KB921596 refuses to install

[Len]

XP & Office XP Professional both with SP3, AVG free & Zone Alarm free.
Between me & auto updates we are on attemp 60 since the 14th Aug. I have
tried most, if not all the fixes on the previous threads to no avail. I get
the Error code 0x57A with an auto/manual install & was getting Error code
1402, setup cannot open registry key etc by downloading to desktop & using my
office CD. I went down the permission route which didn't seem to work
initially, now I'm getting Error code 1404, setup cannot delete the registry
key\Software\Classes\giffile when I try the desktop/CD route with the repair
option (I chose ignore 1404). I have even tried with Zone Alarm off.
Also, activeX is now saying that my copy of office is not
activated/validated which is rubbish, MS have been quite happy updating for
the last 7 years & when I try to activate via system tools, it tells me it's
already done.
I have turned auto updates off for the moment but now I get the yellow
shield with a red cross.

Any help would be appreciated as it is driving me mad.

[M@discussions.microsoft.com Tony M]

I have the same problem and just spent 4 hours with Microsoft support for
security fixes and they couldn't fix it either. They referred me to the
800-936-5700 number. Said it was an operating system bug, but I'm a bit
skeptical about that.

Haven't got time to call them today.

[Artent]

Did you find a fix for error 1404? I am experiencing exactly the same problem.
I have also received fixes from Microsoft for the last 7 years without event.