My brother-in-law installed Service Pack 2 on his computer.
Now it won't even boot. What should he do?

A. I've gotten a few messages like this. Most people, including me and
my employees, have had no trouble with SP2. But if a computer refuses
to boot, that is very serious.

Microsoft has a process to restore the computer. It involves use of the
Recovery Console. Listeners have told me that it works, although it
sometimes takes several tries.

If your computer refuses to boot after installation of SP2, put
your XP installation disc in the CD or DVD drive. Start the computer.
When prompted, press a key to boot from the CD

When you are given the choice of starting the Recovery Console,
press R. Type the number that corresponds to your installation
of Windows. Press Enter.

At the prompt, enter the Administrator password (if you have one)
and press Enter.

Once in Recovery console, enter these lines. Press Enter after each:
--cd $NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
--batch spuninst.txt
--exit

Remove the XP disc and reboot the computer. Assuming the computer
reboots, click Start>>Run. Enter cmd in the box and press OK. At the
command prompt, type the following commands. Press Enter after each:
--cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
--spuninst.exe

That should uninstall SP2.

Help is also available from Microsoft via the phone or online.
The phone number is 1-888-772-4357. The company warns that hold times
can be lengthy.

If you can get online, Microsoft offers a chat option. Or you can send
e-mail. Several people have reported excellent experiences using these
methods. Microsoft is apparently taking these problems seriously.
There is more information at: http://snipurl.com/8phj