Ok Im a newbie as far as xp is concerned But I have thanks to this forum got my pc just how I like it! I have dvd shrink /decrypt/and clone dvd2/ roxio plat 6.0 avg 7.0 and kerio firwall all running nicely at the moment , My worry is this and can anyone please put my mind at rest, This new service pack 2 I have heard such horror stories of blue screens , conflicts with existing firewalls etc , I am concerned that this pack might cause problems with the programs ie my dvd software what precautions/solutions would the forum suggest to take to minnimize or negate any problems, I havent got a good backup program that is the first thing I intend to buy , what do you recommend to copy my programs , as is , so that I can restore my pc if need be, I have spent a lot on my pc and its my pride and joy and considering ive come from a sinclair straight to an xp and am burning dvds I think ive done well but I really hope the good guys on here can offer some advice many thanks
I would invest in a decent cloning program such as Norton Ghost so that you have a complete backup in case you need to restore. I have most of the programs that you mentioned installed except I use Nero instead of Roxio, and I didn't experience any problems. I have used DVD Shrink and Decrypter since installing the upgrade. I would disable the Windows Firewall first thing since Kerio is better in my opinion and you don't want 2 firewalls running to avoid conflicts. I have installed SP2 on 3 systems so far without any problems but every configuration is different so just take the usual precautions - current backups, system restore snapshot, and in the worst case scenario if it completely fails ensure that you have all the programs and cd keys you need.
i've already installed sp2, and slipstreamed it into a new windows xp pro installation. The Firewall it comes with u can shut off, same with the anti-virus. The only diff. with SP2 that i noticed is a longer shutdown. I have no conflicts with my software since installing it, and none of my data has been lost. You don't really need to worry about this new installation from MS... I have all the same progs as u do, plus more that could conflict w/ SP2... What you could do instead of buying Norton Ghost is buy a harddrive of the same size (if its on sale and cheaper than Norton Ghost) and copy your main partitions over to it, or if u already have one, and backup ur boot sectors, and u should be fine.
Thanks Very Much for your replies, I have upgraded my second hardrive a few days ago, I keep my xp op system on my c drive with nothing else bit of a waste of 40gb i know but all my files mp3 are on my d drive so if anything goes pear shaped I dont lose my valuable data that much I have thought through , but being new pations etc I know nothing about , sad to say I have not yet managed to backup anything using xps own backup I tried it just kept wanting to save to a floppy which obviously wouldnt work so I will take your advice and buy norton, I have dvd2 as ive said and they said to install new version , but Im perhaps a bit overcautious tell me if Im wrong but Ive had bitter experience of upgrades and torn out hair after a supposedly new and safe upgrade so Im wary if it works I tend to leave well alone £100 bills at pc shops hurt the pocket!!!Anyway I will buy norton copy my c drive onto a dvd and hopefully all will be ok, I may attempt to upgrade clone dvd2 but again I wasnt quite sure whether to remove the old version and install over it or what? last time I upgraded I ended up with two sheep on my desktop HA HA ! Thanks again to all of you for your help You all are a great bunch on here!
