I have been looking for Windows XP Service Pack 2 on the Windows Update website, but can only find minor updates for SP2 as opposed to the full upgrade. How do I obtain Service Pack 2?

You have been looking in the correct place, as Windows Update (windowsupdate.microsoft.com) is the official Microsoft source for downloading updates including Service Pack 2. It is possible your computer already has Service Pack 2 installed, which is why Windows Update does not suggest to you this is an update which should be installed. To test this theory, we can check the Windows version. Go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Control Panel’ and open the ‘System’ control panel (you may need to click the ‘Performance and Maintenance’ category first). In the window that appears, click the ‘General’ tab. If under the ‘System’ heading it says ‘Microsoft Windows XP’¦Service Pack 2′ then your computer is obviously already running SP2, so you do not need to install the Service Pack again. Although, you should download and install any other priority/critical updates which are recommended.

Where something other than ‘Service Pack 2′ is listed (e.g. ‘Service Pack 1′) or nothing about a service pack is displayed, it appears you do not have SP2 installed. To download Service Pack 2, visit Windows Update and click the ‘Express’ button to get any high-priority updates. This will automatically detect which updates are required on your computer, including Service Pack 2. Be aware, Service Pack 2 needs to be installed separately from all other updates. So, if there are other high priority updates to install, you may need to install these other updates before you can install Service Pack 2. Once you have installed the other updates go back to Windows Update and click ‘Express’ to download and install Service Pack 2.