Windows XP home edition SP2 wont update

Please try this workaround (you will need your Windows® XP SP2 CD).

(In the event that you do not have a Windows® XP CD with SP2, you will need to 'borrow' one from a friend or colleague, as the manufacturer's "Recovery Discs" will not work in this instance.)

Insert the Windows® XP CD in your drive. (Hold down the Shift Key to prevent it from starting.)

Go Start > Run ...in the box type in sfc /scannow …please take note of the space between the sfc and the /.

This is the System File Checker...it will scan all the Windows® core system files to ensure that they are in their respective correct places, and if not replace them from the CD.

During the scan you may be asked to Insert the CD, if this happens just go retry and let it do its thing.

One important point: While sfc is running, it is not advisable to do any other work, or have any browsers/programs running on the computer, until the scan is complete. (This process will generally take around 45-65 minutes to complete).

Once finished, remove the CD and reboot your machine...all should be "Normal" (hopefully)

There are a number of things that can break Windows Update in Windows XP, including performing a repair/reinstall. For a fix, try these next steps:

Open Notepad or WordPad 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
end

Save the file to your desktop as UpdatesFix.cmd (you'll have to click the "Save As Type…. Dropdown arrow on the right of the selection window and select "All Files" before you click the Save button).

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.

Double-click 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 and try the Windows updates again to see if it works correctly.
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.
Windows Installer 3.1
Redistributable (v2) For Windows 2000 Service Pack 3; Windows 2000 Service Pack 4; Windows Server 2003; Windows XP; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...fc-5f56-4a38-b838-de776fd4138c&DisplayLang=en

An update for Windows Installer 3.1 is available for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and for the 64-bit editions of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898715/en-us

On rare occasions, 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.