Install Xp Sp3 From A Memory Stick?

Hi guys, If i may pick your collective brains, please...

I have an ancient Patriot laptop running Windows XP sp1 and wish to connect to our home wifi network using a USB dongle. However, although the laptop has allowed me to install the dongle's drivers and the dongle picks up the wifi signal with ease, when i try to log in to our network using thee network key, I get the following message-

'the network password needs to be 40bits or 104bits depending on your network configurtion. this can be entered as 5 or 13 ascii characters or 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters'

If what i have managed to discover is true, this because xp sp1 only supports WEP and not WAP/WAP2. I have also read that installing xp sp3 will resolve the issue.
So, the question is, can I download (using another laptop) xp sp3 to a USB stick and then install it via the same USB stick to the laptop running xp sp1, and if so, how do I do it?
Any and all help is gratefully appreciated...

Best regards, Daz.

 

Yes you should be able to do that. You just save the file to the USB pen drive, then put it in the old laptop and run it from there.

NB: Another option, if you can easily use that laptop close to the Router, you could just connect it with an Ethernet cable.

 

You could always download Windows XP Service Pack 4 Unofficial 3.1b
It is 900 MB but arrives as an exe file.
Taking it to your sp1 machine via a usb port and running it should sort it but do check to see if there is enough memory on the hard drive.
Good luck,
s.

 

Do as MaxTurner says and download this Registry Key afterward:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1JJmWFrL8Tvdms1bDF3YnVSWEE

After you've installed SP3, double click on the registry key to install it and confirm you want to install it.

What it does is "change" your XP SP3 to POSReady2009. In this new state, you'll get Security and other updates for XP until 2019 (unless MS decides to pull the plug).

 

I performed it successfully on my previous Windows XP computer. Except that in my case, just to be on the safe side, once I plugged in my Flash Drive, I then copied the SP3 file onto the Desktop and ran it from there. I also installed a Vista SP2 using this same method.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys, xp sp3 has now been installed without incident!
However, a minor(!) embuggerance remains, despite having installed the drivers for my wifi dongle and even logging onto to our home wifi network, whenever I launch Internet Explorer to access the internet, I get the 'website unavailable' message with the associated suggestions about network connections etc, any ideas?

-Dazz

 

Are you using Internet Explorer 8?

 

Because XP is old and unsupported for well over two years, the older versions of Internet Explorer are not supported by many websites. Chrome has dropped support for XP. Firefox has dropped support for XP, version 43 was the last one to do so. They are up to 47.

 

The installed version is 6 I believe, but I'll check tomorrow to be sure

-Dazz

 

Unfortunately none of the SPs for Windows XP include a newer version of Internet Explorer.
Download and install Mozilla Firefox.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/mozilla_firefox_48.html

FYI https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/48.0/system-requirements/

 

firefox 5.0.1 will run with XP3, found here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/mozilla_firefox_5_1_final.html
Its lite and fast, but stingy about allowing addons/plugins

 

Can I download firefox to a usb memory stick and install it on the laptop from there?

-Dazz

 

Yes.

 

Thankyou, guys, all sorted!

Just one last thing...

Before my main PC expired, I was using opera as my main browser, I have tried to install it on the xp sp3 laptop and nothing happens once I've downloaded the .exe file and double clicked on it? A message flashes up but it's to quick to read, maybe an older version of opera might work, any ideas?

-Dazz

 

Use version 12.18 - NOT the latest versions marked 15+, or 30+ as they are still Beta. 12.18 should work fine:
http://www.opera.com/download/guide/?ver=12.18

 

You probably downloaded an installer.
Before installing Opera, give Opera@USB a try.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/operausb.html

 

Thankyou for everyone's help, it has been invaluable, my old xp laptop is now running opera and internet access is resumed!

Best regards, Dazz...

 

Great!