Fresh XP install problems

[PanzerAzelSaturn]

Hi, I just installed XP on a new hard drive. My old drive is dying and I need to get the data off of it asap. I have 2002 XP, so no service packs and comes with IE 6.

I cannot update anything because nearly every webpage I visit gives me an error (IE cannot open the internet site ..... Operation aborted.) I can't access windows update service or even this website (using my phone). I can't install another browser or update XP either for this reason. I did manage to find a 3rd party download site and get service pack 1, but when I finally got to what appeared to be a special section of windows updates just for people using ie6 and actually was able to run the install that was supposed to update to sp2, it failed saying I need sp2 to run it.

I've used this same copy of XP on all of my builds since, well, 2002 and I've never run into a problem like this before. I know it's not supported anymore, but I thought that meant no more updates will be made, not that you can't access the ones already available.

If anyone has any advice or knows how to get my PC to the point where I can be using Chrome to under service pack 3 and updating all of my system drivers I would really appreciate it. A new version of Windows is not an option for me as it would not suit my current software needs. Thanks in advance

 

[BobSmith809]

Can you somehow get some iteration of Firefox on there? Like from another PC via a thumb drive? Once Firefox was on there that would enable you to find and download a copy of a newer version of IE, say IE7, and you could then get the windows updates you need to then get all the way to IE 8 and all of the service packs.

 

[BobSmith809]

Thinking about this a bit: In the last couple of years I have installed XP Retail with none of the service packs. After I do the install the first thing I do is install SP3 either via CDRW or thumb drive. Once that is on there you can download Firefox, go to Microsoft and get IE8 and go from there. As long as Microsoft is still providing all the updates (to the April cutoff) you should be good to go. The key is to get SP3 on there somehow right after the install and that should open up the update door.

 

[PanzerAzelSaturn]

So, looked into firefox, but min reqs are xp sp2, which is what I can't seem to get. I'll try to figure out how to get sp3 on a cd and see go from there. It's so odd because just last week I was running the exact same rig with XP and neve thought a fresh install would be so difficult. I was actually kind of excited to start clean!

 

[BobSmith809]

I think that'll get you where you want to go faster. I did so many builds with retail, various OEM versions of XP through the years, that I always had SP3 on a CDRW and later on a thumb drive ready to go. I can't tell you how many times I went through that routine, install XP raw, next install SP3 and take it from there. Getting SP3 into the OS right off the bat solves a multitude of software issues. Good luck!