As reported at Neowin, your Windows XP computer may be locked up due to bad updates being sent by Microsoft. Two of mine were 🙁
The solution, which I found in the comments section of that article, tested, and confirmed on my own computers:
- Disable the Automatic Updates service.
- Stop the Automatic Updates service (reboot if necessary but do not kill svchost.exe)
- Install the correct update from Microsoft. That link is for computers with IE8 only. For older versions, check the article I mentioned above.
- Reboot the computer.
- Reset the Automatic Updates service to automatic and start it. (If you want more updates.)
This is a truly shameful problem for Microsoft’s reputation.
December 7, December 11, More Problems
The subsequent updates released by Microsoft have caused the same problem to occur again. I’ve updated the link above with the newer patches.
To find newer patches, you have to do a complicated search at the Microsoft Download Center.
Per my latest article about Windows servers, I am now recommending everyone disable the Automatic Updates service on all Windows-based computers.