XP Rollbacks

[seacue]

Should I be very afraid?

Twice in the past three days my HP laptop has claimed that it was stopped incorrectly from my last useage and it returning to the last working version of Win XP SP1. But I haven't done anything different from the past. I don't think I've installed any questionable software. All of this started somewhast after the most-recent Windows update release.

The machine is about 18 months old but has been heavily used for only about 9 months.

I've backup up all my irreplacable info to an external hard disk.

My ADSL router incorporates at least a rudimentary firewall, I use Zone Alarm, Norton antivirus automatically updated, Spybot, AdAware, Firefox browser and use MailWasher so I scarcely ever download anything except legitimate mail.

What next?

Baffled, I remain,

seacue

[Buttino]

Hi,

Sounds like a fairly critical error. I'd personally format and re-install XP. It's an extreme answer to your question but for a roll back to SP1 occur is pretty major!

One other thing you could try is a go back to a previous system restore point.

Hope this helps

Trev

[seacue]

Perhaps I didn't make clear that I'm using SP1, not SP2, in my normal operation. So the rollback wasn't from SP2 to SP1.

Another source suggested that my use of the external HD may be confusing XP. It may expect the external HD to be there on bootup, but I only turn on the external HD when I use it for backup.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I used the external HD the day just preceeding the latest "problem" startup message. I had shut down the HD a long time before turning off the computer, however. This scenario is likely to have occured on the earlier startup "problem".....

I hope this analysis is correct.

Thanks for your comments,

sc

[Conan the Librarian]

Might be a bit radical - but I would forget it until the MS fairy warns you at least three times.

Go with the flow - but do make sure that your wonderful OS is up to date. Likewise for your Anti Virus and Firewall.

And then - sh1t yourself.


Conan

we will be here to help - if you can get through....

Go get SP2 - NOW!!! :-)

[seacue]

Update, final I hope:

I have not used my external hard disc since the last report and there have been no more XP rollbacks.

The conclusion is that I'm somehow shutting down the external HD wrong.

sc

[Conan the Librarian]

Don't want to pee on the barbecue, but it is unlikely to be the ext disk per se. I see that as being a USB device? If so, it should hot swap to its' hearts' content.

However, what MIGHT cheer you up, is that there is probably some minor issue with the USB side of the PC. I did have something similarly frightening with a camera card reader a few months ago. As soon as it was unplugged, (it remains so) things cleared up nicely - and the laptop was then more receptive to updates, etc. etc. So a re run of Windows update might actually work, given a following wind.

Good luck!

Conan

PS it might be that you have a USB "Connected" icon on the task bar. THe correct way to disconnect a USB device, is to right click it and follow your nose from there. I take it that you already do this?

[Blacksheep]

My XP Pro does updates in the background because I allow it to. Its SP2 but I believe SP1 does the same? On Friday night when I shut down at the end of the day I got a message to say that Wndows was installing an update. I was asked not to turn off the computer or unplug the power and Windows will shut the computer down when its finished. OK sez I and went to bed. In the morning Windows was still doing its thing and telling me not to turn off the PC or unplug the power. Ten hours after shutting down I very warily turned the machine off and re-started. Nothing seemed to happen except that when I connected to the internet it began downloading furiously such that I could barely get any sites to load. Since then its been OK. I think I may have interrupted some update activity on Friday evening that then completed on Saturday morning. Maybe your problem was something similar seacue ?