Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition)

As I mentioned previously, if you have only one or two computers to update, the Automatic Updates or Windows Update will save you time by downloading only the necessary files. However, if you have a slow Internet connection or you have many computers to update, it's worth getting the standalone update package on a CD or via download.

The standalone upgrade is the most robust of the three versions of SP2. You can use the standalone SP2 package in three different ways:

  • To upgrade a copy of Windows XP by running the Service Pack program directly.

  • To upgrade a copy of Windows XP using pre-expanded files stored in a shared network folder.

  • To create a slipstreamed Windows XP SP2 installation source that can be used to deploy new installation via RIS or with a CD-ROM.

The following three sections describe the procedures.

Installing Service Pack 2 Locally

Most home and small office users will want to install SP2 locally. You can use either a CD-ROMbased installation kit, or a service pack .EXE file downloaded from Microsoft. The procedure is identical once you've determined the location of the service pack setup file. Proceed as outlined here:

1.

Log on as a Computer Administrator and close any running applications.

2.

If you are using a Microsoft-supplied CD, insert the CD, and the setup program should automatically start up. If it doesn't, or if you are using a downloaded service pack file, locate and double-click the service pack's .EXE file in Windows Explorer, or start the installation program from the command line.

From this point, you can follow steps 3 through 7 in the section titled "Installing via Automatic Updates," earlier in this appendix.

Installing Service Pack 2 from the Network

Installing SP2 from a network file share is the best option when you have several computers to upgradeyou'll save a lot of time by expanding the service pack files just once. This option works equally well at home, in a small office or in a corporate domain network environment. Here is the procedure to prepare the installation file set:

1.

Choose a file server or computer to host the service pack setup files. On that computer, create and share a folder to hold the installation files. Name the shared folder xpsp2. Make a note of the full path to this folder.

2.

Locate the Service pack's .EXE file, and make a note of the full path to and name of this file. This could be something like d:\xpsp2.exe, if you are using a Microsoft-supplied CD-ROM, or c:\downloads\WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe, if you downloaded the file from Microsoft's Web site.

3.

Open a command prompt window. Type that full pathname followed by /x, as in this example:

d:\xpsp2.exe /x

You will be prompted to specify the location to store the extracted files to, as illustrated in Figure A.2. Enter the local or network path of the shared folder that you created in step 1, and click OK.

Figure A.2. Extracting the SP2 files.

3.

Ensure that the network folder has NTFS and/or share permissions that let network users read but not modify the files.

Now, at each computer that you want to update with the Service Pack, including the one that is hosting the files, browse to the shared network folder you created in the previous steps and run the program i386\update\update.exe. You can do this using Windows Explorer or from the command line. The command line command would be something like this:

\\servername\xpsp2\i386\update\update

with the actual name of the computer that is sharing the xpsp2 folder in place of servername.

The rest of the procedure is identical to steps 3 through 7 in "Installing via Automatic Updates," earlier in this appendix.

Modifying Installation Behavior of Service Pack 2 from the Command Line

As with all Service Packs, Windows XP SP2 can be installed from the command line, using switches to modify the behavior of the setup process. The full list of command line options is

xpsp2.exe /f /l /n /q /integrate:folder /u /z /norestart /forcerestart

or for the already-expanded version

update.exe /f /l /n /q /integrate:folder /u /z /norestart /forcerestart

These options are described in Table A.1.

Table A.1. Command Line Options for Service Pack Installation

Switch

Description

/f

Forces all open applications to close before the computer is restarted following the installation of the service pack (SP). Cannot be used with /s, /l, or /z.

/l

Lists all hot fixes currently installed on the computer. Does not install anything.

/n

Installs the SP, but does not enable support for uninstalling it later. Cannot be used with /l or /s.

/q

Installs the SP in "quiet" mode, suppressing all user interface screens.

/integrate:folder

Installs the SP and Windows XP from source files in the specified folder.

/u

Installs the SP in unattended mode. Although the prompts appear, the installation will proceed without waiting for user input. Neither the progress bar nor any errors that might occur will appear during the installation. Only "critical" error prompts will be displayed.

/z

Installs the SP, but does not automatically restart the computer upon the completion of the installation. Cannot be used with /l or /s.

/norestart

Same as /z.

/forcerestart

Forces the computer to restart after installing the service pack.

NOTE

The switches described in Table A.1 work with either the XPSP2.EXE self extracting archive (which expands the service pack files) or the update.exe file (which actually performs the service pack installation).

You can precede the switches in Table A.1 with either a slash (/) or a dash (-); it makes no difference to the setup routine. Additionally, the switches are not case sensitive.

In addition to the switches listed in Table A.1, there are two additional switches that can be used only with the XPSP2.EXE program. These are listed in table A.2.

Table A.2. Additional XPSP2.EXE Switches

Switch

Description

/x

Extracts Service Pack files without starting update.exe.

/u /x:folder

Extracts Service Pack files and places them in the specified folder without prompting and without starting update.exe.

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