Post Installation Tasks

As shown in Figure 1-8, after SP2 installation, you are prompted to restart your computer.

Figure 1-8. Service Pack 2 has finished updating your system.

Upon restart, you see a screen similar to what you saw if you performed the XP installation yourself. This can be a little unsettling; you might think you just erased everything and are starting over at square one. Thankfully, that's not the case.

Before the SP2 desktop even launches, you are prompted by an Automatic Updates configuration page. You will have to decide here whether to turn on Automatic Updates. If you don't, you are admonished by Windows that your computer might be vulnerable to attack.

Make your selection, and the desktop appears again. A new item now loads in the System Tray on the lower-right side of the taskbar. It's a status icon for the Security Center, and it will most likely give you a balloon message about what it has discovered upon scanning your computer. If you don't have an antivirus program installed, for example, a balloon message will pop up telling you to address the situation. If you click the balloon, the Security Center launches.

Media Player will "Reinstall"

After installing SP2, Windows Media Player also thinks it's just been installed for the first time. The first time you use the Media Player after SP2 installation, it will walk you through the configuration process, including your selections about which files it should play. If you just click Next through the configuration screens, the Player should be configured just the way it was prior to SP2.