Error Retrieving Update

I have a XP Home Edition PC that cannot do any live updates from any program.
Ad-Aware, Spybot, Adware-Away, Microsoft Anti-Spyware, and Windows Updates
all fail with some type of "error retrieving update" message. Windows Update
has the 0X80072EFD error. Scanning from www.trendmicro.com also fails. The
PC can browse the internet web sites. The owner had allowed the virus scan
software to expire and not update the definitions, so the PC was infected
with some viruses and spyware. I believe that the PC is clear of viruses and
spyware by using Norton Anti-Virus in safe mode. Unfortunately the damage has
been done. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to fix the problem of not
being able to do any live updates from the internet, short of restoring the
PC to it's original state from the manufacturer? Hewlett Packard technical
support suggested that it be restored.

JXW,

The system "appears" to be clean, but there is a good chance that it is
not. Do NOT rely on NAV, or for that matter, one AV to determine this.
Try an online scan at Kaspersky :
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
A tutorial to derive the most from this scan can be read here :
http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php...9bed45dc771932

The system *may* very well be clean after all. BUT, crucial system files
and/or registry permissions may have been altered from the malwares.
For the first scenario, running the System File Checker will replace
damaged system files : http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
The second scenario is trickier and is NOT easily determinable for the
average User.

So, in summation, *if* you can determine that the system is free of all
malwares, it would behoove most Users to BACK UP their data, and then
reformat and reinstall after a serious malware infestation/infection.

If one can not determine that the system is clean of active malware,
restoring data *may* restore the malware along with it. Thus, negating
reformat/reinstall.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2006]
Windows - Security
Windows Server - Software Distribution
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============


JXW wrote:

> I have a XP Home Edition PC that cannot do any live updates from any program.
> Ad-Aware, Spybot, Adware-Away, Microsoft Anti-Spyware, and Windows Updates
> all fail with some type of "error retrieving update" message. Windows Update
> has the 0X80072EFD error. Scanning from www.trendmicro.com also fails. The
> PC can browse the internet web sites. The owner had allowed the virus scan
> software to expire and not update the definitions, so the PC was infected
> with some viruses and spyware. I believe that the PC is clear of viruses and
> spyware by using Norton Anti-Virus in safe mode. Unfortunately the damage has
> been done. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to fix the problem of not
> being able to do any live updates from the internet, short of restoring the
> PC to it's original state from the manufacturer? Hewlett Packard technical
> support suggested that it be restored.
>