Service Pack 3 messed up

[JJS]

My husband is running Outlook 2000 on Windows XP platform. There was a
message on his computer this morning asking if he wanted to install Service
Pack 3. He doesn't know if it said WINDOWS Service Pack 3 or OFFICE Service
Pack 3. All he remembers is Service Pack 3. He clicked the balloon to close
it because he didn't want to install it at the time. Now his computer is
running extremely slowly.

I want to take this service pack completely off his machine, but I'm not
sure which files they are. I've done a search looking for files that
downloaded since yesterday and have found a bunch that are "PF Files" in the
C:Windows/Prefetch folder. Are these the files I need to delete, or is there
another fix for this problem?

 

[Vince Averello]

If you want to remove an SP, remove it via Add/Remove. Don't just delete
files... that would probably result in something bad happening.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

My husband is running Outlook 2000 on Windows XP platform. There was a
message on his computer this morning asking if he wanted to install
Service
Pack 3. He doesn't know if it said WINDOWS Service Pack 3 or OFFICE
Service
Pack 3. All he remembers is Service Pack 3. He clicked the balloon to
close
it because he didn't want to install it at the time. Now his computer is
running extremely slowly.

If he didn't install it, then clearly that's not the cause.

I want to take this service pack completely off his machine, but I'm not
sure which files they are. I've done a search looking for files that
downloaded since yesterday and have found a bunch that are "PF Files" in
the
C:Windows/Prefetch folder. Are these the files I need to delete, or is
there
another fix for this problem?

That folder has nothing to do with service pack installation or the
downloading of updates. Do not delete them.

 

[JJS]

Thank you, Vince. I'll try that.

If you want to remove an SP, remove it via Add/Remove. Don't just delete
files... that would probably result in something bad happening.

 

[JJS]

Thanks, Brian. You're probably right that the SP is not the cause since he
didn't install it. That was my first thought, too. However, his computer is
running so slowly after the SP installation opportunity was presented, I
figured it had something to do with it.

 

[Pat Willener]

I suggest that you check http://www.update.microsoft.com/ to see what
service pack is offered, then decide how to proceed.

SP3 for Windows XP did speed up my computer after installation, but
should not in any way slow it down if it is not installed.

I agree with Brian's comment in his post that you should not touch the
Prefetch folder (*that* can slow down Windows!).