It's too big to download for us poor wretches on dial-up. I just reinstalled Windows, and I'm away from a fast network. Worse, I can't use my Apple laptop to waltz downtown, do some wardriving for some state-owned wireless bandwidth, and use it to get a redistributable version of SP2. I *have* to download it via dialup onto my windows box.
The description said that it was between 35 and 299MB. I'm hoping for the 35, if it's as big as 299meg, I'll just put SuSe on this silly thing until I get back to school.
EDIT: I can spell, it just takes a go-round or two.
posted
The size depends on how much you have installed in the past (updates, including SP1). Chances are it's over 200 MB.
Try to get one of those PC magazines, mybe one of the older ones (November 2004, for instance) will have th SP2 disc. Mine had! And you can also oder the CD-ROM from Microoft.
Sure, SuSE is cheaper!
Good luck, Jonathan
[ January 02, 2005, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Jonathan Howard ]
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
It's great - no problems at all for me. I downloaded the whole thing from the professional site. I didn't need a special account, just had to dig for it. So your apple would work.
It's 272 MB, but if your Apple can use broadband somewhere, you can download it on that and then burn a CD or connect to your home network to move it over.
posted
"It's too big to download for us poor wretches on dial-up."
Get off dial-up, then, you wretch.
Seriously, SP2 is so worth it. We had a few hurdles to jump over on our corporate network when we installed it, but Group Policy took care of most of the bumps -- and for home users, the only real problems are likely to come from programs that don't play nice with the firewall.
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Dial-up's getting out of date, all due respect. Websites these days are far too sophisticated that they are much bigger. Broadband is a necessity.
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posted
Honestly though you could get a download manager, and have it download it for you at night when no one is using the phone.
Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Wrongo, PrimalCurve. Microsoft itself has reported BlueScreen of Death responses during attempts to install SP2 due to clashes with spyware/adware, worms/trojans/viruses, and other malware. So at a minimum, one should:
1st) Clear all temporary files.
2nd) Use LavaSoft Ad-Aware SEandSpybot Search&Destroy*. If you are fairly expert at knowing what should and what should not be in your machine, use Hijack This. They're free. WARNING: do not use or even click on any "anti-adware"/"anti-spyware" service advertised for sale through pop-ups or other unsolicited online advertising. Odds are extremely HIGH that they are malware, and you'll be seriously trashing your machine. Especially avoid clicking on any pop-up or advertising -- even those offering a free scan or cleanup -- which claims to have already detected porn, spyware, or adware on your computer. No legitimate antiVirus/antiMalware site or vendor will have peeked or claim to have peeked at the insides of your machine without first getting your permission through OBVIOUS means; which doesn't include fine print hidden somewhere within a lengthy site-use contract.
3rd) Run your anti-virus program if and only if one is already installed.
5th) If your system hasn't crashed, redo the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th steps to make sure your system is clean. 5th) If your system has crashed during your cleanup or your cleanup hasn't rid you of all the problems detected, odds are that you're infected with Ms4Hd or similar parasite. At which point, you'll wanna look for expert help at Major Geeks, Tech Support Guy, or similar forum. Use their onsite search: your problem has probably already been discussed and cleanup steps are probably already posted.
6th) Install Microsoft Critical Update 885523. Though Microsoft denies it with their typical "we never make mistakes", this is a security patch which extracts a particular piece of malware discovered by users who tried&failed to install SP2.
Finally) Install SP2
* Spybot Search&Destroy will likely keep coming up with DSO Exploit no matter how many times you run Spybot. So far, DSO Exploit marks a harmless internal hole within Windows which isn't being used to run malicious code. So you can safely ignore it when it shows up on your second security run-through after deleting DSO Exploit the first time with Fix Selected Problems.
posted
Yes, dial-up is getting out of date, but it's not like I have a choice in the matter. For the next two weeks, I'm living at home where I do not pay the bills. I've seeded the idea of getting DSL, since it's little more expensive than what we're paying for dial-up and a second phone line, but that's not going to happen for a while.
Stunning--an SP2 redist version. I wish I had known about it. I've already downloaded SP2 through windows update (I was up until 4:00AM last night installing the foolish thing). Now I'm beating down some problems with my Catalyst drivers and .NET 1.1.
As for whether or not it's worth it: I don't see the value in it, except that it's a prerequisite for more-recent drivers and software. Adware, malware, and virii aren't a problem for me. I don't really need a firewall, or a "helpful" alert telling me I'm not using virus protection. I use obscure web browsers, mail clients, I don't download very much, and I'm usually behind the univeristy firewall, which denies everything but HTTP/FTP requests and the occasional UDP packet.
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