Windows XP Update is now Broken!

ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.

I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.

I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
installed it, too. No luck.

I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.

I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
was activated.

This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers

Hi Ben,

I noticed this problem even on my non-Dell computers
today. I elected to use the alternative of choosing
Windows Update via Internet Explorers/Tools option.

GR


On 8/6/2011 4:50 PM, Ben Myers wrote:
> ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>
> I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> installed it, too. No luck.
>
> I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> was activated.
>
> This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers

On 8/6/2011 7:50 PM, Ben Myers wrote:

> I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> installed it, too. No luck.
>
> I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.

Strange.
It will probably be back in in a day or two. I've seen this happen before.
Or you could get a Mac, I have yet to encounter a time when Apple's
software update took a dump.

I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I think
I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive from
an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.

Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including installing
IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a SP3
cd, etc, etc.
I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that did
the trick.

Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought from
the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of ram,
and a 80gig HD.


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-...

ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.

I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.

I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
installed it, too. No luck.

I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.

I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
was activated.

This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers

On Aug 16, 12:03*am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
wrote:
> I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I think
> I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
> Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive from
> an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>
> Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including installing
> IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a SP3
> cd, etc, etc.
> I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that did
> the trick.
>
> Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought from
> the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of ram,
> and a 80gig HD.
>
> "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-...
>
> ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>
> I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> installed it, too. No luck.
>
> I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> was activated.
>
> This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> fixed. *Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? *... Ben Myers

Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
after I bitched to Microsoft. The updated 2497281 now gives a
procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
follows:

Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:

Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:

Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
Click the Automatic Updates tab
Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK


Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:

Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK

This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. If
Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. I pasted "wuauclt /
detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.

I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
close as many of the security
holes as possible... Ben Myers

"Ben Myers" wrote in message
news:34f4650b-88a1-420a-9218-...

On Aug 16, 12:03 am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
wrote:
> I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I
> think
> I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
> Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive
> from
> an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>
> Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including
> installing
> IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a SP3
> cd, etc, etc.
> I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that did
> the trick.
>
> Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought
> from
> the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of
> ram,
> and a 80gig HD.
>
> "Ben Myers" wrote in message
>
> news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-...
>
> ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>
> I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> installed it, too. No luck.
>
> I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> was activated.
>
> This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers

Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
after I bitched to Microsoft. The updated 2497281 now gives a
procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
follows:

Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:

Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:

Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
Click the Automatic Updates tab
Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK


Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:

Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK

This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. If
Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. I pasted "wuauclt /
detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.

I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
close as many of the security
holes as possible... Ben Myers

I tried those steps when I ran into my problems, but it didn't work for me.
Simply downloading and installing the latest ver of Microsoft Update, did.

On Aug 23, 4:11*pm, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net> wrote:
> "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> news:34f4650b-88a1-420a-9218-...
>
> On Aug 16, 12:03 am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I
> > think
> > I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
> > Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive
> > from
> > an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>
> > Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including
> > installing
> > IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a SP3
> > cd, etc, etc.
> > I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that did
> > the trick.
>
> > Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought
> > from
> > the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of
> > ram,
> > and a 80gig HD.
>
> > "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> >news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-....
>
> > ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> > installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> > different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> > on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> > Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> > course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> > Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> > KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> > Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> > installed it, too. No luck.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> > I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> > was activated.
>
> > This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> > response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> > fixed. *Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? *... Ben Myers
>
> Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
> installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
> However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
> after I bitched to Microsoft. *The updated 2497281 now gives a
> procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
> follows:
>
> Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
> Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:
>
> Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:
>
> Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
> follow these steps:
>
> * * Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
> * * Click the Automatic Updates tab
> * * Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK
>
> Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:
>
> * * Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
> * * Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK
>
> This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. *If
> Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
> be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. *I pasted "wuauclt /
> detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.
>
> I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
> more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
> close as many of the security
> holes as possible... Ben Myers
>
> I tried those steps when I ran into my problems, but it didn't work for me.
> Simply downloading and installing the latest ver of Microsoft Update, did..

I have since downloaded the latest Microsoft Update software and put
it on a flash stick... Ben

"Ben Myers" wrote in message
news:585913fa-a7c4-4f3b-945d-...

On Aug 23, 4:11 pm, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net> wrote:
> "Ben Myers" wrote in message
>
> news:34f4650b-88a1-420a-9218-...
>
> On Aug 16, 12:03 am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I
> > think
> > I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
> > Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive
> > from
> > an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>
> > Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including
> > installing
> > IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a
> > SP3
> > cd, etc, etc.
> > I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that
> > did
> > the trick.
>
> > Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought
> > from
> > the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of
> > ram,
> > and a 80gig HD.
>
> > "Ben Myers" wrote in message
>
> >news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-...
>
> > ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> > installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> > different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> > on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> > Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> > course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> > Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> > KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> > Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> > installed it, too. No luck.
>
> > I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> > I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> > was activated.
>
> > This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> > response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> > fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers
>
> Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
> installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
> However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
> after I bitched to Microsoft. The updated 2497281 now gives a
> procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
> follows:
>
> Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
> Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:
>
> Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:
>
> Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
> follow these steps:
>
> Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
> Click the Automatic Updates tab
> Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK
>
> Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:
>
> Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
> Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK
>
> This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. If
> Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
> be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. I pasted "wuauclt /
> detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.
>
> I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
> more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
> close as many of the security
> holes as possible... Ben Myers
>
> I tried those steps when I ran into my problems, but it didn't work for
> me.
> Simply downloading and installing the latest ver of Microsoft Update, did.

I have since downloaded the latest Microsoft Update software and put
it on a flash stick... Ben

I also put all the major drivers for every model of Dell desktop or laptop
we have at work as well as the onse I have at home along with all the usual
goodies and utilities.
Boy does that sucker come in handy.
The only CD I have to carry now is the Xp Pro SP3 Dell CD.

Now when I have to reload or install XP fresh on a new system, all I do is
install XP, pull out the flash stick, copy the drivers and go to town.
The only big pain is having to download all the MS updates. Oh well, I get
paid by the hour.

On Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:07:47 -0400, "TimDrouillard"
<> wrote:

>
>
>"Ben Myers" wrote in message
>news:585913fa-a7c4-4f3b-945d-...
>
>On Aug 23, 4:11 pm, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> "Ben Myers" wrote in message
>>
>> news:34f4650b-88a1-420a-9218-...
>>
>> On Aug 16, 12:03 am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I
>> > think
>> > I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
>> > Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive
>> > from
>> > an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>>
>> > Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including
>> > installing
>> > IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a
>> > SP3
>> > cd, etc, etc.
>> > I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that
>> > did
>> > the trick.
>>
>> > Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought
>> > from
>> > the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of
>> > ram,
>> > and a 80gig HD.
>>
>> > "Ben Myers" wrote in message
>>
>> >news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-...
>>
>> > ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
>> > installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
>> > different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
>> > on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
>> > Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
>> > course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
>> > Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
>> > KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281.
>>
>> > I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
>> > Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>>
>> > I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
>> > installed it, too. No luck.
>>
>> > I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>>
>> > I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
>> > was activated.
>>
>> > This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
>> > response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
>> > fixed. Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? ... Ben Myers
>>
>> Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
>> installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
>> However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
>> after I bitched to Microsoft. The updated 2497281 now gives a
>> procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
>> follows:
>>
>> Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
>> Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:
>>
>> Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:
>>
>> Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
>> follow these steps:
>>
>> Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
>> Click the Automatic Updates tab
>> Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK
>>
>> Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:
>>
>> Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
>> Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK
>>
>> This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. If
>> Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
>> be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. I pasted "wuauclt /
>> detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.
>>
>> I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
>> more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
>> close as many of the security
>> holes as possible... Ben Myers
>>
>> I tried those steps when I ran into my problems, but it didn't work for
>> me.
>> Simply downloading and installing the latest ver of Microsoft Update, did.
>
>I have since downloaded the latest Microsoft Update software and put
>it on a flash stick... Ben
>
>I also put all the major drivers for every model of Dell desktop or laptop
>we have at work as well as the onse I have at home along with all the usual
>goodies and utilities.
>Boy does that sucker come in handy.
>The only CD I have to carry now is the Xp Pro SP3 Dell CD.
>
>Now when I have to reload or install XP fresh on a new system, all I do is
>install XP, pull out the flash stick, copy the drivers and go to town.
>The only big pain is having to download all the MS updates. Oh well, I get
>paid by the hour.

In that case MS is your friend <g>.

On Aug 24, 3:07*pm, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net> wrote:
> "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> news:585913fa-a7c4-4f3b-945d-...
>
> On Aug 23, 4:11 pm, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> >news:34f4650b-88a1-420a-9218-....
>
> > On Aug 16, 12:03 am, "TimDrouillard" <timdrouill...@comcast.net>
> > wrote:
>
> > > I have started running into this lately. The first time it happened, I
> > > think
> > > I just rebooted the system and it worked after that.
> > > Last week I ran into it again, and finally resorted to pulling a drive
> > > from
> > > an identical PC I had that had already been updated and installed it.
>
> > > Today ran into it again, and tried all sorts of things, including
> > > installing
> > > IE8 by itself, installing SP3 even though the install was done using a
> > > SP3
> > > cd, etc, etc.
> > > I finally downloaded the latest version of Microsoft Update, and that
> > > did
> > > the trick.
>
> > > Note: all these installs were clean installs on Optiplex 755's I bought
> > > from
> > > the Dell auction site. They all had a 3.0Ghz Core 2 processor, 3gig of
> > > ram,
> > > and a 80gig HD.
>
> > > "Ben Myers" *wrote in message
>
> > >news:54c67a3a-5d18-46b5-bc74-....
>
> > > ALERT! Three times in the last two days (through yesterday), I have
> > > installed Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 (Dell Version) on three
> > > different Dell Laptops, with XP Pro stickers, of course. When I click
> > > on Windows Update, I get directed to a page that tells me that Windows
> > > Update may not work unless I install Service Pack 3 ! Which is, of
> > > course, already installed. In other words, Microsoft somehow broke its
> > > Update site for XP, either unwittingly or maybe wittingly. The
> > > KnowledgeBase citation displayed instead of an update page is 2497281..
>
> > > I have downloaded and installed the SP3 downloaded file from the
> > > Microsoft web site. No luck, i.e. no difference.
>
> > > I have downloaded and installed Windows Genuine (Dis-)Advantage and
> > > installed it, too. No luck.
>
> > > I have downloaded and installed IE8 and installed it. No luck.
>
> > > I also ran the Windows Activation (non-)Wizard, and it said my XP Pro
> > > was activated.
>
> > > This is a major pain and it makes no sense at all. Of course, no
> > > response yet from Micro$oft, as one might expect. This has to get
> > > fixed. *Maybe they got hacked by Anonymous??? *... Ben Myers
>
> > Ran into Ignorance(Knowledge)Base citation 2497281 again today when
> > installing XP Pro with SP3 from scratch on a clean hard drive.
> > However, the page says that it was last updated on August 11, 5 days
> > after I bitched to Microsoft. *The updated 2497281 now gives a
> > procedure to follow to get out of the mess Microsoft created, as
> > follows:
>
> > Important: If you are seeing this KB article and you already installed
> > Service Pack 3 for Windows XP , please follow these steps:
>
> > Step 1: Close all programs running on your computer:
>
> > Step 2: Make sure that Automatic Updates is enabled, to do this,
> > follow these steps:
>
> > * * Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and click OK
> > * * Click the Automatic Updates tab
> > * * Click Automatic (Recommended) and then click OK
>
> > Step 3: Ensure a self-update happens right away:
>
> > * * Click Start, click Run, and type cmd
> > * * Type wuauclt /detectnow, and click OK
>
> > This does work, but it is 1000% more tedious than before. *If
> > Microsoft would tax its devious mind a little bit, these steps could
> > be auotmated by one of their Fixit procedures. *I pasted "wuauclt /
> > detectnow" into the CMD window from the web page.
>
> > I still think that this is intentional on Microsoft's part to make it
> > more difficult to install XP AND(!) apply all the updates needed to
> > close as many of the security
> > holes as possible... Ben Myers
>
> > I tried those steps when I ran into my problems, but it didn't work for
> > me.
> > Simply downloading and installing the latest ver of Microsoft Update, did.
>
> I have since downloaded the latest Microsoft Update software and put
> it on a flash stick... Ben
>
> I also put all the major drivers for every model of Dell desktop or laptop
> we have at work as well as the onse I have at home along with all the usual
> goodies and utilities.
> Boy does that sucker come in handy.
> The only CD I have to carry now is the Xp Pro SP3 Dell CD.
>
> Now when I have to reload or install XP fresh on a new system, all I do is
> install XP, pull out the flash stick, copy the drivers and go to town.
> The only big pain is having to download all the MS updates. Oh well, I get
> paid by the hour.

Tim,

That's exactly what I do for all the computers that show up here. My
main computer (this one) has a folder organized by make/model with
folders full of drivers for each model, desktop or laptop. When I
have to reload Windows on a particular model, I copy its drivers to a
flash stick. With 16GB flash sticks selling on-line for $20 or less
these days, flash sticks come in handy for all sorts of bizarre acts.
Rather than relying on the nonsense file names assigned by Dell and
other manufacturers, I change the names so they make sense to real
people, so maybe a Dell Intel chipset driver has a name like
IntelChipset_R123456.exe. Then I actually know what I am doing, and I
install drivers in the right order, chipset drivers always first.
And, BTW, except for the reboot required after installing the chipset
drivers, the reboots requested by the other drivers (e.g. video,
audio) can be ignored until ALL the hardware chipset drivers are
installed. This saves the time wasted by all these stupid and
unnecessary reboots.

Why isn't there an XP SP4, rolling up all the updates, patches, band-
aids and duct tape needed to make XP more secure, including IE8? I
don't get paid by the hour to do all the Windows updates, so I start
them running, go away for a while to do something productive, and come
back when they are done... Ben Myers