ThorXP

There are a number of things that can break Windows Update in XP, including performing a repair/reinstall. Some are also having issues after installing Service Pack 3. For a quick fix, do this:

Open Notepad and copy/paste the following text:

regsvr32 wuapi.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 atl.dll
regsvr32 wucltui.dll
regsvr32 wups.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 wucltui.dll
regsvr32 wups.dll
regsvr32 wuweb.dll
regsvr32 wups2.dll
regsvr32 msxml.dll
regsvr32 msxml3.dll
regsvr32 msxml2.dll
regsvr32 qmgr.dll
regsvr32 qmgrprxy.dll
regsvr32 Softpub.dll
regsvr32 Mssip32.dll
regsvr32 Initpki.dll
end

Save the file to your desktop as UpdatesFix.cmd (you'll have to click the "Save As Type... dropdown and select "All Files" before you click the Save button).

Some of these dll files can take a bit to get reregistered. If you use the /s switch in the script, as some suggest, you might think that the thing has hung or stopped responding, because that switch silences any feedback from the script itself. I don't use the /s switch, because I want to know just what's going on.

If you'd rather not try the batch file, you can enter each line in the Run box one at a time and click OK after each one.

Doubleclick the UpdatesFix.cmd file; a command window will open, and you'll see a series of dialogue boxes saying DLLRegisterServer in *.dll succeeded. Click OK to step through the process. Once all the dll's have been successfully reregistered, visit the Windows Update site. Often you will have to download and install Windows Installer 3.1 and the Windows Genuine Advantage tool before you can download any more updates.

On rare occaissions, a reregister will fail; in such cases, run sfc /scannow (have your OS CD handy) and then try again.

Other times, the reregistering will succeed, but Windows Update still fails. This can occur if the temporary folders of Windows Update have been corrupted. You can refer to these steps to rename these folders. Be assured the folders will be created again when you visit the Windows Update site again.

1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Run the following command in the opened window:

net stop wuauserv

2. Click Start, Run, type: %windir%\SoftwareDistribution and press Enter to open the temporary folder of the Windows Update engine. Then, rename the following two subfolders:

DataStore
Download

For example, rename DataStore to DataStore-old, and Download to Download-old.

3. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Run the following command in the opened window:

net start wuauserv

After you rename the above folders, please restart the computer in normal mode and visit the Windows Update site again.

If you are still having problems, post the specifics on this forum, and we will see if we can help.

Original Post By: bbearren at Tech Support Guy Forums