Windows Update malfunction?

Good Morning,
My last automatic Windows Update was on July 24, 2003 when the Q819696 security update for Msoft Windows was installed.

Yesterday morning I went to Help & Support and selected "Keep your Computer Up-to-Date with Windows Update". I saw the following message:

"Cannot display the page -
The page you are trying to view cannot be displayed because the srever it resides on does not respond. Please try again later."

I thought with the latest virus perhaps Microsoft's site was busy. I tried again this morning and got the same message.

I searched my system for the mblast executable that's mentioned and the registry key and do not see anything so I don't *think* my PC is infected.

I can go to Microsoft's site via IE - Tools/Windows Update - and what's odd is that after a scan of my system, they show that I need 12 critical updates and most of them are quite old. My computer was up-to-date on July 24th with ALL critical patches so I don't believe this information is accurate however I went ahead and selected them to download. All of them failed so something is definitely going on with Windows Update.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

Thank you,
Nancy

Both the Microsoft websites and Symantec websites are extraordinarily busy today, so I'd try later. To find out if you have the correct patch for this problem, go to Add/Remove programs and look for 823980 among your Hot Fixes (near the bottom of your list of programs).

Hi DuaneB,
I checked for Q823980 but didn't have it so I executed my downloaded update and got this setup error:

"Setup has detected that the Service Pack version of the system installed is newer than the update you are applying to it. You can only install this update on a computer with no Service Packs installed."


I also searched Microsoft's site and other sites for help on this and one site suggested altering the value of the CSDVersion key in the registry to zero. It was set at 100 so I changed it to zero but that didn't work. I set it back to 100.

Another suggestion was to make sure the "Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections" checkbox was marked in Internet Options/Advanced. That still didn't make a difference so perhaps the conclusion is that the site is busy. I will post my findings tonight when I get home.

Thanks,
Nancy

Hi Nancy, go to the Windows\System32 folder and rename the folder Catroot2 or send it to the Recycle Bin. Hopefully that'll sort the problem out and the folder will be recreated by Windows.

SuperSparks is right. Delete the Catroot2 folder and try again. Windows will construct a new folder.

Post back and let us know if this worked.

Hi Nick!
I just sent Catroot2 to the Recycle bin but still can't get to Windows Update from Help & Support. Do I need to reboot?

Thanks,
Nancy

There's no harm in trying a reboot, give it a go.

If I understand correctly, you already have the downloaded 823980 patch saved as a file. You just weren't able to install it. Try it again now that you've deleted the Catroot2 folder.

Out of curiousity I just tried Windows Update, and it's taking an age even with my broadband connection (over 5 mins just to get the first page to load) and then it bombed out on me too.Obviously the site is very busy at the moment.

Hi Everyone,
I'm at work now and guess what! Yes indeedy, getting the same message about Windows Update from Help & Support. The IT guys here were guessing that it has something to do with our company not giving us access to their site right now but I'm not sure that's the case.

When I get home I'll try it once again. Other than that, everything else about my system seems to be working fine. Oh - regarding Q823980 patch, I'll try that again too although I have a feeling it was pushed down via SMS the other day so perhaps what that setup error message was telling me is that it's there already but then again, why didn't I see it in the Add/Remove Programs...hmmmm... I notice that I see it there on my desktop at work but it begins with "KB...". I'll check again when I get home.

Thanks very much - I'll post back tonight. I sure enjoy this forum. Nick - sure is nice to "hear" from you! :)

I just got home and I'm still getting "cannot display the page" when I try to access Windows Update from Help & Support.

Regarding the 823980 patch, I must have overlooked it this morning as I DO see it in my Add/Remove programs but it begins with "KB" instead of "Q" - that's probably how I missed it this morning.

I'm still curious as to why the Windows Update is not working properly. Nick - are you still having trouble getting to it? You mentioned that it "bombed out" on you but did you see the error message that I mentioned? I asked the IT guys at work about this and they seemed to think the company was blocking our access to Microsoft's site right now. I questioned that as I was logged on as Administrator this morning and not even accessing our network but he seemed to think IE browser security/permission settings are "set" by the company so that's why it's still affecting me when I'm using my Administrator profile. Hmmm....

Anyone else having this problem?

Thanks,
Nancy

The subject says it all. Do you have a tweaker program install? I've notice in some of these program you can disable the Microsoft Window Update through the tweaker software. But also there is a worm running lose and that might be the cause.

Hi Tinkertron,
I'm not sure what a tweaker program is but the only thing that might be something like that is Spybot. Would that cause something to happen to my Windows Update connection?

Thanks,
Nancy

I found this information regarding a fix for Windows Update:

2805 » Windows Update 'Cannot Display Page'?
==================================

When you navigate to the Windows Update Product Catalog, you receive Cannot Display Page.

If Microsoft updates the control or site architecture, your browser cache and/or \Program Files\WindowsUpdate folder may contain earlier versions. To fix the problem:

01. In Internet Explorer, open Internet Options and select the General tab.

02. Press the Delete Files button.

03. Press Settings / View Objects.

04. Right-click the CV3 Class object and delete it.

05. Press the Clear History button.

06. Press OK.

07. Close all Internet Explorer windows.

08. Start / Run and type regsvr32 /u c:\winnt\system32\wuv3is.dll. Press OK.

09. Delete %SystemRoot%\System32\wuv3is.dll.

10. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to \Program Files\WindowsUpdate. Make sure you can view hidden files.

11. Select the wuhistv3.log file and press the Edit menu and Invert Selection.

12. Delete the selected items.

NOTE: If the error persists, you may have to disable anti-virus or internet filter software.


Has anyone tried this? I'm tempted to do this but would like expert opinions first.

Thanks,
Nancy

Ok. This is very strange. I went to Tools/Windows Update (from the browser) and this time it said I had 6 updates but I only wanted to install three (Recommended Update for Windows XP SP1 - 817778, Windows Error Reporting: Recommended Update Win XP and DirectX 9.0b). The others had to do with stuff I don't use.

After the download/install, I rebooted the system and decided to try Windows Update from Help & Support. Guess what. It worked this time!

Would either update have anything to do with the fact that I was able to finally reach the Windows Update site via Help & Support or was this a coincidence or ?

I'll try again in the morning to see if I'm still successful. Very strange.

UPDATE: I just rebooted then went to open OE6 and it now takes quite a while to open up. Would this have anything to do with any of the above updates?

Thursday 8/14 update: I did a restore point back to Sunday so now OE6 is back to normal but Windows Update from Help & Support does not work.

Thanks,
Nancy