Your Computer Stops Responding When You Restart To Complete The Installation Of Windows XP Service Pack 2

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 885626

This article discusses how to resolve an issue where your computer stops responding (hangs) when you restart to complete the installation of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2. This issue occurs on a limited number of systems that use a version of basic input/output system (BIOS) that does not have production support for Intel Pentium 4 and Intel Celeron D processors based on the Prescott C-0 stepping.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to restart your computer to complete the installation of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), your computer stops responding (hangs).

You experience this issue when you select any one of the following options when you restart the computer:

CAUSE

This issue may occur if the following conditions are true:

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, contact your computer manufacturer for an updated version of BIOS that provides production support for the processor that is installed in your computer.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue until you can obtain an updated version of BIOS, use one of the following methods.

Note You must complete all the following steps before you apply any additional software updates to your system.

Method 1: Use the Windows XP Recovery Console

To use the Windows XP Recovery Console to start your computer, follow these steps:
  1. Insert the Windows XP startup disk in the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD in the CD drive or the DVD drive, and then restart the computer.

    For additional information about how to obtain and use Windows XP Setup disks, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    310994 How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks

  2. Click to select one or more of the options that are required to start the computer from the CD drive or the DVD drive if you are prompted to do this.
  3. At the Setup screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.
  4. Type the number of the Windows XP SP2 installation that caused your computer to stop responding. You must type this number even if only one installation appears.
  5. Type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
  6. At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

    cd system32\drivers

  7. At the command prompt, type ren update.sys update.sp2, and then press ENTER.
  8. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.
  9. Obtain the BIOS update. Follow the instructions to update your computer.
  10. Start Windows XP SP2.
  11. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  12. At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

    cd %systemroot%\system32\drivers
  13. At the command prompt, type move update.sp2 update.sys, and then press ENTER.
  14. Restart your computer.

Method 2: Start an alternative Windows installation

If your computer is configured to start from multiple Microsoft Windows installations, follow these steps to start your computer:
  1. Start your computer and select a functional Windows partition.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  3. At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

    cd WinXPSP2\system32\drivers

    In this step, WinXPSP2 is the folder path for the Windows folder where Windows XP SP2 is installed.
  4. At the command prompt, type move update.sys update.sp2, and then press ENTER.
  5. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.
  6. Restart your computer, and then start the Windows XP SP2 installation
  7. Obtain the BIOS update. Follow the instructions to update your computer.
  8. Start Windows XP SP2.
  9. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  10. At the command prompt, type the following:

    cd %systemroot%\system32\drivers
  11. At the command prompt, type move update.sp2 update.sys, and then press ENTER.
  12. Restart your computer.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows XP can provide a processor stepping-specific update that will run independently of the BIOS to provide support for the installed processor. If an operating system cannot load the Intel-provided production support update for a processor, you may experience stop errors or startup failures. In this case, the BIOS does not provide the required production support, and the Intel-provided production support update that is provided in Windows XP causes the system to stop responding.

To determine whether your computer uses an Intel Pentium 4 or Intel Celeron D processor that is based on Prescott C-0 stepping and a BIOS that does not provide the required production support, follow these steps:
  1. Create a startup disk by downloading a startup-disk version of the Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility. To download this program, visit the following Intel Web site:

    http://support.intel.com/support/processors/tools/frequencyid/sb/CS-007616.htm

  2. Start your computer by using the startup disk you created in step 1.
  3. On the CPUID Data tab, review the specifications for your computer. Computers that are affected by this issue have the following specifications:
    • CPU Family value of F.
    • CPU Model value of 3.
    • CPU Stepping value of 3.
    • CPU Revision value of 3, 2, 1, or 0.
For more information about this issue, visit the following Intel Web site:

http://support.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-015171.htm

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products. Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

The information in this article applies to:

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