At http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/... I read "Before you install SP2, get your version of Windows completely up-to-date with the latest performance and security updates" Is that absolutely essential please? Because I'm in a sort of Catch 22 situation here. On my wife's new PC which we ordered without an OS, I've run her old XP SP1 CD, successfully installing a raw version of XP Home SP1. But before proceeding with adding her broadband and all the many other applications she had running on her old PC under XP SP2, I want to get back to the familiar look of her old desktop, etc. To do that I used the File & Transfer Wizard. But the new PC doesn't recognise the settings I've copied across, i.e. the wizard won't run on the new PC. I'm *guessing* this is because it's on SP1 and the settings were saved on SP2. So I've downloaded the full 266 MB SP2 update EXE (on my own PC), copied it across to the new PC, and am now hesitating about running it. Apart from getting the old settings back, it should also let me use USB 2.0 speeds; the external HD I'm using for bulk file transfer is painfully slow, as the new PC won't run at SP2 USB speeds. Any advice urgently appreciated please. -- Terry, West Sussex, UK

I suspect you have answered your own question, if you want the system to run as it did, you will beed SP2, after SP1 has been installed. Good luck Avagoodweekend......

I was always under the impression that SP2 contained everything that was in SP1 plus extras, so you don't need SP1 to be installed first.

SP1 already supports USB 2.0, but you must install the drivers for your mboard chipset. Whatever version of Windows you load, after Setup is finished you must install the drivers for your mboard, particularly the main chipset drivers, in order for Windows to have the proper information about your mboard, including whether it has USB 2.0 controllers. "I was always under the impression that SP2 contained everything that was in SP1 plus extras, so you don't need SP1 to be installed first." That's true, but the Windows version he has installed had SP1 updates included. Installing the SP2 updates will update only what needs to be updated.

Thanks for those helpful replies. -- Terry, West Sussex, UK