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Montrell274 0 Newbie Poster

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Service Pack 2 has its ups and downs. The beefed up firewall was a nice touch, but it also limited TCP/IP connections, which can cancel out filesharing. Also, I have noticed a few Windows Installer errors when I try to install a program that utilizes this service. I would then have to start the service manually and run the setup program. I had a few RPC errors stating that the service was not running when it was. I looked at it from SP1 and SP2 angles and I believe I will stick with SP1 until these bugs are ironed out....

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raised the right symptoms — those problems were common after XP SP2. SP2 turns on the Windows Firewall by default and blocks unsolicited inbound TCP/UDP connections; that often makes file/printer sharing, remote management and some installers (which rely on RPC) appear to fail even though the services are running. The change improved security but required a few configuration tweaks on machines that share resources on a trusted LAN.

Common, practical fixes that address the issues described:

  • Enable the built‑in sharing exception: Control Panel -> Windows Firewall -> Exceptions -> check “File and Printer Sharing.”
  • Ensure the adapter has file sharing enabled: Network Connections -> [Local Area Connection] -> Properties -> check “File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.”
  • For remote RPC problems, add an inbound exception for TCP port 135 (RPC Endpoint Mapper) or the specific ports the application documents — only on trusted networks.

Windows Installer / RPC troubleshooting (quick steps often used to recover the service):

  • Re-register the Installer service from a command prompt or Run:
    msiexec /unregister
msiexec /regserver
  • Open Administrative Tools -> Services and confirm “Windows Installer” (MSIServer) is not Disabled (set to Manual), and that “Remote Procedure Call (RPC)” and “DCOM Server Process Launcher” are running. Check Event Viewer (System/Application logs) for exact error codes and source names.

Cautions and context: temporarily disabling the firewall on a trusted LAN is a useful test, but leaving it off is unsafe. Many SP2 complaints were resolved by adding targeted exceptions, updating third‑party firewall/virtual‑adapter drivers, or applying vendor/Microsoft fixes rather than reverting to SP1.

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