Did you ever figure this out? I have a ticket open with MS for this
exact issue and got this reply:
This issue may be caused by the following factors.
1. Internet Explorer temporary files corrupted.
2. Windows Update Engine corrupted.
3. Several third party programs running in background.
4. Spyware.
I suggest we access Windows Update website with Internet Explorer first
to test this issue.
Then, let's take the following steps to do the troubleshooting:
Step 1: Clean the Temporary Internet Files
======================
1. Click Internet Options on the Tools menu in Internet Explorer.
2. Click the General tab, click Clear History in the History area, and
then click OK in the dialog box that appears.
3. In the Temporary Internet Files area, click Delete Files and then
click OK.
Note: If you select the item "Delete all offline content", this will
delete all the files which are needed to browse the Internet website
when you are offline.
4. In the Temporary Internet Files area, click Delete Cookies, and then
click OK in the dialog box that appears.
Note: Removing these files will remove automatic login information
which is stored within these files that allow you to login to Internet
sites, so be sure that you have this recorded or written down somewhere
else if you are concerned about this.
5. In the Temporary Internet Files area, click Settings button, and
click View Objects button.
6. Delete all the files.
7. Close all the files and reboot the computer to check the issue
again.
Step 2: Use Ad-aware to remove spyware.
==========
1. Download and install Ad-Aware from this page:
http://lavasoft.element5.com/support/download/
2. Click Start -> All Programs -> "Lavasoft Ad-aware SE Personal" ->
"Ad-Aware SE Personal" to start Ad-Aware.
(Note: If there is a popup box asking whether or not check definition
update, please click OK and click Connect. Click OK to download and
install the latest definition, and then click Finish.)
3. Click the Start button in the Ad-Aware window, and then click Next
to start the scan.
4. After the scan is finished, click Next, click the check boxes on the
"Critical Objects" tab to select them, click Next, and the click OK to
confirm the removal.
The third-party products discussed above are manufactured by companies
that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied
or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these
products.
Step 3: Disable the software that can affect Windows Update.
=========================
The local Windows Update engine can be affected by some third party
programs.
Please temporarily disable all antivirus components, Web Trap component
of PC-cillin, Surfin Guard Pro, download accelerators/enhancements,
Download Accelerator Plus, spyware applications and other similar
programs.
Step 4: Reinstall Windows Update Engine
=====================
Please download and install the latest Windows Update Engine with the
following link.
http://download.windowsupdate.com/v6...gent20-x86.exe
The link didn't work for me on the machine I'm having problems with -
had to grab it from a different machine and copy it over. This server
isn't supposed to go into production for another week, I'll probably
just reinstall the OS. Hope this helps.
frankp wrote:
> In Windows Update I select Express (with Custom it's the same), view the
> message "Checking for latest updates for your computer", then obtain the
> [Error number: 0x8024402F]