Windows XP SP2 in VPC 7 stopped working with Windows Update.

"The website has encountered a problem and cannot display the page you are
trying to view. The options provided below might help you solve the problem."

This related article didn't help:

"Read more about steps you can take to resolve this problem (error number
0x80070003) yourself"
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/troubleshoot.aspx?err=0x...

This link may work better:

http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/showarticle.aspx?article...

I read about a fix for this problem here:

http://www.macwindows.com/VPC7.html#080706d

I installed Dr.TCP, adjusted the MTU value from the default of 1500
(shown as a blank field in Dr. TCP) to 1300, and rebooted Windows XP.
It didn't help.

I've had the same problem for quite a while.  At home, using our Belkin
54G router, I cannot update Windows XP Pro.  I've tried every trick
I've ever read.  However, when at work, using my company Linksys
router, all is well.  Also, Automatic Update running in the background
works fine at home.  Automatic Update would be acceptable, except that
it's usually about two weeks late when it finally decides to talk to
the Microsoft Update server.  Go figure...  I've given up on it.

In article <1155761082.281144.221...@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>,

--
Terry

(Please remove "yershoes" from address.)

New updates are posted on the second Tuesday of each month, except for
Windows Defender definition file updates.  You would not see downloads via
Automatic Updates until after "Patch Tuesday" of the month.  This is a
Windows issue, and not likely VPC or the Mac.  Ask in the
microsoft.public.windowxp.general newsgroup for advice.  It is possible that
you need to unregister and reregister some dll's before WU or MU will work.

news:040920060043481186%younkint@sbcglobal.net...

Thanks for the quick reply, Colin.  I am aware of the "Second Tuesday"
updates.  Although I'm primarily a Mac guy, I have two Windows machines
I maintain here at home (three if you count VPC) and also about five XP
machines at work.  It seems as though I'm the "update guy" on all of
them.

Oddly enough, my VPC isn't alone with its update problems here at home.
My step-daughter has a Windows 2000 laptop that recently has refused to
update via the Microsoft Update web site.  Even more strange, my wife's
XP machine has no problem with the site.  We're all using the same home
network.  The Windows 2000 machine is like my VPC in that Automatic
Update works fine in the background.

None of this would really be a big deal if the updates weren't serious,
but often they are serious.  My wife and I surf cautiously, but there's
a 19 year old running the Windows 2000 machine.  ;-)

I've spent a great deal of time on this issue, and never have quite got
it straightened out.  I believe the MTU issue with the Belkin router is
probably what's causing it.  We've had certified Windows geniuses over
here working on it, and so far everyone has struck out.  Evidently,
we're limited as to where the Belkin can be set.  None of our changes
have ever worked.  We can switch over to a neighbor's wireless network
and make things work.  It's just that we've got to go outdoors to
connect to it; not a good solution.

As for the dll matter, I believe we've tried that.

Again, thanks for the reply.

In article <eSmkEIR0GHA.1...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, Colin Barnhorst

This may sound like it's 'off the wall' and stupid but bear with me:

 Change the MTU value to 1200 and RESTART Windows. Many people using
VPC just save the state of Windows and quit VPC, but you must restart
Windows for any Registry changes to take effect. Once that is
completed, type the following command in a DOS window:

ping -f -l 1200 4.2.2.2

If you get 4 clean replies instead of the dreaded 'Packet needs to be
fragmented but DF set', then your MTU values are set correctly. Try WU.

I was able to restore Windows Update functionality with the help of
Microsoft Support. Their solution is posted below. It turns out it was
a corrupt PC file somewhere. The suspicion I had that it had to do with
the convoluted wireless network feeding my Mac and then more
complicated by  Virtual PC was wrong.

Here's the fire-hose solution and I'll never know what a simple fix
would have been:

"After checking the Windows Update log, I found that we have received
the following error message

2006-08-28      13:41:59        3696    f24     Setup   FATAL: Error 0x80070057 preparing
file C:\WINDOWS\system32\wups.dll for copy
2006-08-28      13:42:03        3696    f24     Setup   WARNING: Setup failed while
processing file operations, error = 0x80070003. Rolling back changes.

Based on the Knowledge Base, this issue can be caused by the following
two factors

1.The Windows Update engine files are corrupt
2.The Key value in the Registry is not correct

Let's check the following steps to troubleshoot the issue

Step 1: Restart the computer in Safe Mode
================================
1. Reboot your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard.

2. When the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, select Safe Mode,
and then press Enter.
3. Log onto Windows.

NOTE: In Safe Mode, your system display and desktop will look and
perform differently than in normal mode.

Step 2: Remove the corrupted files
==================
1. Click Start-> Search.
2. Select "All files and folders", and then search for the following
files:

iuengine.dll
wuapi.dll
wuauclt.exe
wuauclt1.exe
wuaucpl.cpl
wuaueng.dll
wuaueng1.dll
wucltui.dll
wups.dll
wups2.dll
wuauserv.dll
wuweb.dll
wuau.adm
wuident.txt
wuredir.xml
wusetup.inf

If you find any of the above files, please right click to rename this
file to (such as wuapi.old). Please understand that we may not find all
the files listed above. If so, it is normal, and please continue to
search for the rest of the files.

Step 3 Modify the Registry:
==================
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click
OK.
2. Locate, and then click the following subkey in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

3. In the right pane of Registry Editor, double-click ProgramFilesDir.
4. If the correct path of the Program Files folder is not displayed in
the Value data box, type the correct path of the Program Files folder.
For example, type C:\Program Files.
5. Click OK.
6. Double-click ProgramFilesPath.
7. If %ProgramFiles% is not displayed in the Value data box, type
%ProgramFiles%.
8. Click OK.
9. Quit Registry Editor

After trying above steps, let's restart the Machine to the Normal
Mode and access the Windows Update site again.

FYI, I tried that command with my MTU set at the default 1500 and got 4
clean replies so MTU was not an issue in my case.