Windows XP 0x80070424 Update Error

I’ve encountered this error on two different Windows XP systems in the past several days, so I thought I would create a quick post in case it helps others.

Issue: If your workstation has recently been attacked with malware, after cleaning up the malware you may discover that you will get Error 0x80070424 when you try to run Windows Update or Microsoft Security Essentials:

  
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)                         Windows Update/Microsoft Update (WU/MU)

Solution is very simple:

• Click on Start –> Run
  
• Copy/paste the following command line, and press OK:
  
  %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\REGSVR32.EXE %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\WUAUENG.DLL
  
  
• You will get a response window indicating if the registry edit was successful. click OK to finish.
  

You should now be able to run WU/MU or update MSE successfully. That’s all, folks!