Service Pack 3

[God's Trombone]

As I have posted before, I am not particularly savvy about computers. I have been prompted to download "service pack 3" but with the recommendation that I first "backup my system." I have no backup. I only have a "recovery drive' in addition to my C: drive.

Should I risk downloading the service pack? I now have Service Pack 2 as far as I know.

[Buzzardhut]

SP3 worked for my laptop
always best to backup

[God's Trombone]

SP3 worked for my laptop
always best to backup

I have "issues" about a backup.

Backups only store files and as I understand, not programs.

Since I have only a limited amount of files , e.g., photos I should be able to put them on CDs and not on an expensive external hard drive, right?

I tried to transfer all the photos I have in "Picasa" to a CD but ran into a "snag." The medium (CD) was not recognized. I found a solution somewhere that recommended uninstalling the Picasa program and then reinstalling it so as to make the burning of a CD possible.

I have been afraid to try it risking loss of the photos.:idunno

[Buzzardhut]

I have "issues" about a backup.

Backups only store files and as I understand, not programs.

Since I have only a limited amount of files , e.g., photos I should be able to put them on CDs and not on an expensive external hard drive, right?

I tried to transfer all the photos I have in "Picasa" to a CD but ran into a "snag." The medium (CD) was not recognized. I found a solution somewhere that recommended uninstalling the Picasa program and then reinstalling it so as to make the burning of a CD possible.

I have been afraid to try it risking loss of the photos.:idunno

my C drives is for Windows
I use D for programs
E for personal docs, pics, etc

you shouldn't lose anything
All you need to back up is your profile, but even that will not be damaged for a windows upgrade
you can always reinstall/repair with your original XP cd and you will be back to where you are right now

[Faithful Servant]

I installed service pack 3 on my laptop and have had no problems. I did not install on my gaming pc though. When you install sp3, it will back up your settings from sp2. Make sure system restore is on. If you run into a problem after installing sp3, you can restore your pc back to sp2.

[Julian4jc]

I had some problems after i installed SP3 , my dsl kept droping at first but, but i figured out how to fix it.. Later i realized how much memory it takes to run it. It's just takes too much memory at least for me. I only have 1 gig. So i ended up going back to Sp2.. .

System Restore is must .... always make sure it's on. :thumb

[TomSki]

I have "issues" about a backup.

Backups only store files and as I understand, not programs.

Since I have only a limited amount of files , e.g., photos I should be able to put them on CDs and not on an expensive external hard drive, right?

I tried to transfer all the photos I have in "Picasa" to a CD but ran into a "snag." The medium (CD) was not recognized. I found a solution somewhere that recommended uninstalling the Picasa program and then reinstalling it so as to make the burning of a CD possible.

I have been afraid to try it risking loss of the photos.:idunno

GT, do you have a DVD burner? That would probably be all you need.

I'm running SP3 without problems.

[God's Trombone]

I had some problems after i installed SP3 , my dsl kept droping at first but, but i figured out how to fix it.. Later i realized how much memory it takes to run it. It's just takes too much memory at least for me. I only have 1 gig. So i ended up going back to Sp2.. .

System Restore is must .... always make sure it's on. :thumb

Thanks. And how do I ensure "system restore" is ON?

[Hootmon]

Thanks. And how do I ensure "system restore" is ON?
Start. Right-click 'My Computer'. Click 'Properties'. System Restore tab

[Pacman]

Chances are the update will work fine. Just back up your data (files, pictures, music). Reinstalling the OS and apps is a bit of a pain, but it's the data that is irreplaceable.

To transfer files to a CD you'll need a CD burning app. I'm not really very clued up on Windows apps, but if you've got a CD burner (or more likely, a DVD burner) then it should have come with some software that will burn data to a disk.

Otherwise, a second hand hard drive mounted in a cheap USB drive caddy makes a good backup solution.