Automatic Update Crashes

My gateway laptop with windows XP SP2 has doing fine with the automatic
updates enabled and working. Suddenly, I get repeated errors of
"wuauclt.exe" crashing and wanting to send an update to microsoft. I had to
disable the windows automatic update service in order to get the error to
stop, but now I cannot get the windows updates or use the windows updates web
page. I tried to follow the directions in the knowledgebase article to
delete the program wuauclt.exe and extract a new one from the CAB files, but
the minute I delete the file it is recreated!

Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks.

Boz,

You need to stop the Automatic Updates service from running otherwise
Windows File Protection recreates wuauclt.exe. Before replacing it, are
you certain that the system is free of malware ? Have you scanned the
system with a fully updated antivirus program ?

If not, go here and scan the system at Kaspersky's Online Virus Scanner:
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

If you have already determined that the system is malware free, then go
to Start, Run, type in
services.msc
Click OK. In the right pane you'll see Automatic Updates. Double click
it, now click the Stop button. Extract a fresh version of wuauclt.exe
after deleteing the present copy.
Restart the Automatic Updates service.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2006]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============


Boz wrote:
> My gateway laptop with windows XP SP2 has doing fine with the automatic
> updates enabled and working. Suddenly, I get repeated errors of
> "wuauclt.exe" crashing and wanting to send an update to microsoft. I had to
> disable the windows automatic update service in order to get the error to
> stop, but now I cannot get the windows updates or use the windows updates web
> page. I tried to follow the directions in the knowledgebase article to
> delete the program wuauclt.exe and extract a new one from the CAB files, but
> the minute I delete the file it is recreated!
>
> Any help would be appreciated,
> Thanks.