for all you fellow windows users out there who was just as vexed as i for not being able to update.. i had found with the help of the microsoft tech support the underlying cause. my antivirus (i use avast 4 home) was preventing me from accessing the site and downloading and installing the updates. it WAS .. as i had found a neat little trick that worked like a charm. make an exception rule to the antivirus you use for the windows update site. make an exception to both your firewall and your antivirus specifically for that site and that little issue should be solved. lol it worked for me.(though at the time before i figured THAT out i was about ready to scream and bash something ..) if you guys are using anything like norton or trendmicro.. i would very strongly recommend you dispense with those poor excuses of antivirus and run with avast.. as i do myself. avast even has the decency to protect my system from decompression bombs which are nasty for knocking you off the net.. and forcing you to rebuild from raw harddrive. (too many times for me * lament*) and so's you guys know... no i do NOT visit some of those skin sites that could possibly carry them. as for a decompression bomb.. what is it? something you would really hate to have to get.. it screws wth your memory, rewrites your os and forces you to basically start over..if you let it get too far... if it does you have a nice expensive paperweight . congrats. please be aware that i have a bit of a cynical sense of humor at times and as i have had to rebuild several times due to the nasty little B**ds i feel i at least should say something on it . if you find yourself unable to solve the updates with making an exception rule to your antivirus .. generally to me that means time for a tear down and refit of the os .. ( usually accompanied with groans, swearing and the like we ALL do at times) So i really hope this helps you guys out there with similar vexing problems.. and assuredly i have duly informed the tech support at microsoft with the same solution i now post here. enjoy guys and best of luck.