SP2, the Upgrade You Need: Part 3
Outlook Express weirdness, strange error messages, and SP2's dumb alerts.Steve Bass
In addition to writing PC World's Home Office column, Steve Bass is the author of "PC Annoyances." Sign up to have Steve Bass's Home Office Newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.
I have Windows XP Service Pack 2 on my PC, and (knock on wood) it's working just fine.
But I'm still getting e-mails from people struggling with Microsoft Outlook Express weirdness, strange error messages when updating Windows, and SP2's dumb alerts.
BTW, if you just joined us, you'll want to read my first two columns on upgrading to SP2: "SP2, the Upgrade You Need: Part 1" and "SP2, the Upgrade You Need: Part 2."
SP2 Survival Strategies
In my January column, "Your XP Service Pack 2 Survival Guide," I recommended that you install SP2 from a CD.
Don't have one? Go to Microsoft's XP SP2 page and scroll down to "order a CD."
Having SP2 on CD is good, but I took it a step further: I created an installation CD with both XP and the SP2 upgrade, and I encourage you to do the same. It's a CD you'll be grateful to have if you ever need to reinstall XP. (You can go to the Tom's Hardware site for instructions.)
Most of you won't have any problems, if you get an XP SP2 disc from Microsoft or burn your own. If your computer came with a recovery CD that has an image rather than an installable version of XP, you might run into snags when you use that. Some manufacturers provide images so that in case of a problem the entire drive is reconstructed in one fell swoop.
Dig This: Worried about road rage? Want the highway all to yourself? Get yourself a handful of balloons...
SP2 Upgrade Hassles and Annoyances
Some of you may be experiencing niggling SP2 problems. Here are a few common difficulties readers have run into.
Automatic Update Ignores Optional Updates: You've heard me talk about SP2's Automatic Update in my last two columns. (You can get to the feature by heading to Control Panel and clicking Automatic Updates.) There's one annoying problem with Automatic Updates: It doesn't tell you about optional updates, such as a video adapter driver upgrade, for example.
My strategy is simple: Every so often I'll swing by Windows Update. This lets me kill a few minutes stalling instead of writing this column, and I may find an optional update worth downloading. (What, you're not checking Windows Update? Go to the Start menu, click Help and Support, look under the "Additional Resources" heading, and then click Windows Update.) The last time I was there, I clicked Custom Install and saw "Select optional software updates" in the panel on the left. When I clicked that link, I discovered that an Outlook Express update was available.
Automatic Update Errors: If you do try the Windows Update feature, you might face the dreaded and obscure error message 0x8024402c--or one of almost 100 others. (See FAQShop.com's handy list of error codes for help deciphering yours.) When I received that error message, it took an hour to find the solution--and, like so many other computing problems, 15 minutes to fix. It's a problem with a proxy server. If you're experiencing it, the easiest thing to do is follow the instructions at the Windows Update page that start with "Remove invalid characters from the proxy exception list and then clear the proxy cache." It's number one under the Resolutions heading, on the first part of the page.
Duck--Windows Messenger Is Back: That's right, upgrade to SP2 and Gates sticks it to you with his instant messaging program, Windows Messenger. I can't guarantee it'll happen on your PC (it did mine, dang it), but if it does, Messenger will appear if you launch Outlook Express.
In one of his Internet Tips columns, Scott Spanbauer described how to disable Windows Messenger in OE and Outlook. Unfortunately, Windows Messenger is an insidious program. It may come back even after you use Scott's trick. If it does, try disabling it by using NirSoft's WinMessControl, a handy, free utility.
Dig This: I'm amazed by marketing geniuses who dream up weird products. For example, take a gander at the latest in USB flash drives. And here's something for you if you've been sitting in front of the PC all day, and your eyes are tired. (The FDA has warned users that the device should be used only on the eyes... I'm serious.)
A Few More SP2 Upgrade Hassles
SP2 System Slowdown: Don't start complaining if Windows seems slow right after you upgrade to SP2. It might take a week for it to get back to normal, depending on how often you reboot your system. It appears that a specific folder (geekspeak: boot prefetch) is rebuilding itself. Some people have found that defragging their drive helps get Windows back to normal.
To defrag, go to My Computer, right-click on the drive, choose Properties, and select "Defragment now" from the Tools tab. [Thanks to Leo for finding this info.]
Annoying Alert Notices: I did everything right. I have a firewall; I set Automatic Updates to download updates for me; and I have an antivirus program running. Yet I still got those incredibly annoying Security Center alerts appearing in my System tray. It may be that SP2 isn't recognizing Zone Alarm, my firewall; or maybe the folks in Redmond don't like the nasty things I write about them. Either way, I got tired of looking at the alerts. It's easy to get rid of them: Go to Control Panel and open Security Center. In the left panel, click "Change the way Security Center alerts me." Uncheck Firewall or Virus Protection--provided you really know you're protected. And don't uncheck Automatic Updates.
Outlook Express--Blocked Images: More than a handful of readers told me that some images in the e-mail they received in Outlook Express were missing. Instead, they saw a little red x quaintly called a place holder. It's a new option in OE, kids, one meant to protect you: "Block images and other external content in HTML e-mail."
If you feel overprotected, kind of like an AOL user, open OE, select Tools, Options and click the Security tab. Deselect the "Block images and other external content in HTML e-mail" check box (it's under Download Images). Click Apply and then OK.
Outlook Express--Distressed Attachments: Okay, here's another Outlook Express feature designed to protect you. It's in place to prevent your gaining access to file attachments that might have a virus. This is a good thing if you're a novice or a complete nincompoop. For the rest of us, it's okay to disable it. Head for Tools, Options and select the Security tab. Uncheck "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could contain a virus." Click OK and you're back in business.
You say I haven't fixed your Outlook Express difficulty? Microsoft has a site for you. It's stodgily entitled "Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2" and it covers all that ails OE.