Problem?....or No Problem?

So this morning I boot up the XP Home SP2 desktop to start my daily routine.

Knowing this is a Microsoft Update day, I go ahead and manually run my Windows Updates.

After a long pause I get Error code: 0x0248013. Repeated attempts to reboot and reset my IE settings don't help.

Stymied, I eventually track down a Microsoft help file that suggests the Windows Update catalog is damaged and needs to be cleaned out. (I've tried to search Microsoft for a direct link, but cannot. Here is a 3rd party post of the Microsoft page.

Did that.

Re-run Windows Updates and get a response, but no updates at all are found.

This is weird. I am not necessarily expecting to see today's critical updates yet, but there were a number of "optional" software updates I don't have installed. But this says there are now none available. Usually it is around six. Hmmm.

I check up Update History catalog and it looks like it has all 40 or so updates installed. But somehow the dates are all showing from 2004. What? I know I just got a WinDefender update last week or earlier. My system clock is on the correct time/date.

Reboot.

Same thing. Put the files I deleted following the guide above back and retry.

Nope. Back to Error number 0x0248013. Re-do that un-repair.

Reboot.

Now I got a new mysterious error code in Windows Updates: Error number: 0x80244022

Apparently, this one means that the Windows Update service is temporarily overloaded. Great.

Reboot and try one more time. Why not?

This time I get Error code: 0x80072EE2.

And this? Well, something to do with the Windows Update client not getting a response from the Windows Update or Microsoft Update Web site.

Router is working fine. Disabled the software firewall, but no difference. I'm otherwise getting to the net and loading pages fine. I go ahead and follow Step 4 and add the Update sites to my Trusted Sites list and not require server verification.

Reboot one more time.

OK. Windows updates works and gives me a return. No critical updates available, no drivers available. Expected that. Six optional updates available. Ah! Nice! Now are my update history dates fixed?

No. They are all gone. Nothing in there this time.

Sigh.

Just for kicks I fire up Lavie's laptop and see what it offers. Everything looks good. Response looks good. History looks good.

Try it one more time. What? Got a Windows Update Error number: 0x80244022. Well I know what that one means now. Shut down IE and try again. Ok. Looking good. Try a few more times, just to reassure myself. All good.

So...do I have a Problem or not?

Did I truly have an issue in the first place? Were the MS servers just on overload?

Can I accept that my desktop now seems to be getting updates without errors (apparently) but my update history catalog is now empty?

Since Windows Updates isn't offering all the updates all over again, can I surmise that it is still reading either a different log or my registry to know that I actually do have those 40-odd updates actually on my system?

Is this the First Sign of some operating system issues that may mean I need to soon consider wiping my C: drive and doing a fresh install of the system, updates and all the family files, software, tweaks, and configuration?

Hmmm.....

I'm going to try really hard to be patient and just monitor the situation....apart from the update history blanked, the system seems stable and clear.

--Claus