Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Windows Guides reader, Jas, asks the following question:

I installed SP2 and ever since my laptop has been a nightmare.  Shutdown takes between 4 and 5 minutes and involves an unnecessary screen  “CONFIGURING UPDATES”.  Boot is not so bad but still takes an agonising 3 to 4 minutes with screens displaying messages that stages 1 , 3 are being updated.  In both cases there are long periods of blank screens which gives the impression that the machine has stopped working completely.

Is there any way in which I can uninstall SP2 completely? I have tried the stand Vista update uninstall but it always fails with the message   “NOT ALL UPDATES WERE SUCCESSFULLY UNINSTALLED“.

This guide shows you how to remove Vista SP2 and answers Jas’ question about uninstalling Windows Vista SP2 when the conventional method doesn’t work.

Yesterday, I showed you how to remove service pack rollback files, which allow you to revert from SP2 to SP1 or from SP1 to no service pack. If you followed these instructions, this guide is of no use to you as the rollback files are gone and you are stuck with SP2.

Removing a Service Pack (Conventional Method)

This method should work in most cases:

1. Click the Start button and click Control Panel
2. Click Uninstall a program

   

3. In the left-hand menu, click View installed updates

   

4. Click Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB948465) and click Uninstall

   

5. Wait for Windows to remove SP2

Removing a Service Pack (Command Line/System Restore)

If, like Jas, you get the following message:

Not all updates were successfully uninstalled

You can remove the service pack using system restore or the command line. Learn how with these instructions.