Whyohwhyohwhy is this such a hassle?

1) Use IE5 (or whaterver comes with XP) to go to mozilla.org to download firefox
2) Use firefox to go to microsoft.com to install SP2.
3) Install SP2?

NOOOOOOOO

I have to download windows updater, then let it update various things that it wants to, and then maybe it'll let me get SP2 so I can get the windows firewall on this thing. Well I bloody hope so, because I've been sat at this machine for about 3 and half hours or so and I'm nowhere near finished. Add in various reboots (I think I'm up to double figures for rebooting every time I update a bloody driver) and it's frustration time in Martyn's house.

Grrrrrrrrrr.

EDIT:

And ****ing windows installer keeps stealing focus from whatever I'm doing - it won't just sit in the background and whirr away.

**********.

PITA, isn't it..

And don't get me started on the phase of "39 minutes left to install" APART FROM WHEN IT STOPS TO ASK ME WHAT ****ING TIME ZONE I LIVE IN.

Why can't it damn well install, and ask me all that crap at the end so I don't have to sit and babysit the damn thing? It's not like it asks you anything you can't change at a later date.

URGE TO MAIM RISING.

This is why i created an unattended install disk with SP2, the activation crack, a few registry tweaks (e.g. disabling that stupid take a tour of windows xp and the annoying language bar), my favourite theme and my drivers.

I just stick the disk in and let it do its thing.

I have one step better. I have an image of my drive on a clean install of windows setup exactly as I want it.

All I gotta do is restore the image whenever I want to reformat.

Slipstreaming SP2 into my XP installer was the best XP thing I've ever done. My computer fully boots in 3 minutes. For some reason when I install SP2 on top of SP0 it's sooo much slower.

Anyways XPSP0 shipped with IE6, not 5. Run Windows Update and you should get everything you need, including XPSP2. Worked for me every time.

Martyn: Windows Vista installer actually saves the timezone stuff for the end. So they DID fix it... sorta.

Well, 6 hours later and it's just about useable. I just realised I haven't installed the printer, but that's a five minute job next time I prise it off Izzy. Or a five minute job when Iz wants to print something and realises it won't work

I made myself a profile and reinstalled Litestep - I forgot how nice and clean it is

[QUOTE=Cool Matty]I have one step better. I have an image of my drive on a clean install of windows setup exactly as I want it.

All I gotta do is restore the image whenever I want to reformat.[/QUOTE]

I have all the settings exactly as I want them. It loads a whole bunch of registry settings creates users, installs a few programs.

I find it nicer than an image because I can easily update it to work on another computer by replacing the drivers only.

Last time I reinstalled I decided to go ahead and let it grab updates online.

I got (no joke) 3 viruses while it was updating.

And of course Microsoft's website is such a maze of horror to navigate, it's hell trying to download everything you need BEFORE reformatting and reinstalling.

You can do the same thing with an image >.>