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 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.

1. 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:
   1. 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.
   2. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
   3. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen is displayed, press R to start the Recovery Console.
   4. 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.
   5. When you are prompted, type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
2. At the command prompt in Recovery Console, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
   cd $NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
   batch spuninst.txt
   exit
3. Remove the Windows XP CD from your computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
4. Run the Windows XP SP2 Removal Wizard to remove Windows XP SP2. To do this:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
   2. At the command prompt, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
      cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
      spuninst.exe
   3. 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:

1. 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.
2. Use the System Information tool to gather information about the configuration of your computer. To do this:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type msinfo32, and then click OK.
   2. Click File, and then click Save.
   3. In the Save As box, click Desktop to save the file to your desktop, specify a name for the file, and then click Save.
3. Collect the information that is logged in the application event log and to the system event log. To do this:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type control admintools, and then click OK.
   2. Double-click Event Viewer.
   3. In the left pane, click Application.
   4. Click Action, and then click Save Log File As.
   5. 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.
   6. In the left pane, click System.
   7. Click Action, and then click Save Log File As.
   8. 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.

If your computer does start correctly, but you want to roll back changes that were made by the Windows XP SP2 Setup program and remove Windows XP SP2, use one of the following methods.

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

1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. In the list of currently installed programs, click Windows XP SP2, and then click Remove.
3. 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:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line.
   cd %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Spuninst
   spuninst.exe
3. 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:
For more information about how to obtain Windows XP SP2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: