SP3 cant uninstall

[david87654321]

after installing sp3 i have been having problems with my pc being really slow. i want to uninstall and see if thth is the problem but when i try and uninstall i get the message 'the system cannot find the file specified'. please help

 

[Wolfeymole]

Hi Dave

Welcome to FPCH

Did you have a good read of this from the boys in Redmond?

How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer

 

[david87654321]

yeah tried thesse apart from the rigistry one as i can t find my xp cd.
the log from the uninstall quotes:

120.812: SetAltOsLoaderPath: No section uses DirId 65701; done.
121.781: Rename failed. Source path c:\windows\$NtUninstallKB960714-IE8$ does not exist.
121.781: DoUninstall: ProcessReverseMigrateSection failed with error 0x0
121.781: CreateProgressWizardAndDoUninstall: Uninstall Failure 0x2
123.937: Message displayed to the user: The system cannot find the file specified.
123.937: User Input: OK
124.469: Message displayed to the user: The Service Pack 3 was not uninstalled.
124.469: User Input: OK
124.469: The Service Pack 3 was not uninstalled.

 

[Wolfeymole]

There looks to be some serious issues here Dave.

Any idea as to why IE8 should be included in that log?

What anti-virus and firewall are you using?

 

[david87654321]

i am using Kaspersky.
i did install it but i then removed it.

 

[david87654321]

i wonder if i install it again then it wil be removed when sp3 is uninstalled?

 

[Wolfeymole]

Ok can you go into Safe Mode and choose Last Known Good Configuration.

 

[david87654321]

thts me in the las known good configuration.
it has just opened the same as before because i dont think windows is aware of somethin being wrong

 

[Goku]

Hello David. I searched for your issue a bit and found that it is a fairly common one though there is no definite fix for it. However, from the general consensus, the solution that has worked for most people is to update Windows XP through the Windows Update option and let it reinstall the failed updates. They say, that is the primary cause of the problem and that reinstalling the updates resolves it.

By the way, how do you conclude that Windows XP Service Pack 3 is causing the slowdown / lag on your computer?

Try the suggested solution and see if it helps or not. Good Luck.

-- Goku

 

[david87654321]

i'm not sure tht it is sp3 thats doing it. but it was the last thing to be donw on the pc before it slowed down. and also i have read someone elses forum which stated sp3 slowed down there pc. but i'm not sure just guessing. will try tht.

 

[david87654321]

windows update didnt work. it couldnt open

 

[DirtyPolo]

Hey David,

I have also searched around for you and have found another alternative of fixing your problem.
This link goes to the same page that wolfey linked you to, with the microsoft instructions on how to uninstall SP3. here.

As this didn't work before, can you merge the solutions given in this thread by doing the following:

Print off or copy down the instructions given on that website, the second methond, which is:
Method 2: Use the hidden $NtServicePackUninstall$ folder

1. Click Start, click Run, type c:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. When the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard starts, click Next.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3.

Next restart your computer into safemode as wolfey advised earlier. and then follow those instructions on how to uninstall SP3 again and see if it works whilst in safe mode.

Please come back and let us know how it goes.

NOTE: If you are using Norton, first of all disable it, along with other antivirus programs, before attempting to uninstall it again as it is known for interfereing with the installation and uninstallation of service packs, as found with SP2 and SP3.

 

[david87654321]

it didnt work but while in safe mode i realised that everythin was working fine. so i took a note of the processes from task manager and conpared to normal mode.
upon doing this i have realised that 2 'explore.exe' are running which i dont think to be normal. any ideas?

 

[DirtyPolo]

Hey again David,

Can you double check for me, you say there are 2 explorer.exe processes running, are they both explorer.exe or does one ahve a spae before the extention, so: explorer .exe?

 

[david87654321]

Nope both look like explorer.exe with no space.
would it be any help if a posted combofix or hijackthis logs?

 

[DirtyPolo]

well seeing as they are both general explorer.exe processes there is one more thing I would like you to try.

This solution has worked in the past or many other people with the same problem as yourself:

1. Double-Click on "My Computer"
2. Click "Tools" -- "Folder Options"
3. Click the | View | tab
4. Un-check [ ] Launch Folder Windows in a separate process
5. Click [OK]

let us know how you get on, you may have to restart your pc after applying these changes just to check that the second explorer.exe doesn't come back again.

You can then run antivirus and antispyware/malware scans on your PC just to be safe if you wish.

 

[david87654321]

Nope didnt work. the 2 explorer.exe processes are active even when no windows are open.

have ran antivirus scan and it found nothing.

 

[DirtyPolo]

Did you restart your PC after applying those changes? explorer.exe doesnt need a window open to run but there should only be 1 running.

 

[david87654321]

yeah restarted to no avail. have been messing around and found that if i stop the svchost process that is running RpcSs then the pc runs fine but because it is an essential operation it shuts itself down.

 

[DirtyPolo]

Hmm okay, lets try another idea about this explorer.exe,

Force both to close by using the task manager, then restart explorer from the correct path "c:\windows\System32\explorer.exe" (minus the quotes). To do this, goto File > New Task and fill in the location with the path provided above.

Once explorer is running again, check task manager for 2 instances. Finally, search your hard drive for explorer.exe and report back the locations of any iterations of the file that you find, as well as whether or not you saw 2 explorers again after killing and restarting explorer from the System32 directory