Readers Respond to Microsoft XP SP3 Difficulties

eWEEK readers report the problems they encountered installing Windows XP SP3 on HP desktops with AMD processors.

For more than a week, eWEEK readers have been responding to two articles about the difficulties of trying to install Windows XP Service Pack 3 on Hewlett-Packard desktops that use microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices.
The first of these problems with SP3 on HP PCs was documented by bloggers, such as former Microsoft employee Jesper Johansson, who as far back as May 8 began writing about an endless reboot cycle that occurred when installing SP3.
A number of readers also reported encountering difficulties after they tried to install SP3. Customers with those AMD machines reported a number of problems, including endless rebooting, when they tried to install the SP3 service pack. The problem seems to stem from the fact that HP used the same images for AMD-based PCs that were used with Intel-based hardware. It appears that the patch looks for an Intel driver that is not included with AMD-based desktops.
HP is working on fixing the problem. For now, a company spokesperson has urged users not to download SP3 until HP and Microsoft can create a fix for it.
Readers had their own approaches to the problem. On May 19, a reader called Jeff commented that he had found that switching to safe mode helped him uninstall the patch.
"My HP started looping after the installation of SP3," Jeff wrote. "I went to safe mode and uninstalled it, then applied the fix from HP and it took care of the problems. I am running XP Media Center Edition."
Another reader, who called himself Nathan, wrote on May 15 that he tried to install SP3 on three different PCs in his home and the rebooting problem seemed to have occurred only on one machine, although the other two had problems.
"Luckily, I back up everything on a regular basis from all three computers," Nathan wrote. "The computer that we use for business immediately began to reboot. It would reboot, and then instead of Windows XP showing up, the blue screen of death would appear, followed by another endless circle of reboots. We ended up reinstalling Windows on this particular PC, as we needed this computer up and running in order for our business to continue."
Some readers focused their complaints on AMD, HP, Microsoft or a combination of all three vendors, while one anonymous reader summed up some of those sentiments in a May 18 comment.
In other cases, some readers encountered problems installing SP3 on PCs that were not from HP and used Intel processors. Other readers reported no problems with Intel-based computers. In its own blog, Dell reported no problems with its machines, and so far, HP has taken the brunt of the complaints.
In one anonymous May 16 comment, a reader offered some praise for a Microsoft technician who had helped out, but concluded that being more cautious next time might help in any future updates.
"I will follow my instinct not to install this package until the dust settles; and when I do, if I do, I will make sure I shut down every application, not just anti-virus and obvious ones; I will use safe mode; I will have made the most thorough backup effort ever, I will have that tech's name on speed dial, and I will make sure I have no deadlines," the comment read. "I will read every post I can find on this topic and have a game plan for restoring if anything goes wrong. And I will hold the line against Vista as long as possible."

Microsoft Vista Sleep issues

My computer fails to sleep properly
Now this issue can be caused by a number of different problems, device drivers that aren't compatible with sleep have been the most common in the past. However Windows Vista has a new setting which can prevent the computer from sleeping if it has been configured to share media or files
To check the setting go to Control Panel -> System and Maintainence -> Power Options -> Change when the computer sleeps -> Change advanced power settings -> Multimedia settings. From here you can allow the computer to sleep, not sleep, or not idle to sleep.
Alternatively the computer may be set to S1 Suspend in Power Options within the BIOS, S3 Suspend is the required setting to power the system down. Most computers allow you to enter the BIOS by pressing Delete of F1 on the first or second screens.
I've lost my options for hibernate
It is possible that hibernate has been disabled, a common reason is the Disk Cleanup wizard which has the option to remove the hiberfil.sys file, which disables hibernate.
To re-enable hibernate you'll need to launch an elevated command prompt. To do this press Start, type cmd and press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. You should get a command prompt with 'Administrator' in the title. Then type in 'powercfg -h on' without the quotes. This should re-enable hibernate and recreate the hiberfil.sys file, and bring all the hibernate options in the Control Panel back, you may need to reboot to see the hybrid options however.
I get a digital rights error when trying to watch a DVD
This can be caused by a out of date or not fully functioning video driver, ensure you install the latest video driver for your graphics card. Or it can be caused by modified firmware on your DVD drive.
I get an error when trying to start a game from the Games Explorer
This can often be caused by 3rd party programs or registry hacks designed to remove the overlay arrow on shortcuts. To resolve this issue download the following registry file and doubling clicking or opening it.