Unable to receive and turn on automatic updates in Win XP SP2

As of this morning I am unable to choose automatic updates, and have not been
able to change the setting. Actually, in System properties it is enabled,
but I receive a warning on the task bar that it is not enabled. Trying to
check for updates at Windows Update also fails.

My installation of Win XP SP2 was working smoothly until today, and I have
kept it up to date consistently and daily.

I am also using Trend Micro antivirus, but have been under severe attack of
viruses recently via e-mail/Internet. Running TM yielded a virus it could
not erase in Recycler, but I erased the file in the directory manually. My
TM working setting is clean and, if not possible, then delete. No exclusions
in what to scan for viruses.

I searched the FAQ and only found a reference to call a security center (
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...ty_111804.mspx ) but have not done so yet. Apparently this is not a common problem.

Has anyone any ideas about what may be going on? Please help.

apacheco wrote:
> As of this morning I am unable to choose automatic updates, and have
> not been able to change the setting. Actually, in System properties it is
> enabled, but I receive a warning on the task bar that it is not enabled.

Hi;

It may be that something is corrupt in your Registry related to AU/WU. Give
this a shot:

Open RegEdit and find then delete this section:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Wi ndows\WindowsUpdate"

Reminder, just delete the "WindowsUpdate" section. Best if you click
File/Export first to Export just that key section somewhere safe in case
things go awry.

Close RegEdit and do a Restart.

--

....Sky

Tom "Sky" King
=============

Howdy,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I could not get back earlier. I first ran
locally TM antivirus to thoroughly check my PC (with the latest virus
definitions, and all scan options available chosen, at the highest level of
protection). No viruses found.

I then looked into your regedit suggestion. I carefully searched and found
I have no such WindowsUpdate file in the policies directory, only Installer,
IPSec, RTC, and Safer. I understand the Windows Update is associated to RTC,
but I do not know enough to make any further changes without specific advise.

The icon in the taskbar is still warning about the Security Alert. When
entering the Security Center, clicking the Turn on Automatic Updates button
results in a failed attempt and a suggestion to change the option in System
Properties, but there the setting for Automatic Updates is already correctly
chosen.

I tried changing to no automatic updates, rebooting and then changing again
to Automatic Updates, but no results. Still the same security warning.
Also, trying to check if any updates are available at the Windows Update
website ends with failure. No reason given.

I also tried System Restore to a date prior to the onset of the warning, but
this also failed. I tried four times, all with dates before I first noticed
this problem. Always failed, with no changes made.

Everything else seems to be working normally.

Any other ideas or suggestions? I have thought about using the System
Recovery Disk, especially the one I made a few weks ago, but I am afraid of
the possible problems this may create in terms of data and functionality loss.

Happy holidays!

Angel Enrique Pacheco




"Sky King" wrote:

> apacheco wrote:
> > As of this morning I am unable to choose automatic updates, and have
> > not been able to change the setting. Actually, in System properties it is
> > enabled, but I receive a warning on the task bar that it is not enabled.
>
> Hi;
>
> It may be that something is corrupt in your Registry related to AU/WU. Give
> this a shot:
>
> Open RegEdit and find then delete this section:
> "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Wi ndows\WindowsUpdate"
>
> Reminder, just delete the "WindowsUpdate" section. Best if you click
> File/Export first to Export just that key section somewhere safe in case
> things go awry.
>
> Close RegEdit and do a Restart.
>
> --
>
> ....Sky
>
> Tom "Sky" King
> =============
>
>
>
>
>

I checked again, and found that Windows Update website indicates error
0x80070424 after failing to indicate available updates for my installation.

Angel Enrique Pacheco


"apacheco" wrote:

> Howdy,
>
> Thanks for the reply. Sorry I could not get back earlier. I first ran
> locally TM antivirus to thoroughly check my PC (with the latest virus
> definitions, and all scan options available chosen, at the highest level of
> protection). No viruses found.
>
> I then looked into your regedit suggestion. I carefully searched and found
> I have no such WindowsUpdate file in the policies directory, only Installer,
> IPSec, RTC, and Safer. I understand the Windows Update is associated to RTC,
> but I do not know enough to make any further changes without specific advise.
>
> The icon in the taskbar is still warning about the Security Alert. When
> entering the Security Center, clicking the Turn on Automatic Updates button
> results in a failed attempt and a suggestion to change the option in System
> Properties, but there the setting for Automatic Updates is already correctly
> chosen.
>
> I tried changing to no automatic updates, rebooting and then changing again
> to Automatic Updates, but no results. Still the same security warning.
> Also, trying to check if any updates are available at the Windows Update
> website ends with failure. No reason given.
>
> I also tried System Restore to a date prior to the onset of the warning, but
> this also failed. I tried four times, all with dates before I first noticed
> this problem. Always failed, with no changes made.
>
> Everything else seems to be working normally.
>
> Any other ideas or suggestions? I have thought about using the System
> Recovery Disk, especially the one I made a few weks ago, but I am afraid of
> the possible problems this may create in terms of data and functionality loss.
>
> Happy holidays!
>
> Angel Enrique Pacheco
>
>
>
>
> "Sky King" wrote:
>
> > apacheco wrote:
> > > As of this morning I am unable to choose automatic updates, and have
> > > not been able to change the setting. Actually, in System properties it is
> > > enabled, but I receive a warning on the task bar that it is not enabled.
> >
> > Hi;
> >
> > It may be that something is corrupt in your Registry related to AU/WU. Give
> > this a shot:
> >
> > Open RegEdit and find then delete this section:
> > "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Wi ndows\WindowsUpdate"
> >
> > Reminder, just delete the "WindowsUpdate" section. Best if you click
> > File/Export first to Export just that key section somewhere safe in case
> > things go awry.
> >
> > Close RegEdit and do a Restart.
> >
> > --
> >
> > ....Sky
> >
> > Tom "Sky" King
> > =============
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >

Decided to call Microsoft Support and got help. After learning about the
problem error, I was advised to run "regsvr32 wuaueng.dll", and this solved
the issue.

Thanks for helping. I hope the solution I found helps others facing this
same problem.

Happy holidays to the wonderful people in the forum!


Angel Enrique Pacheco



"apacheco" wrote:

> Howdy,
>
> Thanks for the reply. Sorry I could not get back earlier. I first ran
> locally TM antivirus to thoroughly check my PC (with the latest virus
> definitions, and all scan options available chosen, at the highest level of
> protection). No viruses found.
>
> I then looked into your regedit suggestion. I carefully searched and found
> I have no such WindowsUpdate file in the policies directory, only Installer,
> IPSec, RTC, and Safer. I understand the Windows Update is associated to RTC,
> but I do not know enough to make any further changes without specific advise.
>
> The icon in the taskbar is still warning about the Security Alert. When
> entering the Security Center, clicking the Turn on Automatic Updates button
> results in a failed attempt and a suggestion to change the option in System
> Properties, but there the setting for Automatic Updates is already correctly
> chosen.
>
> I tried changing to no automatic updates, rebooting and then changing again
> to Automatic Updates, but no results. Still the same security warning.
> Also, trying to check if any updates are available at the Windows Update
> website ends with failure. No reason given.
>
> I also tried System Restore to a date prior to the onset of the warning, but
> this also failed. I tried four times, all with dates before I first noticed
> this problem. Always failed, with no changes made.
>
> Everything else seems to be working normally.
>
> Any other ideas or suggestions? I have thought about using the System
> Recovery Disk, especially the one I made a few weks ago, but I am afraid of
> the possible problems this may create in terms of data and functionality loss.
>
> Happy holidays!
>
> Angel Enrique Pacheco
>
>
>
>
> "Sky King" wrote:
>
> > apacheco wrote:
> > > As of this morning I am unable to choose automatic updates, and have
> > > not been able to change the setting. Actually, in System properties it is
> > > enabled, but I receive a warning on the task bar that it is not enabled.
> >
> > Hi;
> >
> > It may be that something is corrupt in your Registry related to AU/WU. Give
> > this a shot:
> >
> > Open RegEdit and find then delete this section:
> > "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Wi ndows\WindowsUpdate"
> >
> > Reminder, just delete the "WindowsUpdate" section. Best if you click
> > File/Export first to Export just that key section somewhere safe in case
> > things go awry.
> >
> > Close RegEdit and do a Restart.
> >
> > --
> >
> > ....Sky
> >
> > Tom "Sky" King
> > =============
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >