Windows Update Error: HELP!

[Welly Wu]

Hi! I recently installed Evidence Eliminator v.5 and I did not like it so I uninstalled the program off my HDD. I also deleted the installation folder. I tried accessing Microsoft's Windows Update page but I keep getting a persistent error, "Thank you for your interest. You must be operating a version of Microsoft Windows in order to use Windows Update" or something to that effect. What is going on here? I have backups of my registry but I don't know whether I should restore them onto my HDD or how to do so. I searched the Microsoft Knowledge Base and I posted a thread on their newsgroup but I haven't gotten any definitive answers. How do I fix this problem so I can update my OS in the near future? Thanks.

 

[dsavitsk]

If you are runing win2k or XP, you might try using the repair system on the install cd. You can also try updating the service pack if you have one to upgrade to.

Last, while it won't help you now, look in to a program called GoBack if you are going to install a lot of software of dubious origin.

Even more last, if you are concerned with controlling what files are on your computer, try Mozilla for web browsing.

-d

 

[Welly Wu]

I do have GoBack Basic and I tried restoring to an earlier time period but none was available other than yesterday. I must have installed Evidence Eliminator about three to five days ago. Out of luck there. I tried updating to SP-1a again, and it does not work either. This is the error message:

"Thank you for your interest in Windows Update

Windows Update is the online extension of Windows that helps you get the most out of your computer.

You must be running a Microsoft Windows operating system in order to use Windows Update."

I'll try the repair function on the XP Pro CD. Other than that, I have tried to re-install the OS but I can't. Every time it reboots my notebook to install the components, it hangs on me. Don't know why.

 

[dsavitsk]

One other trick, which can be a pretty unpleasant one, is to install windows again to the C drive, but install it to C:\WINNT2 so that the two installations run alongside each other. This at least gives you the flexibility to investigate which win32 system files from the original install are causing trouble, replace system files from the new install, and check for differences.

Also, you can install service packs by themselves w/out using widows update. just go to http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/p...p1/default.asp where you can download the whole thing and then do the install by hand.

Good Luck. For more help on getting your computer to run better, go to www.freebsd.org

-d

 

[gpalmer]

My guess is that you need to reinstall Internet Exploder. As I remember Evidence Eliminator is an anonymizer progrm so it probably wiped out settings that Windows Update checks to determine what OS you have installed so that others couldn't get their hands on them....

 

[MD1032]

You shouldn't have been accessing **** sites in the first place!

At any rate, if you want spyware removed, I reccommend using both Spybot and Ad-Aware together. For virus protection, AVG's free edition is pretty good. Be sure you don't have spyware on your computer.

 

[Welly Wu]

What is the best way to solve this problem with Windows Update? I don't want to do x,y,z only to find that they don't work and backtracking my actions is next to impossible.

 

[john_jcb]

Is all your data backed up? If so reformat and start from scratch. I have found that fixes may work but you rarely correct all the sins of the past. Nothing is better than a freshly loaded PC.

 

[Welly Wu]

Yes, but I've got a couple of helpful suggestions from Microsoft technicians that I might try before doing something that drastic.

 

[Welly Wu]

I found the solution to my problems on my computer (same goes for my life as well). It seems that I had to apply some common sense and bridge information from two MS Knowledge Base articles. I also had to disable my Norton Internet Security 2003 firewall temporarily; do not attack me now! Heck, I can even get all of the pictures loaded on the Head-Fi main page! Looks nice!

 

[Welly Wu]

Now, I figured out how to keep my Internet Security / Norton Firewall on and still access the Windows Update site. Heh...