[FIX] Common Problems While Installing Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta

As we all know Microsoft will release public beta of Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 by the end of July. Microsoft has started publishing troubleshooting articles to help you in fixing some common problems which might occur while installing SP1.

You might face following problems while installing SP1 in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2:

Problem 1:

When installing SP1, you might get an "Installation was not successful" error message. The most common causes of this problem are:

• An inconsistency in the Windows Servicing Store. The Windows Servicing Store is a feature that is required to successfully install the service packs.
• A program on your computer, such as antivirus or antispyware programs, is interfering with the installation of the service pack.

Solution:

To try to solve this problem, first download and run the System Update Readiness Tool. The System Update Readiness Tool can help fix problems that might prevent Windows updates and service packs from installing.

Problem 2:

If you try to install SP1 with Microsoft Security Essentials or Microsoft Forefront Client Security already installed on your computer, your security program might prevent the successful installation of the service pack.

Solution:

To successfully install SP1, you or a network administrator will have to uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials or Microsoft Forefront Client Security, install the service pack, and then reinstall your security program.

Problem 3:

While installing SP1, you might get "Windows has detected unsupported languages files" error message.

Solution:

SP1 can only be installed on a computer that is running a German, Spanish, French, English, or Japanese version of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

problem with wireless adapter or access Point

This issue occurs if the Wi-Fi hot spot uses wireless APs or routers that don’t support the 802.11 power save protocol. Choose one of the following three procedures to resolve the issue:

  Method 1: Modify the default power saving power plan
Modify the default on-battery power setting for the wireless network adapter. Configure the wireless network adapter to use the Maximum Performance setting when Windows Vista or Windows 7 is configured to use the Balanced power plan or the Power saver power plan. To do this, follow these steps:
1.    Click Start
Collapse this imageExpand this image, type Power Options in the Start Search box, and then click Power Options in the Programs list.
Collapse this imageExpand this imageIf you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue.
2.    Click Change plan settings under the power plan that is selected. For example, if the Balanced option is selected, click Change plan settings under Balanced.
3.    Click Change advanced power settings.
4.    In the Power Options dialog box, expand Wireless Adapter Settings, and then expand Power Saving Mode.
5.     In the list that appears next to On battery, click Maximum Performance, and then click OK.
 Method 2
You could modify the power saving settings of the wireless network adapter to work around this issue. To do this, follow these steps:
1.    Click Start, click Run, type ncpa.cpl, and then click OK.
2.    In the Network Connections dialog box, right-click the wireless network adapter, and then click Properties.
3.    Click Configure under the name of the network card.
4.    Click the Advanced tab, and then modify the power management settings. For example, click Power Management in the Property list, drag the Value slider to the power management setting that you want to use, and then click OK.

Note These settings may differ depending on the manufacturer of the wireless network adapter.
 Method 3


To work around this problem, manually create a network profile by using the Manually Connect to a Wireless Network Wizard and by selecting shared-mode network authentication. To do this, follow these steps:
1.    Click Start
Collapse this imageExpand this image, type network and sharing in the Start Search box, and then click Network and Sharing Center in the Programs list.
Collapse this imageExpand this imageIf you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2.    Click Manage Wireless Networks, and then click Add.
3.    Click Manually create a network profile.
4.    In the Network Name box, enter the name of the network.
5.    In the Security type box, click Shared.

How to Repair or Reinstall Office Programs

This procedure detects and repairs problems that are associated with installed Microsoft Office programs, such as registry settings and missing installation files. This procedure does not repair personal files, such as worksheets or templates.

The following two methods describe two ways that you can use the Detect and Repair tool to detect and repair problems with installed programs.

Method 1: Run Detect and Repair on the Help Menu

1. On the Help menu in any Office program, click Detect and Repair.
2. Click Start.

Note To restore program shortcuts to the Start menu, verify that the Restore my shortcuts while repairing check box is selected.

Method 2: Run the Detect and Repair Tool from Add or Remove Programs

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office 2003, and then click Change.
3. In the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box, click Reinstall or Repair, and then click Next.
4. Click either Reinstall Office or Detect and Repair errors in my Office installation, and then click Install.

Note If you choose to detect and repair problems in your Microsoft Office installation, click to select the Restore my Start Menu Shortcuts check box to rebuild your Microsoft Office shortcuts

How to Install Individual Features in Office 2003

Generally, when you first try to use a feature that is not installed, Office 2003 installs the feature automatically. For example, if you point to Get External Data on the Data menu in Microsoft Office Excel 2003, and then you click Run Database Query, Microsoft Query is installed automatically.

If the feature that you want is not installed automatically in Office 2003, follow these steps:

1. Quit all programs.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office 2003, and then click Change.
4. In the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box, click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
5. Click to select the check boxes of the components that you want to install.
6. Click to select the Choose advance customization of applications check box, and then click Next.
7. Expand the product that you want to customize, click the icon to the left of the feature name, and then click the installation state that you want. For example, if you want to remove a feature, set it to Not Available. To install a feature immediately, click Run from My Computer, or click Installed on First Use if you want to install the feature when it is requested for the first time.
8. When you finish changing the installation states, click Update.

Explorer Toolbar Editor: Add New Options To Windows 7 Explorer Toolbar

The toolbar in Windows 7 explorer lets you quickly create a new folder, organize files and folders, include a file or folder in library, and share files with groups. But the explorer toolbar lacks some useful options such as cut, copy, paste, delete, close and many other options which we use very often.

Explorer Toolbar Editor is a tiny application, from our friends at winreview, which provides you the ability to add a number of new options to the explorer toolbar with a mouse click.

Explorer Toolbar Editor lets you add Burn, Clear changes, Close, Copy, Cut, Delete, Details Pane, E-mail, Folder Options, Include in library, Layout, Library Pane, Manage default printers, Menu bar, Navigation pane, Open print queue, Open printer server property, Paste, Play all, Print, Properties, Redo, Remove properties, Rename, Search on website, Select all, Separator, Slide show, Start scan, Sync, Undo, Work offline or online option and Update printer driver options to the explorer toolbar.

This tool also lets you remove the default toolbar options such as New Folder and Share with options from the toolbar.

You can add specific options to documents library, generic library, music library, pictures library, videos library, documents folder, music folder, pictures folder, videos folder and search Results. For example, you can add Print, Slide show and Rename options to picture folder and  Undo, Redo, Select all, and Remove Properties to documents folder.

How to use Explorer Toolbar Editor to customize Windows explorer toolbar:

Step 1: Download, install, and run Explorer Toolbar Editor software.

Step 2: Select a library, folder, or search result in the left pane and click Add Buttons to view all available options to to the selected category. Check all the options that you want to add to the toolbar and click Add button.

Step 3: You are done! Open Windows explorer and select a file or folder to view newly added buttons. To remove a button, launch Explorer Toolbar Editor, select a category in the left pane, then select an option that you want to remove, and then click Remove buttons.

Explorer Toolbar Editor is a freeware and works great on both x86 and x64 versions of Windows 7.

Here is how to use UltraISO software to create bootable USB drive:

Step 1: Download and install UltraISO software on your PC. Even though UltraISO is a paid software, you can download the free 30-day trial version to make your USB bootable.

Step 2: The next step is to run UltraISO trial version with admin rights. Right-click on the UltraISO software shortcut on the desktop or Start menu entry, and select Run as administrator option. If you are prompted with Register Now screen, click Continue to Try.. button to use the trial version.

Step 3: In the home screen, click File > Open option to browse to your Windows 7 or Windows 8 ISO file.

Step 4: Next, in the home screen of UltraISO, click on Bootable menu and then click Write Disk Image option to launch Write Disk Image dialog box.

Step 5: In the Write Disk Image dialog, select the Disk Drive as your USB flash drive, select the write method as USB-HDD before hitting the Format button. It will then launch Format Removable Disk dialog, where you need to simply click Start button to begin formatting the flash drive. Please backup all data from the USB device before hitting the Format button.

Step 6: Once the format in done, click Write button and then click Yes for the warning prompt to start the process. When the writing is finished, you will see Burn Successful message event list. Close UltraISO software and connect your USB to a machine to start installing Windows.

How To: Install Windows 7 Or Windows 8 From USB Drive

This guide works 100% for Vista & Windows 7 unlike most of the guides out there. I have seen many sites/blogs that have “Install Vista from USB guide” but either with incomplete steps or not working guide. I have also seen some guides that don’t’ use proper commands in this guide. After spending many hours I have come up with this 100% working guide.

I just did this method on one of my friends machine and installed the new Windows 7 BETA. The main advantage is that by using USB drive you will be able to install Windows 7/Vista in just 15 minutes. You can also use this bootable USB drive on friend’s computer who doesn’t have a DVD optical drive.

The method is very simple and you can use without any hassles. Needless to say that your motherboard should support USB Boot feature to make use of the bootable USB drive.

Requirements:

*USB Flash Drive (Minimum 4GB)

*Windows 7 or Vista installation files.

Follow the below steps to create bootable Windows 7/Vista USB drive using which you can install Windows 7/Vista easily.

1. Plug-in your USB flash drive to USB port and move all the contents from USB drive to a safe location on your system.

2. Open Command Prompt with admin rights. Use any of the below methods to open Command Prompt with admin rights.

*Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.

Or

*Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

3. You need to know about the USB drive a little bit. Type in the following commands in the command prompt:

First type DISKPART and hit enter to see the below message.

Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number (ex: Disk 1) of your USB flash drive. In the below screenshot my Flash Drive Disk no is Disk 1.

4. Next type all the below commands one by one. Here I assume that your disk drive no is “Disk 1”.If you have Disk 2 as your USB flash drive then use Disk 2.Refer the above step to confirm it.

So below are the commands you need to type and execute one by one:

SELECT DISK 1

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS

(Format process may take few seconds)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Don’t close the command prompt as we need to execute one more command at the next step. Just minimize it.

5. Next insert your Windows7/Vista DVD into the optical drive and check the drive letter of the DVD drive. In this guide I will assume that your DVD drive letter is “D” and USB drive letter is “H” (open my computer to know about it).

6. Maximize the minimized Command Prompt in the 4th step.Type  the following command now:

D: CD BOOT and hit enter.Where “D” is your DVD drive letter.

CD BOOT and hit enter to see the below message.

7. Type another command given below to update the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code.

BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H:

Where “H” is your USB drive letter. Once you enter the above command you will see the below message.

8. Copy your Windows 7/Vista DVD contents to the USB flash drive.

9. Your USB drive is ready to boot and install Windows 7/Vista. Only thing you need to change the boot priority at the BIOS to USB from the HDD or CD ROM drive. I won’t explain it as it’s just the matter the changing the boot priority or enabling the USB boot option in the BIOS.

"Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer

When you start your computer after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP, you may receive one or both of the following error messages:

Invalid Boot.ini

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

Windows\System32\Hal.dll 

 

 

 

To resolve this issue, start the computer from the Windows XP CD, start the Recovery Console, and then use the Bootcfg.exe tool to rebuild the Boot.ini file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For information about how to do this, see your computer documentation, or contact your computer manufacturer.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.
5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.
6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.
8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:
   1. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y:
      Total Identified Windows Installs: 1
      
      [1] C:\Windows
      Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)
   2. You receive a message that is similar to the following message:
      Enter Load Identifier
      This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.
   3. You receive a message that is similar to the following:
      Enter OS Load options
      When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.
      
      Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.
9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts, and the updated boot list appears when you receive the "Please select the operating system to start" message.

 

How to access the Recovery Console

The Recovery Console is a set of tools which run from a Command prompt. If your system is formatted as NTFS then these tools can help you manage the  partition. You can learn more about the Recovery Console through Help and Support  or
Click here for information about the different commands and their functions .

To run the Recovery Console  from CD boot with the Windows XP CD (or with the optional 6 floppy disk set) and select "R" at the Welcome Screen.

The screen will switch to black and you will be asked which installation to log on to. If you only have one installation you will press "1". Remember that numlock is off at this time.

Next you'll be prompted to enter your Admin password. By default it is created blank so just press Enter.

At the C:\Windows command prompt type "Help" for a list of commands you can use.

How to Repair the Boot Sector:
If XP won't start it may be due to a damaged boot sector or a missing or corrupt ntldr  or ntdetect.com files. 

To replace damaged ntldr and ntdetect.com you can copy fresh files from the XP CD using  the COPY command. Boot with the XP CD and enter the Recovery Console (as above). At the Command Prompt type the following (where "X" is your CD-Rom drive letter) allowing the files  to overwrite the old  files
        COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C:
        COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:

To repair a damaged Boot Sector at the command prompt type FIXBOOT and press Enter. Then answer "Y" 

How To Format using the Recovery Console (click for info on How To Access The Recovery Console)

format drive : /Q /FS:file-system

Use the above command (where /Q performs a quick format of the drive, drive is the drive letter of the partition to format /FS:file-system specifies the type of file system to use [FAT, FAT32, or NTFS]) to format the specified drive to the specified file system. For example the following quick formats C partition as NTFS
        FORMAT C: /Q /FS:NTFS 
 the following will do a full format of C as FAT32
        FORMAT C: /FS:FAT32
*** Note: If a file system is not specified, then the existing file system format is retained.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart your Computer

How Partition using the Recovery Console: (click for info on How To Access The Recovery Console)
At the command prompt type DISKPART and press Enter.

An interface is displayed which you can move through with the Arrow Keys. Press "C" to create a partition in unused space. Pressing "D" will delete the highlighted partition.

How To Exit the Recovery Console:
You can not use Ctrl+Alt+Del to quit the Recovery Console. Instead type "EXIT" at the command prompt and Windows will be started.

Boot to Windows.

How to Repair Install:  ***Also removes Service Packs***
Sometimes the only way to repair XP is to reinstall. You do not have to wipe your partition and start over. Just as with previous versions of Windows you can reinstall right over top of an existing setup. This has the advantage of retaining your installed applications, data and settings. You will lose previously saved System Restore Points but System Restore will begin creating new restore points again immediately following the Repair Install. You will need to reinstall SP2 and any Critical Updates from the Windows Update Site. Be aware that a Repair Install will leave your system vulnerable to the Blaster and Welchia worms. Do not go on line until you have enabled XP's firewall first. Then visit the Windows Update Site to patch your system  It is always prudent to backup important data before you make changes to XP.

There are two approaches. The first one should be used if you can still boot to your Windows Desktop. Simply pop the XP CD into the CD-Rom drive and select Install->Upgrade[recommended]. This will install XP overtop of itself in the same way as upgrading from a previous setup. However if your version is an OEM version then you will not have this option. If you do not see the option to Upgrade[recommended] DO NOT choose New Install as that will either overwrite your current setup completely or give you a dual boot setup. Also if you have an older version of XP and have upgraded to a new service pack you will get a message stating that a newer version of Windows was found and you will not be able to run the Upgrade. Create a Slipstream version to solve this problem

If you cannot boot to the Desktop, or you have an OEM version of XP, or you want to remove a service pack then the following should be used to complete a Repair Install.

Boot with the Windows XP CD and at the Setup Screen press the Enter Key

You will be taken to the Windows XP Licensing Agreement. After reading the agreement press F8 to proceed.

The next screen gives you the option to do a fresh (clean) install or to repair the selected Windows XP installation. To run a Repair Install Press "R" at this time.
***CAUTION*** if you do not see the option to repair the selected Windows XP installation DO NOT choose the option to continue installing a fresh copy without repairing as that will overwrite your data and cause unrecoverable data loss.

Windows XP will copy the necessary files to your Hard Drive to begin the installation  and will then reboot. You will see the message that informs you to "Press any key to boot the CD". Do not press any keys this time just wait a few seconds and the Windows Startup Screen will be displayed. Following this you will be greeted by the Windows XP Setup Screens.

When Setup has completed you should find all of your previously installed apps and settings are intact.

How To Determine If XP was Activated?
You installed XP and then can't remember if you activated it. Go to Start->Run and enter the following
 oobe/msoobe /a

How to use the Automatic Recovery feature to recover your computer or your Tablet PC if the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Setup program is not completed successfully

This article discusses how to use the Automatic Recovery feature to restore your computer to its previous configuration if the installation of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is not completed successfully, and you cannot start your computer or Tablet PC. Follow these steps if your computer or Tablet PC does not start correctly after you try to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows XP SP2. This article also discusses how to collect information about the Windows XP SP2 installation and about your computer or Tablet PC to help troubleshoot issue. The Windows XP SP2 Setup logs, the System Information tool, and the event logs contain information that can help a Microsoft Product Support Services professional who may be working with you to diagnose the issue.

This article discusses how to use the Automatic Recovery feature to recover your computer to its previous configuration if the installation of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is not completed successfully. Use the procedure that is discussed in this article to recover your computer to a bootable state and to remove Windows XP SP2 if Windows does not start correctly after you try to upgrade your computer from Windows XP to Windows XP SP2. (On a Tablet PC, you upgrade to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.) This article also discusses how to collect information about the Windows XP SP2 installation and about your computer to help troubleshoot and diagnose the issue.

Recover your computer to a bootable state and remove Windows XP SP2
To recover your computer or Tablet PC to a bootable state and remove Windows XP SP2, follow these steps.

Note The Windows XP SP2 features and components are included in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

    Start your computer by using the Windows XP Recovery Console or by using the Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), depending on your situation. To start your computer by using the Recovery Console, follow these steps:
        Insert the original release version of the Microsoft Windows XP CD in your computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

        Note Your computer must be configured to start from the CD drive or DVD drive. For more information about how to do this, see your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.
        When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
        When the "Welcome to Setup" screen is displayed, press R to start the Recovery Console.
        When you are prompted, type the number that corresponds to the installation of Windows that you want to access from the Recovery Console, and then press ENTER. For example, if you have one installation of Windows on your computer, type 1, and then press ENTER.
        When you are prompted, type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
    At the command prompt in Recovery Console, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
    cd $NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
    batch spuninst.txt
    exit
    Remove the Windows XP CD from your computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
    Run the Windows XP SP2 Removal Wizard to remove Windows XP SP2. To do this:
        Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
        At the command prompt, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
        cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
        spuninst.exe
        Follow the instructions to remove Windows XP SP2.


Collect information about the Windows XP SP2 installation and about your computer or Tablet PC
You can gather information about the Windows XP SP2 installation and about your computer that can help troubleshoot the issue. This information includes the Windows XP SP2 log files, details about the configuration of your computer from the System Information tool, and information that is logged in the application event log and in the system event log in Event view. This information can help a Microsoft Product Support Service professional who works with you to diagnose the issue. To collect this information, follow these steps:

    Locate the Windows XP SP2 Setup log files. The Setup program logs information about the Windows XP SP2 installation to the following log files:
        Setupapi.log
        Svcpack.log
        Spuninst.log
    The log files are located in the %Windir% folder. For example, if Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder, the log files are located in the C:\Windows folder.
    Use the System Information tool to gather information about the configuration of your computer. To do this:
        Click Start, click Run, type msinfo32, and then click OK.
        Click File, and then click Save.
        In the Save As box, click Desktop to save the file to your desktop, specify a name for the file, and then click Save.
    Collect the information that is logged in the application event log and to the system event log. To do this:
        Click Start, click Run, type control admintools, and then click OK.
        Double-click Event Viewer.
        In the left pane, click Application.
        Click Action, and then click Save Log File As.
        In the Save "Application" As dialog box, click Desktop to save the file to your desktop, specify a name for the file, and then click Save.
        In the left pane, click System.
        Click Action, and then click Save Log File As.
        In the Save "System" As dialog box, click Desktop to save the file to your desktop, specify a name for the file, and then click Save.


Method 1: Remove Windows XP SP2 by using the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel

    Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
    In the list of currently installed programs, click Windows XP SP2, and then click Remove.
    Click Next, and then follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen to remove Windows XP SP2.


Method 2: Remove Windows XP SP2 by using the Spuninst.exe command-line command
To do this:

    Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
    At the command prompt, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
    cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
    spuninst.exe
    Follow the instructions to remove Windows XP SP2.

For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307654  How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

For more information about how to obtain Windows XP SP2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322389  How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack