Error Code 0x800A0046 (Windows Update)

Almost every time that I run Windows Update, I get the following message:

[Error number: 0x800A0046]
Please change your Internet Explorer security settings
To save changes to your settings for this website, you
need to enable userdata persistence for Internet
Explorer. Complete the steps below, and then click
Change settings to the left and try saving your changes
again.
1.. In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click
Internet Options.
2.. Click the Security tab, click the Internet security
zone icon, and then click Custom Level.
3.. In the Settings dialog box, scroll to the
Miscellaneous section.
4.. Under Userdata persistence , select Enable.
5.. Click OK and when the security warning dialog box
appears, click Yes.

Needless to say that following the above instructions does not solve my
problem...

As one solution to my problem, Microsoft's KB883821 and KB910338 recommend
running the following command:

sc sdset wuauserv DA;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)
(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)
(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)

but I get the following error:

[SC] OpenService FAILED 5:
Access is denied.

Everything else in KB883821 and KB910338 checks out.

I have Windows XP Pro SP 2. The computer boots up directly into the Windows
main screen. There is no log in screen and I have full administrator
privileges. I access the Internet via a dial-up modem and the PC has no
network card installed. Windows Update was working just fine before I
upgraded to Windows XP Pro SP 2 from Windows 2000 Pro.

Here are some more details about my PC:
* Windows XP Pro SP2 software installed is 100% legal. And so is Windows
2000 Pro which was installed on the PC before I upgraded it to XP Pro a few
weeks ago.
* The processor is a Pentium III 800 MHz.
* The are 1.5 gigabytes of memory.
* I connect to the Internet via dial-up modem.
* I have Norton AntiVirus 2007 and ZoneAlarm Pro installed. That should not
be the source of the problem since they were not installed when the problem
started. Windows XP firewall is not turned on.
* Anti-spyware installed are Spyware Doctor, Spybot-SD, Ad-Aware Personal,
SpywareGuard, SpywareBlaster. All of this was not interfering with Windows
Update when the operating system was Win2K Pro.
* The funny thing is that in some rare occasion Windows Update works... But
most of the time it does not and gives me the error indicated in the subject
line. The same thing happens with the network icon (dial-up connection) in
the Network Connections screen. Sometimes it is there but most of the time
it is not.

With my limited experience, I just do not know how to fix all this...

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
--
Tiziano

I've established a pattern where users of Windows 2000 Professional have
upgraded to Windows XP Professional and found themselves unable to run
Windows update. The system returns error 0x800A0046. No MS tech article
appears to resolve the issue.

I *may* have found the solution for people in this position: I removed
the read-only attribute from the folder %WINDIR%\SoftwareDistribution and
all child objects. The variable %WINDIR% refers to your Windows
directory, typically C:\WINNT for those who have upgraded from Windows
2000.

Windows update and automatic updates was able to detect needed and
recommended updates after that. Of course, this was after checking
through all other solutions, particularly those outlined in the otherwise
excellent MS tech article 910338.

Let me know if this works for you and other folks in the same situation.

"Tiziano" <> wrote in
news:ei8X0gx#:

> Almost every time that I run Windows Update, I get the following
> message:
>
> [Error number: 0x800A0046]
> Please change your Internet Explorer security settings
> To save changes to your settings for this website, you
> need to enable userdata persistence for Internet
> Explorer. Complete the steps below, and then click
> Change settings to the left and try saving your changes
> again.
> 1.. In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click
> Internet Options.
> 2.. Click the Security tab, click the Internet security
> zone icon, and then click Custom Level.
> 3.. In the Settings dialog box, scroll to the
> Miscellaneous section.
> 4.. Under Userdata persistence , select Enable.
> 5.. Click OK and when the security warning dialog box
> appears, click Yes.
>
> Needless to say that following the above instructions does not solve
> my problem...
>
> As one solution to my problem, Microsoft's KB883821 and KB910338
> recommend running the following command:
>
> sc sdset wuauserv DA;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)
> (A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)
> (A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
>
> but I get the following error:
>
> [SC] OpenService FAILED 5:
> Access is denied.
>
> Everything else in KB883821 and KB910338 checks out.
>
> I have Windows XP Pro SP 2. The computer boots up directly into the
> Windows main screen. There is no log in screen and I have full
> administrator privileges. I access the Internet via a dial-up modem
> and the PC has no network card installed. Windows Update was working
> just fine before I upgraded to Windows XP Pro SP 2 from Windows 2000
> Pro.
>
> Here are some more details about my PC:
> * Windows XP Pro SP2 software installed is 100% legal. And so is
> Windows 2000 Pro which was installed on the PC before I upgraded it to
> XP Pro a few weeks ago.
> * The processor is a Pentium III 800 MHz.
> * The are 1.5 gigabytes of memory.
> * I connect to the Internet via dial-up modem.
> * I have Norton AntiVirus 2007 and ZoneAlarm Pro installed. That
> should not be the source of the problem since they were not installed
> when the problem started. Windows XP firewall is not turned on.
> * Anti-spyware installed are Spyware Doctor, Spybot-SD, Ad-Aware
> Personal, SpywareGuard, SpywareBlaster. All of this was not
> interfering with Windows Update when the operating system was Win2K
> Pro. * The funny thing is that in some rare occasion Windows Update
> works... But most of the time it does not and gives me the error
> indicated in the subject line. The same thing happens with the network
> icon (dial-up connection) in the Network Connections screen. Sometimes
> it is there but most of the time it is not.
>
> With my limited experience, I just do not know how to fix all this...
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks.