SP2 on Dell 4300 - I'm nervous

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have Dell Dimension 4300, Win XP Home, 1.7GHz, 256MB ram.

I've got the SP2 update CD and was already to do this, but when I checked
with Dell website found they recommend updating to the newest BIOS before
putting in SP2. This has me worried - I'm using System Commander for
multi-boot capability - will upgrading the BIOS affect its operation at all?
If anyone using System Commander for multi-boot on Dell has upgraded their
BIOS, please let me know if you had any problems after doing so.

Then I read here about people experiencing immense slowdowns after
installing SP2. Again, if you have Dell Dimension 4300, did you experience
this? (I have no networks at all, other than DSL if you can call that a
network connection).

If the main thing SP2 does is just in the way of security, and I am not
worried about security (I use Zone Alarm for a firewall and AVG antivirus,
plus Spybot resident spyware blocker), is this SP2 worth installing? Or do I
have to install it so Windows Update will stop telling me to install it
before it mentions anything else?

thanks in advance for any feedback.
-dg

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

You can always uninstall SP2 if you find that it does not run properly on
your system. Just be sure to save settings when it is installing, which SP2
does automatically anyway. BIOS updates should not affect your System
Commander settings at all. Check with the SC web site to see if any
information exists regarding SP2.

AFAIK far and away most users have had little problems with SP2. I have
installed it on a number of systems without any slowdowns at all.

Regards,
John O.

"dan glenn" <dan_danboy@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:%bqcd.14698$nj.6908@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>I have Dell Dimension 4300, Win XP Home, 1.7GHz, 256MB ram.
>
> I've got the SP2 update CD and was already to do this, but when I checked
> with Dell website found they recommend updating to the newest BIOS before
> putting in SP2. This has me worried - I'm using System Commander for
> multi-boot capability - will upgrading the BIOS affect its operation at
> all?
> If anyone using System Commander for multi-boot on Dell has upgraded their
> BIOS, please let me know if you had any problems after doing so.
>
> Then I read here about people experiencing immense slowdowns after
> installing SP2. Again, if you have Dell Dimension 4300, did you experience
> this? (I have no networks at all, other than DSL if you can call that a
> network connection).
>
> If the main thing SP2 does is just in the way of security, and I am not
> worried about security (I use Zone Alarm for a firewall and AVG antivirus,
> plus Spybot resident spyware blocker), is this SP2 worth installing? Or do
> I
> have to install it so Windows Update will stop telling me to install it
> before it mentions anything else?
>
> thanks in advance for any feedback.
> -dg
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"dan glenn" <dan_danboy@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I have Dell Dimension 4300, Win XP Home, 1.7GHz, 256MB ram.
>
>I've got the SP2 update CD and was already to do this, but when I checked
>with Dell website found they recommend updating to the newest BIOS before
>putting in SP2. This has me worried - I'm using System Commander for
>multi-boot capability - will upgrading the BIOS affect its operation at all?
>If anyone using System Commander for multi-boot on Dell has upgraded their
>BIOS, please let me know if you had any problems after doing so.
>
>Then I read here about people experiencing immense slowdowns after
>installing SP2. Again, if you have Dell Dimension 4300, did you experience
>this? (I have no networks at all, other than DSL if you can call that a
>network connection).

I'm one model further down the road than you, with a D4400, but
also 1.7GHz, 512MB and running XPPro. No slowdown noticed from
pre-SP2 operation. Don't do anything fancy - games, binaries
D/Ling/running - just home office/home type stuff. Even so, I
found that my computer ran slightly, but noticeably, faster with
512MB than it did with the 256MB it originally came with.
Whether or not you choose to do the SP2 install, I do recommend
that you up your memory to at least 512MB.

>If the main thing SP2 does is just in the way of security, and I am not
>worried about security (I use Zone Alarm for a firewall and AVG antivirus,
>plus Spybot resident spyware blocker), is this SP2 worth installing? Or do I
>have to install it so Windows Update will stop telling me to install it
>before it mentions anything else?

Depending on ZA and AVG version, you might have to turn off the
new Windows Security Center feature that monitors whether you
have your firewall running, and your AV program reasonably up to
date on definitions, but SP2 plugged more things than just that
Security Center would suggest. [Be sure to disable the Windows
Firewall that the Security Center will turn on if it doesn't
recognize ZA.] Dells standard response to anything is often "be
sure to update your BIOS". I didn't, and haven't suffered from
not doing it.

Just a FWIW, my 0.02, etc.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]