Troubleshooting issues

Having problems with how your programs, games, drivers, and devices work? These Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and support topics can help you troubleshoot issues.

• Use the Internet Explorer Information Bar
  With SP2 Internet Explorer now displays an Information Bar (just below the address bar) where you can see information about downloads, blocked pop-up windows, potential security risks, and other activities. This information helps you to avoid potentially harmful files you might otherwise accept from the Internet.
• "The product key used to install Microsoft Windows may not be valid" error message when installing Windows XP Service Pack 2
  This article describes the steps you should take if you receive this error message when you try to install SP2.
• "Access is denied" error message when you try to install SP2
  This article describes methods to workaround the "Access is denied" error message when you try to install SP2.
• Windows Messenger in Windows XP Service Pack 2 blocks certain files that you receive
  This article describes the scenarios in which Windows Messenger may block file transfers in SP2.
• You cannot modify Windows Firewall settings for an AOL dial-up network connection by using Network Connections in Control Panel in SP2
  This article describes how to workaround the inability in SP2 to modify Windows Firewall settings for an AOL dial-up network connection by using Network Connections in Control Panel.
• Cannot Play Licensed Content in Windows Media Player 9
  When you try to play some licensed media content that you previously played in Windows Media Player, the licensed media content may no longer play and you may have to reacquire some licenses to play the content.
• Device drivers known to cause instability in SP2 are blocked during installation
  SP2 includes the Driver Protection feature, which helps protect operating system stability by preventing the operating system from loading drivers that are known to cause stability problems.
• Images are blocked when you open an e-mail message in Outlook Express on a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer
  When you open an e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook Express on an SP2-based computer, the areas in the e-mail message that are supposed to contain images are blocked. These areas display a red X placeholder. This article describes how to workaround this behavior.
• Windows Messenger Stops Working after installing SP2
  This article describes how to add Windows Messenger to the Windows Firewall exception list if the Secuity Alert dialog box appears when you try to start Windows Messenger.
• Cannot use an MP3 or WMA file as background sound for an e-mail message in Outlook Express
  This article describes workaround methods for formatting Outlook Express e-mail messages with backgroun sound.
• Some programs seem to stop working after you install SP2
  After you install SP2, some programs may seem not to work. By default, Windows Firewall is enabled and blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. This article discusses how to make an exception and enable a program to run by adding it to the list of exceptions.
• Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade toSP2
  This article describes how to troubleshoot issues with missing Outlook Express mail folders, e-mail messages, or Address Book after you install SP2.
• You cannot check for updates to the broadband networking software after you install SP2
  After you install SP2, you cannot check for updates to the Microsoft Broadband Network Utility (BNU). This article describes how to workaround this issue.
• How to perform basic Internet Explorer troubleshooting in SP2
  After you upgrade to SP2, some SSL-secured (128-Bit) Web pages and Web sites may not work correctly. Frequently, this behavior is caused by security changes in SP2. This article describes how to determine why the pages do not display correctly.
• List of Security Bulletins for SP2
  Windows XP SP2 provides new proactive security technologies for Windows XP, to better defend against viruses, worms, and hackers. In addition to a more robust security infrastructure, SP2 improves the security configuration options of Windows XP, and provides better security information to help users faced with security decisions. This page lists the Microsoft Security Bulletins are included in SP2.