Member Avatar for tramahound

Automatic updates come up fine but when going to Start>Microsoft Updates or Tools>Windows Updates in IE it sucessfully gets to the Microsoft updates page with the Express or Custom option only. Once you press either of those buttons it quickly loads a page saying;
"Windows Update has encountered an error and cannot display the requested page."
followed by it's FAQS, newsgroup and whatnot links.
I tried different users, checked the system clock/date, cleared temp internet files, cookies, added the MS update sites to the trusted sites and made sure they weren't in the blocked sites list etc. I've run into this before but it turned out to be as simple as the date and time being off. this time I just can't figure it out. I've been told I can upgrade the system to XP, but it's killing me not knowing how to get updates to work again as they should. Any help would obviously be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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Dani AI

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Short note for future readers and next steps that build on what @Stein and suggested.

If this machine is being examined years after the original thread: Windows 2000 is long out of support and the modern Microsoft Update web front end and backend now require newer TLS/HTTP support and client bits that Win2K does not provide. That makes the web UI fail even when the local update engine can still download via the tray client. If continued patching is required for an old box, plan to apply updates offline (download on a newer PC and copy them) or move the machine to a supported OS.

Targeted troubleshooting checklist (safe, non-destructive first steps):

  • Check Event Viewer (System and Application) and open C:\Windows\WindowsUpdate.log for explicit error messages; note any WinHTTP/HTTP or cryptographic errors.
  • Verify services that Windows Update depends on are present and set to start: Automatic Updates (wuauserv), Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) and the Cryptographic services; start them and note errors when they fail to start.
  • Inspect IE LAN/proxy settings and the machine hosts file for anything that could block Microsoft domains (corporate proxy or hosts entries can break the web UI even when the service works).
  • Reset the client-side cache used by Windows Update: stop update services, rename the SoftwareDistribution folder and the catroot2 folder so they rebuild, then restart the services and retry.
  • If the problem persists and the logs point to client DLL/ActiveX failures, follow the official Microsoft procedure to reset the Windows Update client (this includes reregistering MSXML/SoftPub/WinTrust and the wu* DLLs or reinstalling the Windows Update Agent). Do this with an admin account and follow the KB instructions for the exact commands.

If web-based Microsoft Update remains unusable: use the Microsoft Update Catalog or an offline updater (WSUS Offline-type workflow) to fetch and install patches from a different, modern machine. Ultimately, migrate that host to a supported OS for security and compatibility.

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Member Avatar for 'Stein

Several things.

1) Be sure to have ActiveX enabled when doing visiting the site.

2) possibly turn off any AVs or firewalls when updating.

Member Avatar for tramahound

I meant to check the activex settings, I'll give that a try. The only AV is VirusScan which all systems also have in the company and do not exhibit the same issue.
Thank you for the suggestions.

Member Avatar for tramahound

I enabled all activex options but still the same error.

Member Avatar for digitalocksmith

doh.....edit

Member Avatar for SpitJock

Any errors being logged in eventvwr?

I have seen this before with an XP Pro machine. It required some dlls to be re-registered (I'll have to trawl a bit to remind myself which ones)

Member Avatar for tramahound

before running updates via the system tray icon (the only way it worked) there is an error reporting;

Unable to Connect: Windows is unable to connect to the automatic updates service and therefore cannot download and install updates according to the set schedule. Windows will continue to try to establish a connection.

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