Good news Shenan. I did the random defrag, which when i checked earlier
today wasn't required, but when i did an analyze after these messages, a
defrag was required so once done, i got a step further on the update page. I
got a an error 0x80072EE2 on the update page and implemented a suggested fix,
namely i added the secure update website to my trusted websites (as the
suggestion with the firewall/proxy was not relevant) and hey presto, i have
downloaded another seven updates!

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> AtOMicPiLL wrote:
> > I had windows updates set to automatically download and prompt me
> > for installation. It was because I hadn't had any download for
> > about a month or more that I did a manual update. I downloaded
> > 60Mb of critical updates including the Windows SP3, then a further
> > 118Mb of updates relating to a massive microsoft office 2003 SP3
> > update and all went well. However, now when I check for further
> > updates, my internet connection via USB wireless disconnects after
> > about a minute, however I can surf other locations for ages without
> > disconnection. I have reinstalled my usb driver to no avail. My
> > installed updates online show that the Office 2003 SP3 was
> > installed twice. My next step is to uninstall the Office 2003 but i
> > await any wisdom before taking that step.
>
> Shenan Stanley wrote:
> > Might not be related...
> >
> > It seems some people are unable to get further updates after
> > installing SP3... Seems some have experienced a symptom similar to
> > doing a repair installation on Windows XP - and the same fix seems
> > to work for them for that...
> >
> > 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
> >
> > In addition - I suggest you get the latest driver for the wireless NIC
> > and motherboard chipset... Might also - random - just defrag the
> > drive.
>
> AtOMicPiLL wrote:
> > I didn't need to repair any installs, they all went through
> > smoothly. There isn't an updated driver for my USB thing
> > unfortunately. However, I think I'll do a defrag and just monitor
> > the automatic updates as I have set this to automatically download
> > and install. Not a perfect solution, but one nonetheless that
> > saves me a heap of time that I just don't have to spend fiddling
> > with the computer.
> >
> > Thanks for your suggestions Shenan.
>
> I forgot to say, ignore the title of the knowledge base article... Just
> perform both of the methods. You have no idea (but could) how many people
> have reported the same issue and solved the same issue using that web link I
> gave you and usually - just method 1.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>