Hi malware fighters,
The recent stealth Microsoft updates prevent the Windows XP repair function in case of a reinstall using the XP-cd. We are still waiting for an official Microsoft reaction:
http://windowssecrets.com/2007/09/27/03
Is this another way to encourage users to make the switch to Vista?
polonus
Yes trying to be stealthy (read sneaky/underhand/devious) looks like it has bit them in the a**. The piece in the Windows Secrets newsletter (that I subscribe to), is very good.
If only MS would try to stick to the supposed ‘Trustworthy’ computing that they made a big deal about some time ago.
I’m shocked as I manage more than 12 XP installations and won’t be able to use the repair function if they don’t change the behavior of WU registered files :o :o
A stealth message.
Good one 
;D
The windows secrets article gives a work around (see image for extract) to manually register the updated WU dlls files.
David,
If I’m not mistaken, the article sated that if you did a repair to your XP system using
the sfc /scannow command in the run command you would have problems using the Windows update service.
To fix this you would need to follow the instructions outline in the picture you posted.
I didn’t see it that way as it also mentioned doing a ‘repair install’ I saw nothing about sfc /scannow in the newsletter article (even did an email search for sfc and nada).
The trouble occurs when users reinstall XP's system files using the repair capability found on genuine XP CD-ROMs. (The feature is not present on "Restore CDs.") The repair option, which is typically employed when XP for some reason becomes unbootable, rolls many aspects of XP back to a pristine state. It wipes out many updates and patches and sets Internet Explorer back to the version that originally shipped with the operating system.Normally, users who repair XP can easily download and install the latest patches, using the Automatic Updates control panel or navigating directly to Microsoft’s Windows Update site.
However, after using the repair option from an XP CD-ROM, Windows Update now downloads and installs the new 7.0.600.381 executable files. Some WU executables aren’t registered with the operating system, preventing Windows Update from working as intended. This, in turn, prevents Microsoft’s 80 latest patches from installing — even if the patches successfully downloaded to the PC.