Help!: Windows Update ID's my pc as a Mac!

[Menta]

Beginning today, every time I try to access Windows Update I'm met
with the following message:

"Thank you for your interest in obtaining updates from our site.

This website is designed to work with Microsoft Windows operating
systems only.

To find updates for Microsoft products that are designed for Macintosh
operating systems, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/mac/."

Unfortunately, my computer is a Compaq Presario pc running MS
Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2 w/AMD Sempron
3500+ 994MHz 1.43 GB RAM, NOT a Macintosh!

Has anyone here ever heard of such a thing?

I'm scanning my entire system right now with an antivirus program.

I tried getting help from Micro$oft but THEY WANTED ME TO PAY for
any such help (which ironically makes me wish my pc was a Mac, and now
my next computer may very well be a Mac!), so I'm posting here in the
hope that maybe folks here can advise me.

 

[Bill Sharpe]

I tried getting help from Micro$oft but THEY WANTED ME TO PAY for
any such help (which ironically makes me wish my pc was a Mac, and now
my next computer may very well be a Mac!), so I'm posting here in the
hope that maybe folks here can advise me.

MS provides update support at no charge. This snippet was extracted from
KB910339:

Method 4: Contact Microsoft Product Support for help
Contact Microsoft Product Support for help. To contact Microsoft Product
Support, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Update or
Microsoft Update.
2. Click Get help and support, and then follow the instructions on the
Web site.

The support is provided by e-mail. My daughter got a six-page response
when she asked why she got an error message when trying to update
Windows on her Dell computer.

You might also try posting to the microsoft.public.windowsupdate forum
directly.

Bill

 

[ZMAN]

Beginning today, every time I try to access Windows Update I'm met
with the following message:

"Thank you for your interest in obtaining updates from our site.

This website is designed to work with Microsoft Windows operating
systems only.

To find updates for Microsoft products that are designed for Macintosh
operating systems, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/mac/."

Unfortunately, my computer is a Compaq Presario pc running MS
Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2 w/AMD Sempron
3500+ 994MHz 1.43 GB RAM, NOT a Macintosh!

Has anyone here ever heard of such a thing?

I'm scanning my entire system right now with an antivirus program.

I tried getting help from Micro$oft but THEY WANTED ME TO PAY for
any such help (which ironically makes me wish my pc was a Mac, and now
my next computer may very well be a Mac!), so I'm posting here in the
hope that maybe folks here can advise me.

Give this a read. Might have some useful info in it.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=817144

 

[Menta]

Give this a read. Might have some useful info in it.http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=817144- Hide quoted text -

Thanks.
I tried a regedit-based fix suggested in another ng and that worked.
Thanks again for your feedback, I may recheck that web page if the
problem pops up again.