Can't update windows and other things - are they connected?

I admit I was running a bent copy of XP so I went legit this week.
It's been hell - everything worked before, now all the important stuff
isn't!! Is it karma?

I have XP Home SP2. Formatted my hard disk and did a fresh install.
Nothing else added, just the the OS and ran the windows update to get IE7
etc.. It's gathers the info and I click 'express' and then after a long
pause 'checking' I get 'the website has encountered a problem and cannot
display the page you are trying to view.. error 0x80072EE2.
I did both suggestions: lmhost, trusted sites etc, I even did the assisted
thing but I still didn't work. I switched off all the security in IE6 and
switched on all the SSL PCT etc, installed Java but still the same. I get
network activity for the first 20 secs then nothing until the failed message.

Right, here's the other weird thing and I reckon the following errors are
all connected to one thing:

I cannot SEND emails - I get an 'the connection to the server was
interupted'. I can receive, however. I connect to my smtp server on the net.

I cannot access sites that DO certains things - for example, when I tried to
log in to this newsgroup to post this item, I get, after a long pause, 'the
page cannot be displayed'.
When I log on to my email via the webpage and try to attach a file, I get
the same message. It's like if I access certain TYPES of pages, it fails.

I cannot sign in to msn with error 80048820 extended 80048439

I don't use a proxy, I am on a LAN that is connected to a router and out to
broadband.

I have a work laptop that, on the same network CAN do a windows update, CAN
sign in to msn and CAN send emails.

Remember, there's no 3rd party software on here at all - and just in case
you are wondering, I have wiped and installed 3 times now.

Please, I am going mad trying to work out what is wrong. I thought I could
handle windows up until now...

 

I, too, have a problem once I click Express to get my windows updates. It
just keeps scanning and nothing happens. I get this error: 0x80072EFD. I
still have IE6, does that make a difference? Someone Please Help! - MS - WHY
WON'T YOU WORK ON UPDATES & PATCHES FOR ALL THESE ERRORS THAT SO MANY OF US
KEEP HAVING???!!!