Update to Vista SP2 Frequently Asked Questions

This document contains information on known significant issues and their solutions that have been reported on HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario computers after the installation of the Vista Service Pack 2. You may wish to bookmark this document. This document will be updated frequently as new concerns and information become available. Please check back for the latest information.

The Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a collection of the latest enhancements and improvements in the Vista operating system for your computer. SP2 is a free update and all users are encouraged to install it to keep their computer operating efficiently.

When updating your computer to the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2), the Microsoft web site should be your primary source for information on known issues . When solutions to these issues are developed, Microsoft will publish updates and work-around information.

Important knowledge based (KB) articles available by searching on the www.microsoft.com web site include:

HP strongly recommends that you update to SP2 using Windows Update . By going through Windows Update, the application will validate that the Vista Service Pack 1 and all of the required drivers and software are installed so that the computer is ready for SP2. If the computer is not currently ready, the Microsoft Windows Update function will provide the required updates and fixes for drivers and other issues to ensure that the computer is ready.

Beginning in mid-May 2009, SP2 will automatically download as a critical update on Windows Vista-based computers that have automatic updating enabled. Using the Windows Update function is the easiest and most convenient way to update a Windows Vista computer.

There is no reason to install SP2 manually. First, that would bypass the Windows Update validation and correction process. The full manual download image is very large. And you would have to search for and manually install all the required hardware drivers. The Windows Update function is programmed to do all that work automatically.

Before you can install Service Pack 2, you must have installed SP1 and Servicing Stack Update 955430. You may need to run the Windows Update and restart the computer multiple times before the Windows Update will install SP1. HP also recommends that you run HP HealthCheck multiple times as you run the Windows Update. See HP Notebook PCs - Update to Vista SP1 Frequently Asked Questions for additional information about SP1.

There are two ways to obtain the Vista Service Pack 2 from Microsoft:

HP and Microsoft recommend that you use the automatic Windows Update function. The Windows Update function checks the PC for installed components and software, and then downloads only the required drivers and software. Windows Update also provides you with information if the PC has known software or hardware compatibility issues. The manual installation of SP2 bypasses the software validation and correction process, and you may encounter problems as a result of drivers that have not been updated to work correctly with SP2.

To install SP2 using Windows Update, do the following:

After the update is complete, when you logon to the computer you will see a message stating that the update to Vista Service Pack 2 was successful, or that there was a specific problem that prevented the update.

SP2 is being distributed gradually by Microsoft, and will be available first in English, French, German, and Spanish. Other languages will become available over time. Continue to check back in Windows Update if you require support in other languages.

Before displaying the option to download SP2, the Windows Update function verifies that Service Pack 1 and Servicing Stack Update 955430 plus all of the required specific versions of drivers are installed on the computer. If the drivers are older than the specified version, Windows Update prompts you to install updated drivers (especially audio drivers) to meet the current requirements.

You may need to run the Windows Update and restart the computer multiple times before the Windows Update will install SP1. HP also recommends that you run HP HealthCheck multiple times as you run the Windows Update.

Only when the Microsoft Windows Update has verified that the required updates are installed and working does it display the SP2 Update option. For more information on why your computer is not displaying SP2 in Windows Update, please refer to the Microsoft web site.

SP2 is an enhancement to the Vista operating system and is not designed to solve all the potential problems that users may have with a PC.

To resolve specific issues on your computer, make sure that all drivers and software are up to date. You should launch Help and Support and run the HP Health Check .

Microsoft indicates that Windows Vista SP2 will impact the following:

The HP Health Check is part of the HP Help and Support utility. It will check your notebook and search for updated drivers and software. To get the latest version of Health Check, go to the hp.com/go/helpandsupport page on the hp web site. Download and Install both HP Active support Library and HP Help and Support (English only).

Yes, It is advisable to update to the latest BIOS and apply all HP and Microsoft updated drivers and programs before installing SP2. Go to the HP Software & Driver Downloads page, type the Product number for your PC, select Vista operating system , and check for an updated BIOS. In some cases, if the BIOS is not updated before installing SP2, the PC may fail to start properly.

When Vista SP2 was released, there were several issues that required the user to update the BIOS or the drivers AFTER Vista was updated. Most of those issues have been corrected because the Windows Update function performs more checks and dynamically downloads the required files. If you encounter a problem after installing SP2, use a different computer to visit the Microsoft and the HP web sites to search for solutions that match the exact startup or no-boot conditions you are experiencing.

People who used the Vista Windows Update function to check the computer for all the required drivers before upgrading to SP2, and who used the HP Health Check function to check for updated HP Drivers after upgrading to SP2, have reported very few problems. To check your computer and install the latest drivers, do the following:

Option 1 : Run the Windows Update to detect the following known issues and attempt to install updated drivers.
Click Start , right-click Computer , and select Properties . Then In the System click Windows Update in the left pane.
Option 2 : Run the HP Health Check to locate updated HP drivers.
Click Start , Help and Support , Troubleshooting Tools , and select Health Check .
Option 3 : Manually locate and download the updated HP BIOS, drivers and software.
Go to the HP Software & Driver Downloads page, type the Product number for your PC in the search field and start the search. Then, on the product page, select the Vista operating system , and check the listing for updated drivers.

This information is reviewed and updated on a regular schedule. To resolve the issue shown in bold type , perform the specified action.

"Microsoft Visual C++" Error pop-up during the SP2 Upgrade. - The error is harmless and does not affect functionality in any way. To resolve the issue, install HP Service Pack SP43648 to update to MediaSmart MVP version 2.20 B2.

Error Message: "Restoration Incomplete. Your computer cannot be restored . . . " when you run Windows System Restore after the SP2 Upgrade. - Norton 2006 and later products have a NIS tamper protection feature that prevents outside programs, such as Windows System Restore, from making changes to the Norton product. To resolve the issue, temporarily turn off the Norton product protection before you run Windows System Restore. See the Symantec Support document for detailed instructions on temporarily disabling Norton protection.

Webcam button in MediaSmart does not work. - To resolve this issue, install HP Service Pack SP43591 to update to MediaSmart Webcam version 2.20 B2.

Internal devices reported as external (removable) - To resolve this issue, go to the Software & Driver Downloads page for your product and search for any updated drivers.

YouCam will record for a while and then will stop responding. - To resolve this issue, install HP Service Pack SP56980 to update to YouCam version 2.0.C.4.

"Internet Explorer Script Error" when launching HP Games - Resolution: Under Investigation Issue:

"WMP encountered a problem" when playing music through dock SPDIF - Resolution: Under Investigation

Hard drive shows low disc space for installing SP2 - To resolve this issue, you can use the compcln.exe command to remove pre-SP2 update files from the computer. Click Start , type compcln in the search field, and then double-click the compcln.exe command in the listing.

Some hardware devices stop working after installing SP2 - If device or program, such as a DVD player stops working, Windows may have overwritten the required HP device driver. Open the Device Manager , select the device that stopped working, and then select the Update Driver option to reinstall the HP device driver.

Some of the features and code used in earlier Beta versions are not needed in the final released verison. To avoid potential conflicts, if you had previously installed a Beta version of Windows Service Pack 2, you MUST uninstall the Beta version before installing the released version of Windows Vista Service Pack 2.

You can uninstall the Service Pack 2 by using the Programs and Features menus in the Control Panel.

Creating a Microsoft restore point saves a copy of all the system settings. It is a good idea to set a Microsoft Restore Point BEFORE you make any major changes to your computer. If there is a problem with the computer after making the change, you can always reset the system go back to the conditions just before you made change. The Vista Service Pack 2 is well tested, but it is a good idea to create a restore point just in case you encounter a problem.

Depending on conditions, yes! If you must revert to an earlier version, you should uninstall the service pack instead of just using a restore point. You should consider that when you installed a service pack, if there was a limited amount of free space, all previous restore points may have been deleted automatically to reclaim file storage space. In other words you may be able to revert to a point just before the service pack was installed but not to any earlier conditions.

In an extreme case, you can restore the computer to the factory image. Restoring the image erases all the programs and information you have stored on the hard drive. If the recovery partition on the hard drive is not corrupted, you can use the Recovery Manager to restore the factory image. If the recovery partition is not available, you can use the recovery discs that you created to restore the factory image.

On some retail licensed computers, it may be necessary to reactivate the Windows Vista operating system after installing SP2. If, during the SP2 installation, a device driver is updated that is part of the computer signature, the computer will need to be reactivated. In this instance, you will be prompted to activate your original version of Windows Vista by connecting the PC to the internet and following the on-screen instructions from Microsoft.

HP Notebook PCs - Use Windows Basic Backup and Restore Center to Back Up Files in Vista