After crash, cannot get updates

[Guest]

As if the crash and lost data wasn't bad enough, now trying to reinstall
everything on new hard drive. When I try to get updates, whenever it gets to
any of the update pages, I get nothing. It shows green status lights all
across the bottom, but page is completely blank - no error messages, nothing.
It freezes at that point and I have to CTL ALT DEL to stop it. This is the
first step in about 5,000 I need to do to get computer back up and running.
I'm about to pull all my hair out, so please help.

 

[Gerry]

Leave updates for the moment and check your computer for errors:

What Error / Warning reports ( if any ) appear in the System log in
Event Viewer when you last booted the machine?

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate which also appear in
a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[PA Bear]

Just for people like you, courtesy of your neighborhood MS MVP:

Updates are not installed successfully from Windows Update, from Microsoft
Update, or by using Automatic Updates after you repair a Windows XP
installation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144

 

[Guest]

Thanks guys, but I'd get more of a headache than I already have trying to
understand your instructions. I swear, my brain is about fried over this
mess and I'm certainly no computer guru to begin with.

Anyway, I decided I had nothing to lose by using the restore disk to wipe
out the hard drive. Don't know what was different this time, because I did
the exact same steps yesterday, but I was finally able to get all the
updates. What a day!

Thanks again,
Malia

 

[PA Bear]

Thanks very much for this feedback, Malia. It's a very interesting new
wrinkle.