Can't Install SP3

I'm running WindowsXP Pro SP2 on a Dell Dimension 4300, 1GB ram, 1.8 GHz Intel P4. Hard Drive has several partitions the main one, C: Drive, being 50 GB with 31GB free. I followed all of the preinstall recommendation and I've tried installing SP3 from a disk and from the downloaded file. It starts to install and gets nearly finished then quits and says it can't install and removes whatever it's done 'till then. Although it's not recommended I tried to install from Safe Mode just to try with no success. Any suggestions??

 

I believe I tried that approach with no success but I'll try again. I just tried running in Safe Mode again and using the downloaded file. About 3/4 of the way through the installation I get a pop up with a red X that says
SP3 Setup
Access is Denied

I click ok and the next widow says
Service Pack 3 did not complete. Select OK to undo changes that have been made.

I'll now try Windows Update again.

 

Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your help. I've had no success and many roadblocks have arisen while trying to do the advanced suggestions on Microsoft's site so it just isn't worth the effort any longer. Since MS says they'll no longer support this machine without SP3 I'll just install Ubuntu or use my Apple machine for the tasks I need to run. Thanks again for all the help.

 

I have been using a slipstreamed XPSP2 and a bootable disk for some time. I guess I could still run that without MS support and if I run into trouble do a non-destructive reinstall of XPSP2 but at this point I'm just not in the mood. It's easier to just switch to Ubuntu or Apple and avoid the problem. I guess I did the same thing with Office 2007 where my initial productivity dropped to zero trying to use the "fantastic" ribbon to develop corporate manuals and presentations so I installed UBIT and used Office 2003 menu system with Office 2007. I've wasted so much time with Vista and Office 2007 and now SP3 that I just can't hack it anymore. But I'd really like to thank everyone. The MS community (especially the MVPs) are terrific.

 

The attempted installation of SP3 kinda messed up a lot of things in the Windows operation. Of course, when the update uninstalled whatever SP3 installation it had started, it warned that it couldn't put everything back the way it was and that I might have problems. The most critical, in my estimation, and one that couldn't be solved easily, was the inability for Windows to create restore points. I tried lots of things including reinstalling System Restore as recommended on Kellys-Korner and elsewhere but nothing worked. What I finally did was a non-destructive reinstall of my slipstreamed WindowsXP SP2 which is essentially a repair that leaves all of my installed stuff alone and only changes system files necessary to run windows. That worked fine and put everything back the way it was working. Of course, I still have the problem that MS won't support this version of XP. But, that's life and I still have lots of ways out of any permanent problems that may occur. I'm being very verbose here only because if anyone else has this type of problem I'd recommend that they cut to the chase and just do a non-destructive reinstall instead of attempting to fix the problems caused by the SP3 update. Thanks again everyone.

 

Is the slipstreamed XP CD you are using based off the original Dell CD?

 

I don't think that the slipstream was done with the original Dell disk. The suggestion of doing a slipstream of the XPSP2 with SP3 and then try the repair is a good way to go but at this point I really don't have any more time since I'll only be on this machine for another two days and then it's back to the home office. If I decide to try that in the future I'll post the result here.