A few questions concerning XP and....

[suitcase]

A recuring problem with the printer. Each time we try to print something a dialog box appears that says no default printer is chosen, or something to that effect. Close it and try again and it works. Any ideas?
Also, windows came on the machine which was purchased two weeks ago. Would it have shipped with SP2 installed? It's not mine so I'm asking for a friend.
Lastly. Maximum PC has an article about burning a new windows XP cd with all the updates on it. SP1 too. It gives directions on what to do. This would be used for a clean install with all the updates and SP 1 BEFORE going online. Supposedly more safe. Afterward, you could setup auto updates without worry having most of them already installed. Any thoughts on doing it. And, would there be any legal implications making a copy of the XP disc?

Just thought of another one. I've heard of a small utility that will activate XP without calling MS. Is it true. Just asking for the info. Someone is always trying to beat the system.lol

[doctorgonzo]

If you go to Control Panel and then Printers, is there a default printer selected?

I wouldn't count on the PC having SP2 on it already.

The practice of creating a Windows install CD with the latest service packs is called slipstreaming. It is a good thing to do, especially if you have to install Windows over and over (such as if you have a lot of PCs to update in a work environment, or if you like to reinstall Windows on your own PC frequently to keep things fresh and uncluttered).

[suitcase]

Can't believe how quick that response was. I clicked to edit and when I got back you had answered. Thanks. He says when he does that he just has one printer and it is checked.
I didn't think it would have came with sp2 either.
My system is a couple years old and getting cluttered up so was thinking of reinstalling. Thanks for the reply.

[doctorgonzo]

See this for some ideas on the "No default printer" message. I would try to add another printer, make that default, then make the real printer default again as the article says.

As for a utility that gets around XP activation, I haven't heard of one. Talking about such a thing on this forum is prohibited anyway.

[suitcase]

Thanks doc, I didn't know that sorry.

[doctorgonzo]

Don't worry, just make sure you read and follow the forum FAQ.

[glc]

Wrong link, Doc - we have a rules link now, and the rules were rewritten after the last upgrade. The FAQ link is just the vBulletin FAQ.

http://forum.pcmech.com/rules.php

[doctorgonzo]

Thanks for letting me know. I hadn't seen that yet.