy into something that may > failon you? Figure out the manufacturer of the hard disk drive you have > and ifit is one of the ones below - grab the utility and read up on how to > use it(usually booting up from whatever media it has you make) and run the > fullseries of tests. Seagate > http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools Western > Digital http://support.wdc.com/download/ Hitachi > http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm Maxtor (Now 'Seagate') > http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatoolsAfter testing > your hardware - given the position you are in (freshinstallation) - you > should verify you have the latest hardware drivers thatare available for > your system. If it is a system from one of the third-tiervendors (IBM, > Dell, HP, Packard Bell, Sony, etc) - visit their web pages,the support > sections, the downloads/drivers sections and download the latestdrivers > for everything from there and install them. Even if you think thatpart is > working fine - in this case (given the CD you installed with, etc)the > drivers they will be offering on their site at this point are tried > andtrue and you would be best to guarantee those are the ones you are > running.If this is a computer that you built/had built for you at a shop - > youshould list out the hardware components and visit the manufacturer for > eachone and get the latest drivers (motherboard chipset, video card, > networkcard, sound card, etc.) You are starting fresh on an older > machine. Thiswill help ensure you start out on the right foot.After all > that (assuming it went well) - now you are ready to install SP2 orSP3 (I > highly recommend going with SP3 at this point.) Just run the fileyou > downloaded and start the installation. If you do get any errors - > comeback and repeat them verbatim in response to this conversation - so > thatpeople can know what you have done and where you are at now.Good luck > to you!--Shenan Stanley MS-MVP--How To Ask Questions The Smart > Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html >