Hello,
I have a HP Pavillon a640n running XP OS with SP1.
I checked the HP site and installed all the patches they recommend
before upgrading to SP2.
After installing SP2 Windows would not start. It did give me the option to
load in safe mode which I did and uninstalled SP2 successfully.

I run AVG virus software and Spyware Blaster for spyware.
Also Foxfire as my web browser.
What do I need to check for before I try installation again?

Did it reboot after saying install complete but not load to the desktop

You may find this page helpful:

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

Yes, it did reboot but would not load to desktop, only in safe mode.

What other actions might be pertinent?

Svilla

Run this to get the nearest system checkpoint before you installed SP2

Items in blue which are underlined are clickable to give more information about the process

Start the System Restore Utility at a command prompt

1. Restart your computer, and keep tapping F8 during the initial start-up until you get options, select Safe Mode with a Command Prompt then press enter.

2. Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account that has administrator credentials.

3. Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

4. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to an earlier state.

Look for the most recent system checkpoint created before the errors to restore from

For additional information about the Safe mode with a command prompt, click 315222 to see a description of the Safe Mode Boot Options in Windows XP

Once it loads properly, we can look at getting SP2