WindowsUpdate for Windows 2000 isn't working and it makes no sense ...

[pcGnome]

I've had the current installation of Windows 2000 for several years
now and update has always worked fine. Then something happened.

The error on the Microsoft page says that the problem is either that I
don't have Administrator permssion or that I'm on a network.

I always log in as the system administrator and I'm not part of a
network. I have a network card connected only to a DSL modem and all
my internet connections work just fine.

------------

So, I tried a brand new drive, installed Windows 2000 from scratch
(let it partition & format).

Windows update worked for about 4 reboots (it only does a little at a
time).

And then wham - the above error message appeared. So, it's nothing to
do with my installation and it appears that Microsoft is still willing
to update Windows 2000 - to a point, anyway.

Anybody have any idea what's wrong? I really hate XP and I refuse to
install an operating system that won't give me a full screen command
prompt (which lets out Vista & Windows 7).

Thank you,

pcGnome