"A problem on your computer is preventing updates from being downloaded or installed"

"A problem on your computer is preventing updates from being downloaded or installed"

On a new Dell running Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3, I got the above error message when trying to install updates using Windows Updates. The method outlined below solved the problem for me:

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Scenario 2

This problem occurs when the latest Windows Update client has been installed and then you install Windows XP SP3 before restarting the computer. This causes the new Wups2.dll file not to be enabled (registered). When Windows XP SP3 is installed, it does not detect the Wups2.dll file, and it sets the registry to point to the original Wups.dll file version that is included in Windows XP SP2 and Windows XP SP3. Because the registry files that correspond to the Wups2.dll file are missing, update installations are unsuccessful.
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RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods.
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Method 1: Register the Wups2.dll file in Windows
To register the Wups2.dll file in Windows, follow these steps:1. Stop the Automatic Updates service. To do this, follow these steps:a. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
b. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
net stop wuauserv

2. Register the Wups2.dll file. To do this, follow these steps:a. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
regsvr32 %windir%\system32\wups2.dll
Note For a computer that is running Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
regsvr32 %windir%\syswow64\wups2.dll
b. Click OK on each verification message that you receive.

3. Start the Automatic Updates service. To do this, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER:
net start wuauserv
4. Exit the command prompt. To do this type exit, and then press ENTER.

. . .

From:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144


After following the above instructions, I again ran Windows Update. This time the update worked.

BTW, on the XP Pro machine that I worked on, the below command did not work. The fix still was successful.
regsvr32 %windir%\syswow64\wups2.dll

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