Tried googling this and found various “fixes” that dont fix the problem. Any ideas?

I keep getting the following updates failing to update with a message

Some updates could not be installed
The following updates could not be installed

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP (KB2559049)
Update for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB2586918)
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool – August 2011 (KB890830)
Security Update for the 2007 Microsoft Office System (KB2541012)
Update for Microsoft Office 2003 (KB2539581)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2535512)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2570222)
Security Update for Microsoft Office Excel 2003 (KB2541025)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2503665)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2476490)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2507938)
Security Update for Microsoft Silverlight (KB2512827)
Security Update for Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package (KB2538243)
Update for Microsoft Office 2007 System (KB2539530)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2536276)
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2567680)
Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP x86 (KB2539631)
Security Update for .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and 3.5 SP1 on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP x86 (KB2518864)

Thanks in advance 😉

Possibly related to an issue I had recently where 3 Security Updates for .NET Framework 4.0 were repeatedly failing. That was on Win 7 but the common factor is that it was .NET Framework updates that were the problem.

I resolved it by downloading the KB file directly from MS site (bypassing updater) and running the downloaded files.
Worth a try?

also, and it is often overlooked but if you C drive has no space left Windows Update keeps trying to install the patches and fails.

1. Delete C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ (the contents, not the ‘download’ folder itself).

2. Reboot

3. Go back to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and choose ‘Custom’ (I think… not automatic).

4. Uncheck all updates, and start with just one. That way, you can see which is failing one-by-one…

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144

Any other symptoms? A lot of malware knobbles Windows Update.

what would malware symptoms be then cougar? running McF Stinger right now; any other free software I can use to scan with?

Just going through the updates manually now. The first one failed! so im going through the trouble shooter. Which is like a riddle wrapped in an enigma, buried in a paranoid conspiracy!!

Have you tried?

In the end I found that WU was corrupted and sorted it with the fix below. Now to find out why it got currupted in the first place.

Definitely malware???

Click Start, click Run, type Notepad, and then click OK.
Copy the following text, and then paste the text into Notepad.
net stop wuauserv
cd %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution
ren Download Download.old
net start wuauserv
net stop bits
net start bits
net stop cryptsvc
cd %systemroot%\system32
ren catroot2 catroot2old
net start cryptsvc
Click File, click Save As, and then type Repair.bat.
In the Save as type box, click All Files.
In the Save in box, click Desktop, and then click Save.
On the File menu, click Exit.
Double-click the Repair.bat file that you saved in step 5.
Try to install the updates again. If you can install the updates, delete the Repair.bat file. To do this, right-click Repair.bat, click Delete, and then click Yes.

PS – thanks for your replies and pointing me in the right directions.

That course of action looks like generic Microsoft “WU is knackered” advice.

Could be any number of causes. Mangled downloads are rare but happen. Ditto badly installed hotfixes, or any number of other hiccups. Post-mortem’s are always tricky.

Nothing’s definite. To rule out (most) malware, try MBAM.

If that’s clean, and your AV is clean, and it’s working, I’d say to keep an eye on it for a bit but you’re probably ok.