Unable to install Windows Vista Service Pack 2

Hello, I was helped by NoodleTech to remove a trojan (please reference my posts on the Virus, Spyware & Malware Removal forum under the topic title "Fake Windows Security Alerts"). I then began to follow NoodleTech's instructions to download and install Windows Vista Service Packs 1 and 2. I'm using a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop with Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T5250 @ 1.50 GHz and 2 GB RAM. I have Vista Home Basic, which came installed on the laptop. Service Pack 1 installed properly, but Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847 x86) has failed to install repeatedly with error code 80080005. I tried to download and install Service Pack 2 today and received a message reading "Installation was not successful. Server execution failed. Error CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE(0x80080005). I'd appreciate your help in getting the current updates installed. Kalshady

Hi kalshady,

Microsoft update support for Vista with only SP1 finished a week or so ago, which might explain your download problems.

Error CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE(0x80080005

What causes 0x80080005 error?

The 0x80080005 error may be caused by windows system files damage. The corrupted system files entries can be a real threat to the well being of your computer.

There can be many events which may have resulted in the system files errors. An incomplete installation, an incomplete uninstall, improper deletion of applications or hardware. It can also be caused if your computer is recovered from a virus or adware/spyware attack or by an improper shutdown of the computer. All the above actives may result in the deletion or corruption of the entries in the windows system files. This corrupted system file will lead to the missing and wrongly linked information and files needed for the proper working of the application.

1) Start your computer and log on as an administrator.

2) Click the Start button and type into the search box "Restore my computer to an earlier time"

3)Click on the entry in the window that opens ( "Restore my computer to an earlier time")

4) Click on "Open system Restore"

5) Pick a restore point that was before your problem downloads and restore to that point.

Your computer will reboot and you should be left with Vista SP1

Let us know if your PC is still not working OK.

You need to install SP2 before any other installs as there is Windows update support for Vista with SP2.
SP2 is available as a separate download that you can download to your desktop from here

See how you go.

Cheers,
Lee

Thanks, Lee. I should have mentioned that the "Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847 x86)" attempted update was prior to the installation of Vista SP1.I didn't see it had failed to properly install until I went into the update log - updates were set to occur automatically. Now when I turn the computer on, it hangs for hours "Installing Service Pack: Stage 3 of 3 - 100% complete. Do not turn off your computer". Occasionally it reboots and starts all over with the same message at 0% complete, 90% complete, then another 10+ hours at 100% complete. Somehow I managed to get SP1 jammed in during one of the brief periods following a reboot. I powered off and restarted in safe mode. The message "Installing Service Pack: Stage 3 of 3 - 100% complete. Do not turn off your computer" still appears. No way to make it stop to do anything else (like system restore to an earlier point in time). I'm willing to upgrade to Windows 7 if that's the easiest fix - but at this point don't know if that's possible either. Kalshady

The first thing to do is disable Automatic Updates.

Open Start menu / right-click on Computer / click Properties.
This will open System dialog box that will show basic information about your computer. On the left sidebar, under See also heading, you will find Windows Update. Clicking it will bring you to the Windows Update dialog box, now on the left sidebar click on Change Settings. You will now see a window that will look like this.

[attachment removed]

Choose "never check for updates" (for the moment)
When everything is sorted out, change that to "check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them"

Time to get rid of your SP updates if you have any in "add and remove programs" or try restore point before SP1 if you have one.
If successful, download SP1 seperately to your desktop from here and install and re-boot. Then download SP2 and install that.

Defrag you PC.

See how you go.

Cheers,
Lee

Hi Lee, I can't get to the Start menu for program uninstall, system restore or anything else. As soon as I power up the laptop, it goes into an endless loop attempting to install a service pack. It never completes and never stops trying - over and over. There is no way to get to the Start menu. Kalshady

Can you get into "safe mode with networking" ?

Hi Lee, I've tried both Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking with the same result - it says it's loading Windows files - a list of files being loaded scrolls quickly down until iy stops at: "Loaded: Windows\system32\drivers\crcdisk.sys" It pauses for several minutes, goes dark, and then comes up with "Installing Service Pack : Stage 3 of 3 - 0% complete. Do not turn off your computer." It quickly goes to 90% complete. Then 100% complete. And stays there, rebooting and repeating this process forever. Kalshady

This is your problem http://news.softpedia.com/news/Get-Vista-O…SP1-78933.shtml and it is a serious Vista fault.

There are two solutions there but the 2nd one (below) sounds better than the 1st. (a System Restore by Vista disk or Recovery disk), It looks like a real winner.

1. Insert your Vista Media into your dirve and boot from it.
2. Select "Repair your Computer" from the list.
3. Select "Command Prompt" from the recovery choices.
4. At the command prompt change your directory to C:WindowsWinSxS
5. Type: del pending.xml
6. Exit and reboot

This will fix all Windows update reboot loops and does not require you to restore your PC to and earlier state.

Here is another link on the problem Vista Home Premium SP1 Infinite Reboot Loop, Windows Restore inaccessible


If you do not have a Vista install CD or at least a Recovery disk to perform a System Restore, Puppy Linux is the next step (I'll explain how to download and use that if needed) where you can boot up with Puppy then go in and delete the file pending.xml in the folder windowsWinSXS in the drive with vista on it.
See how you go.

Cheers,
Lee

Thank you Lee, I have the reinstallation dvd Dell provided with the laptop. It says "reinstallation dvd Windows Vista Home Basic 32bit" and "only use this dvd to reinstall the operating system on a Dell PC." I powered up with this in the dvd drive (there is no rebooting as control-alt-delete does not respond). The laptop wasn't looking to the dvd on startup, so I used F12 on the second attempt to force it to go to the dvd. I now have an "Install Windows" window asking for language and other preferences. Do I continue from here? I don't see the "Repair your Computer" option (yet). Kalshady

About the Dell CD.
Dell Re installation dvd will repair Vista?

Also.
Windows Vista Repair Options

Cheers,
Lee

okay - made it to the command prompt. But when I typed cd c:WindowsWinSxS it returned "The system cannot find the path specified". Thank you! Kalshady

As is the case with most computer/laptops these days, they do not come with the proper Vista Disk/W7 to do Repairs with; only Recovery Disks

Your disk is one of the above it seems.

You need to make a Bootable Vista Repair Disk to do a Startup Repair or System Restore.

To burn the disk from the ISO Vista repair disk image, use ImgBurn. How to create the disk with ImgBurn
can be found here.

See how you go.

Cheers,
Lee

Further to my last post. Once you have made the Repair Disk and boot from it, this is the first window you will see. [attachment removed] The "Install now" button will not do anything as there is no installation files on the Repair Disk. Click on "Repair your Computer". This is the next window you will see. [attachment removed] Click on the first option "startup Repair" which might fix the problem. If not we can try the "system Restore" which will gain you access to your restore points. Selecting a point before your current situation should do the trick but if not, you can then open the command prompt and follow the instructions that never worked with the disk that came with your PC. Cheers, Lee

Hi Lee The Bootable Vista Repair Disk website has "Downloads suspended pending copyright clarification". I could get to the system recovery options by using F8 while booting. I tried Restore Computer. The only restore point was the one just prior to installing Service Pack 1. It failed: "System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed. Details: System Restore failed due to an unspecified error. The transaction handle associated with this operation is not valid (0x80071A2C)." I tried the Start Up Repair option. It went to System Restore, then came back with a message that it cannot repair this computer automatically. Under problem details it reads: Problem signature: Problem Event Name: StartupRepairV2 Problem Signature 01: Manual Repair Problem Signature 02: 6.0.6000.16386.6.0.6001.18000 Problem Signature 03: 3 Problem Signature 04: 65537 Problem Signature 05: unknown Problem Signature 06: NoRootCause Problem Signature 07: 0 Problem Signature 08: 2 Problem Signature 09: WrpRepair Problem Signature 10: 10 OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1 Locale ID: 1033

Go to command prompt again and try these commands separately.

chkdsk /r

sfc /scannow

Note the space before the stroke in both commands.

Hope we have some luck,
Lee