BleepingComputer.com: Can not install SP1 on my Vista Home Premium Edition Help

I have a Dell 530 Desktop running Windows Vista Home Premium. It came with SP1 installed but after a virus attack I no longer have it. I keep getting notices that new software is availabe, of course it is SP1. When I try to download I get the message that it did not install and the will be rolled back. I have tried several times this takes almost 2 hours each time. Can anyone tell me what to do? I have tried Microsoft and Dell and gotten no help. Thank you in advance.


Steve

How is stuff working without it? I downloaded the SP 1 and burned the disk. After reading the notice that it may take several hours and multiple reboots to install the service pack I decided my system wasn't all that "broken" after all. I bought my PC in April 2007 and it took me a long time to optimize it so that the HD doesn't run on indexing search data I don't use and other stuff. I don't want to risk it for some nebulous benefit.

Everything else seems to be running fine. I just keep getting the new downloads available notice when I log on. I got mine in June so it must be a Dell Issue. Do you think I need SP1? I tried to download SP2 thinking it would replace 1 but I get the message telling me I must install SP1

There's an old expression.. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If you google Vista Tutorials you should get hits on how to turn all that notification stuff off. I'm not a believer in doing hot fixes as they come out. Chances are good eventually you'll get a bad one that hoses your system. It's better to wait awhile. Then if you have a particular issue, like files copy slowly or whatever, after the fix has been around and you know it works, then apply it. I use TeraCopy and it bypasses all that Vista "calculating time to copy file" hanging dialog stuff. Since I had my machine I think I applied maybe 4 MS fixes. It's running pretty well. You just need to shut off all that annoying crap like UAC and all that. Use Sandboxie to keep malware off your system. It's better than doing virus scans or using a virus shield.

Good luck with it.

Thank you. I know how to turn off the updates. But where can I get Tera copy?

Never mind I found it at CNET. I will give it a try. Thanks

Critical updates should never be turned off - that's a sure way to end up infected (by an exploit that hasn't been patched).
People who didn't update to XP SP2 got bit by the lsass.exe exploit - and it took forever to clear up.

With any service pack there's 2 things to do:
1 ) Scan your system for malware with an independent scanner or two (some free ones here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/blogs/usas...?showentry=1252 )
2 ) Update your drivers (available from the manufacturer of your system). I got bit by this one on my Lenovo tablet - it crashed and wouldn't start - until I reinstalled, updated the drivers, then installed SP1.

Thank you for your response. I got my computer with Vista SP1 installed on it already. I have had nothing but problems. I should have kept my XP. So you are suggesting I go to Dell for the software????

I suggest that you first check for malware - that's more of a concern than the drivers.

If that doesn't reveal a problem, then go to the Dell support website and enter your Service Tag number to see what drivers are there. The most likely candidates are one's that have been updated in the last 6 to 8 months.

Updating drivers and installing Windows Updates, including ALL critical updates, is definitely in order before attempting to install SP1. Checking for viruses and malware is also a great idea. Then I would recommend backing up all your data and having a system restore disk (or disk image) available, juuuuust in case something funky happens during updates and it doesn't roll back properly.

If you really just can't install SP1 and have no idea what's going on, I would recommend chatting with Microsoft support. It's free until March 18, 2009 if you are having SP1 installation issues. You may have to wait to start chatting, and it may take a few hours to resolve, but that may also be your best bet.

I had problems on my laptop (Vista Business Basic) and desktop (Vista Home Premium) with SP1, like steviethec did. Neither would ever install--they'd get to 100% of the last portion of setup and then fail and roll back. And yes, it takes 1.5 to 2 hours per try, which is quite irritating and disruptive to my work and leisure time on the computers. Fortunately, no catastrophic failures resulted from any of these attempts, for me.

My event logs (System Log) showed many occurrences of this event: Event 4373, Servicing (Warning): Windows Servicing identified that package KB936330(Service Pack) is not applicable for this system. I was up to date on other critical Windows Updates and my drivers.

I mainly got error code 80041315 during these failed attempts, and when you let Windows Help try to find more info on that error, it provides with no answers. After waiting months and seeing that it wouldn't resolve itself, I had Microsoft support chat with me and remotely work on my desktop.

Their first question was, "Do you have any anti-virus software installed?" When I said McAfee Internet Security Suite, they said we had to uninstall it, and that disabling it would be inefficient. I did this through Programs and Features > Uninstall. Note that McAfee recommends you uninstall in this way, then reboot, and then run their Consumer Product Removal Tool, and then reboot again to completely remove all McAfee software from your system. But I didn't use the MCPR tool while working with Microsoft, and it worked fine. I then did not reboot and set up a very selective startup for next reboot, and we took some actions with some system files. I then rebooted, ran SFC /scannow and found corrupt files, installed a hotfix for Vista, and then installed SP1 perfectly. Getting McAfee back on my system took some time because a weird McAfee entry had to be deleted from the Startup folder of my Start Menu...but it works now.

Now, onto getting SP1 on my laptop.

You were absolutely correct. The McAfee security suite was the problem, I did as you suggested and installed SP1 perfectly. Thank you

Glad I could help!