working on a machine, i have removed all adware and spyware with updated versions of ad-aware, spybot, Pest patrol, and hijack this, pulled out hard drive and ran a virus scan with up to date norton in my machine, install sp2 in normal mode, 60% of the way through i get "access is denied" all i can click is ok, and then it uninstalls the service pack, i booted into safe mode and logged in under administrator and ran the sp2 again, still no good, same result, anybody else seen this? I am researching it now Complete Computer Service, Inc. NW Indiana

Had a similar problem with a client's PC when trying to install SP1. Turned out the client bought the PC from a local store, they provided no XP disk, and he in fact had a bootleg copy of XP with an illegitimate product key. Installed a new store-bought copy of XP and the service pack installed perfectly.

lol nice well the prob was that within the registry my hkey class root key has no admin permissions, so that fixed it, thanx ;) Complete Computer Service, Inc. NW Indiana

If you still get the "Access Denied" error message, look here for instructions how to fix it: Specific Issues in SP2: "Access Denied" error when trying to install SP2 i_XpUser

Well it looks like the change in permission to the registry folderm Hkey_Classes_Root did the trick for an under repair win xp install. Bagel virus had been removed along with dozens of spyware dogs. SP2 still would not install. Guess one of the bad guys reset in an attempt at self preservation. Anyone care to shed light on what is the cause and what the permission should be set at after SP2 install. Thanx