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Installing Service Pack 2 on Windows XP

Posted December 21st, 2006 by Chris

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2

Recently, my computer was damaged during a brown-out, and I was forced to "repair" my windows installation. (More on Windows Repair later). After the repair however, I was having some major errors on my system when trying to open or load any Office 2003 applications. The reason for these errors were a result of having the Service Pack removed during the repair. In order to correct it, I was forced to reinstall the Service Pack.

Anyhow, here are the steps you must take to install Service Pack 2 on your Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home system:

  1. Download the service pack
    • The service pack can be downloaded at this location from Microsoft.
  2. Once the service pack has been downloaded all you have to do is run it and follow the on screen instructions.
    • Double click the self extracting Service Pack 2 file.
  3. You must accept the EULA Agreement before proceeding through the installation.
    • Click "I Agree" to proceed
  4. Then hit Next, and the installer will begin to perform necessary system tests before it begins to update the system with Service Pack 2.
    • First the system creates third party driver list
          • ie: Video Cars drivers, printer drivers, Audio Card drivers, etc
    • Next the system checks for necessary space for the installation, as well as space for "uninstallation"
  5. Finally, it proceeds to installing the Service Pack onto the system
    • If nothing fails during the installation, you will be prompted by the Service Pack installer that the installation is complete and you have the check box option to "restart later"
    • Note, you should just let it restart, so you can immediately download the latest patches and Hot Fixes on the next restart.
  6. You are now up to date with the latest Service Pack for Windows XP



Notes:

My original reason for this write-up was to tell people about a small fix I had to come up with in order for my Service Pack installation to function properly. As I stated earlier, I had to "Repair" my system using my Windows XP Installation C-ROM. As a result, the files which Service Pack 2 updates were over-written with older versions. This causes system wide problems with most Microsoft products including Microsoft Office 2003. (And other versions of Office). It also causes problems with drivers and other system functions.

Anyhow, the specific problem I had while trying to reinstall Service Pack 2 was that it would freeze during "Running necessary processes before installation". I left it on for hours to see if it would proceed on its own, but to no avail. While the Service Pack was frozen on my screen, I hit CTRL + ALT + DEL and took a look at the processes being run.

I noticed a couple processes related to the service pack installation. "update.exe was using about 20 MB's of memory, but was using 0 CPU. Then I noticed a program called "fixccs.exe" which was using up only 900 kilobytes of memory but 99% of my CPU. This was the culprit. After finding on Microsoft's website a quick blurb about FixCCS.exe that read -- "When you install Windows XP SP2, the installer runs the FixCCS.exe tool to correct some mild corruptions" I knew something had to be done to correct this in order for my installation to go smoothly.

(The following steps have been updated thanks to a user who reported an even easier solution-- thanks Don!) 

Here is what I had to do in order to get Service Pack 2 to work correctly after it would hang during installation:

  1. Double click on the self extracting Service Pack 2 installation file.
    • Take note of where the files are being extracted to "ie: G:\f08f4e9b56a1c1ad94\i386\"
  2. After all the files have been extracted the installer will begin.
    • Do not click on "I Agree" or "Next" until after you have performed the following steps
  3. Double click on "My Computer" on the desktop.
      • Navigate to the location of the temporary files for the Service Pack installer.
      • ie: G:\f08f4e9b56a1c1ad94\i386\
      • Go one step further by entering the "update" directory.
      • G:\f08f4e9b56a1c1ad94\i386\update\
  4. Now here you will see both the installer file "update.exe" which is already running, as well as our culprit "FixCCS.exe
  5. Right click on "FixCCS.exe" and chose "rename"
    • Rename "FixCCS.exe" to something like "FixCCS_disable.exe"
  6. After you have accepted the changes, you can proceed through the installation as normal.
    • You will immediately notice that since you renamed "FixCCS.exe" it will not be loaded by the Service Pack 2 installer. Thus, your CPU will run like normal and will not be running at 100%
    • You will also notice that the installer quickly runs through "Running necessary processes before install"
  7. Finally, the installer will complete and you will be given the option to "restart later" via a checkbox. I suggest just restarting immediately, so you can begin downloading the latest updates from Microsoft.

Update:

A user stopped by to the site and reported that he was able to successfully terminate the application "FixCCS.exe" simply by hitting CTRL + ALT + DEL and right clicking on "FixCCS.EXE" and then choosing "End Task" and selecting "Yes" when it prompts you if you are sure.

When I tried running the installer and it would freeze, I do recall attempting to terminate FixCCS.exe in the task manager but was unsuccessful. Give it a try, if it works, it will save you even more time.

Thanks again Don. 

I truly hoppe this little write-up is useful to people out there. While researching my own problem I realized that there was no one with a working solution to this problem. Some went as far as to say just reinstall Windows XP entirely.

Also, if the above problem is not the same problem you are having with your Service Pack 2 installation. I found a very helpful website by Hans-Georg Michna, which can be found at WinHlp.com or a direct link is available here.

If anyone has any questions or problems with this fix, feel free to write me.

Regards,

Chris LLorca


Thank you very much!

On December 31st, 2006 Anonymous says:

without your solution, i'll be wasting more hours of my life :)

Exactly what I wanted, thanks!

On February 5th, 2007 Nawed Khan (not verified) says:

I was going through exactly the same problem and your article saved me alot of time, frustation and anxiety. I am greatly thankful to your post which helped me alot.

 Thank you Chris Laughing

Thank You!!

On February 22nd, 2007 sean (not verified) says:

Been struggling with this problem for a couple days, then i found this info. I was about 10 minutes from starting from formatting and reinstalling everything. Thanks

Thank you sooooooooooooooo

On March 4th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

Thank you sooooooooooooooo much. Been trying to reinstall this for about a week.

FixCCs.exe

On March 6th, 2007 Don (not verified) says:

It's a great solution! Thanks a lot!

BUT: You don't have to restart the installation of SP2.

Only press Ctrl-Alt-Del, then on Task Manager shut down fixccs.exe. You will be prompted that is not secure, and are you shure: say yes! And installation speeds up, and completes successfully.

 

Thank you very much

On March 6th, 2007 Chris says:

Thank you very much Don!

Always appreciated when others are able to contribute. Since I only had one opportunity to test its success, I wrote the exact steps I took... but this is even easier! 

so much help thanks

On March 10th, 2007 festethejeste (not verified) says:

thanks for saving me alot of time -- now i don't have to do a full reinstall of xp -- i also had to get rid of sp2 then reinstall it and this works for real -- thanks again

 

feste 

Thanks

On March 24th, 2007 Ronnie Sollien (not verified) says:

I shut down the fixccs.exe after some hours wating, and the insallation continued. Thanks.

I did it, and it worked

On April 1st, 2007 Meneldur (not verified) says:

I had this fixcss.exe problem, and your article gave me courage to terminate that process. Now, SP2 is finishing its installation. Thanks!
I wonder, however, what this process do exactly. Maybe some crap is still there since fixcss could not finish running.

Thanks i'm pretty much

On April 4th, 2007 Croxmeister (not verified) says:

Thanks i'm pretty much having the same problem here and terminating fixccs.exe seemed to un freeze the install

I wish i had found this

On April 4th, 2007 Lawley (not verified) says:

I wish i had found this sooner im further ahead now after 2 mins than what i was after an hour of waiting, its been annoying me all day, when i notcied FixCCS.exe was taking 100% i thought it was weird and a google search on it brought me to this page :D

SP2

On April 29th, 2007 SoldierofTwilight (not verified) says:

I was so upset at the fact that my computer died from one simple task.....trying to update my MoBo Bios. It crashed my computer, and I had to reinstall Windows XP repair. After that, I was kind of happy..until I realized I couldn't use my Microsoft Works 07...yay. I figured a simple fix from the SP2 would fix that..with no help from my boyfriend. Boy was I wrong. Didn't work...just froze on me. All day, and I'm pissed until I decided to do some research to see if anyone else had similar issues. Yay for other people's problems!! You helped me so much! Kudos!!

~Soldier of Twilight

You are the MAN

On May 21st, 2007 Mike B (not verified) says:

I thought all hope was lost then I found your page! It worked first time and fix most of the problems! Keep up the good work!

Hooray Finally

On May 25th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

This Problem had been biting at me for days :P, thanks mate.

FINALLY

On May 24th, 2007 Thanks from Michigan (not verified) says:

I was in the same boat as you...I had just copied over my Windows XP from my ATA drive to my new SATA drive....ended up having to repair the install and could not for the life of me get SP2 to install....it's installing right now as we speak.......

THANKS

-it really works :) THANKS

On June 3rd, 2007 Phillip (not verified) says:

do follow the instructions as mention - NOTE - do not use the automated download for the SP2 pack, but the one here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en
"Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers"
I did tried the one from the Windows Automatic Updates, and couldn't get it right.....and also don't forget to do a search for that file "FixCCS.exe", using a deep search, and renaming all findings :)
Thanks once again

Thanks!

On June 11th, 2007 Nick Mallare (not verified) says:

Thank you very much for posting this information. Before attempting your solution, I tried Don's [ctrl+alt+del and ending the process] and it is well on its way to installing SP2! Again, thank you very much!

Nick

Thanks Nick!

On June 18th, 2007 Chris says:

Someone else mentioned to me that this had worked for them as well. I know at the time of my installation, FixCCS.exe kept respawning, so I had to rename it in order to go through with it.

Either way, thanks!

Chris  

fixccs.exe

On July 11th, 2007 bry1050 (not verified) says:

Thanks for this advice. I deleted fixccs.exe by ending the process in task manager, and the installation continued successfully

Thanks!

On July 17th, 2007 tracie (not verified) says:

Wow--I'm constantly amazed at the power of the internet (and those who post helpful advice) to solve computer problems. Calls to tech support at both Dell and Microsoft failed to yield any solution to this problem, save for 'you'll have to reinstall...'. Tried your fix, and Voilà! Thanks a million!

Thanks a million!

On August 19th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

You have officially saved me about a million hours of worring and panicking. Thank you.

Chris, Thank you very. I

On August 20th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

Chris,
Thank you very. I just was ready to format my disk and reinstall Windows when I found your article. Thanks again!

Thanks too!

On September 12th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

Thanks too! I was about to reinstall when I finally searched for fixcss.exe and saw this article. Too bad it's not more easily searchable!

Thank you

On October 1st, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

I've been unable to set up SP2 for quite some time now (as you can see from the date of this post), but your guide cleared much of my frustration. What really had me was: the ".exe was only using 47-48% of my computer which really had me confused...

Thank you :) <3

Unbelievable

On October 6th, 2007 Anonymous (not verified) says:

This is really hard to believe.
I been resisting upgrading to sp2, but had to give in today, somehow you cannot install high def sound card without sp2. After spending couple hours restarting the installer I decided to look on internet... C'mon people, give us installer that actually installs!

fixccs.exe and Win Sp2 installation

On November 22nd, 2007 Skydiver (not verified) says:

Your article was bang on!, after installing a new hard disk and despite having sp2 on disc, I could not install it due to the running of fixccs.exe, when I tried to search for it, it says file not found on pc?.... but I noticed when running taskmaster it was using 99% of resources. Then while I was again installing it, purely by coincedence, I stopped it using task manager just to see what would happen! and hey presto it installed, just as I got to reading some of your replies suggesting doing the very same thing, it all worked a treat...... many thanks for starting a blog that was so helpful.
Sorry if I sound a bit nerdy but I am a pensioner newbie and just wanted to express my thanks, this is also the first time I have written a comment on the net

many thanks!

On February 6th, 2008 davidhw (not verified) says:

THANK YOU!!!!
A life saver. Brilliant.

Thanks! Worked up until the

On February 12th, 2008 Mit (not verified) says:

Thanks! Worked up until the installation was finishing and "Performing cleanup", where it hung up again. I renamed the fixcss.exe back to its original name, and then it completed the installation.

you are a blessing i spent

On March 8th, 2008 Anonymous (not verified) says:

you are a blessing i spent hours trying to install and google answers..and finally came upon the only one that worked..yours thank you again

Thanks much, worked great :)

On April 17th, 2008 Anonymous (not verified) says:

Thanks much, worked great :)

THANKS SO MUCH!

On April 19th, 2008 Jason Patterson (not verified) says:

Hats off and a SERIOUS amount of gratitude for your post on this! It seems to be toodling right along now! MUCH appreciated!

"Great post! I really

On May 16th, 2008 Mr. Stretching Exercises (not verified) says:

"Great post! I really appreciate the information!"

"This is the first time I've

On May 16th, 2008 The Stress Management Expert (not verified) says:

"This is the first time I've found this site, but I'll definitely be back. It's a great resource"

I spent hours trying to

On June 4th, 2008 Anonymous (not verified) says:

I spent hours trying to install SP2 after a repair. It kept freezing exactly where you said it does. Followed your guide and had it installed in minutes. Thank you for your expertise.

Killing the process

On July 6th, 2008 Zenzan (not verified) says:

Hi,

Thanks Sooo Much for that advice, I've spent hours waiting for it to sort itself out.
If anyone can't kill the process in task manager, I've found process explorer by systernals to do a brilliant job of finding the process and stopping it.

Thanks once again
Good luck to anyone who has to go through this too.