BleepingComputer.com: Virus, firewall or registry problem blocking internet for windows update.

Hello and thanks in advance for your assistance.

My problem is this: Windows update is unable to download anything from the update servers. It alternates between an error that says it can't connect to the internet, and an error that says it's already installing other updates, but it is not. Additionally, AIM and Yahoo messenger will not connect. I believe these are related somehow. I use firefox as my main web browser. Both firefox and IE are working smoothly, with no interuptions in my connection to the web.

I have had a number of recent changes to my system setup that could potentially be to blame. I will list them below.

-Norton AV subscription ended and was not renewed, causing me to pick up a number of viruses and rootkits.

-Used HijackThis and Malwarebytes to clean computer up, eliminating some registry keys.

-Kept getting the viruses and rootkits back.

-Subscribed to Norton 360, which seemed to clear up all virus problems.

-Purchased a new router.

I'm running windows vista home premium 32 bit. I have a 2.2 GHz dual core, HP. 500 gig HD, 2 gigs RAM, Gforce Video card with 512 onboard memory, on a wireless N router/USB adapter. My PC came with vista pre-installed, so I do not own a disk, only a restore partition.

Let me know if you need anything else, and again, thanks in advance.

KaneShade, on May 28 2009, 08:46 AM, said:

Hi KaneShade,

This is Mike from the Norton Authorized Support Team.

The inability to run Windows Update is usually attributed to infections or software conflicts. If you have not already done so, try to download the updates manually using IE and see if they get installed. To make sure that the problem is not being caused by a software conflict, both the Windows Firewall and Defender should be disabled. Also check that you do not have any other third-party, real-time internet security applications installed, as they can cause conflicts with Norton 360.

Next, manually run LiveUpdate from within Norton 360 3.0 by mousing-over the "PC Security" bubble and choosing "Check for Updates. If any updates are installed, restart your computer into Windows Safe Mode and then launch Norton 360 and perform a "Comprehensive System Scan" to check for infections. Some infections can only be detected when booted into Safe Mode.

Please try these steps and let me know the outcome.

Thank you,
Mike

Thanks for the response Mike! I have actually done everything you've said except running the scan in safe mode. I'll update norton again tonight and run it in safemode.

I DID update and run Norton last night in normal mode, and the only thing it found on my computer was a cookie.

Also, I have malwarebytes and HiJackThis on my PC, but neither of them run on startup. They have to be manually started, so those wouldn't cause a conflict, right?

I'll post again once I run Norton's Scan in safe mode.

UPDATE:

Ok, so I manually downloaded one of the updates that I have on my windows update list and it installed successfully. However, I found out the the first update on the windows update list, tagged "Important" can't be found on microsoft's downloads list using the code for the update. This particular update is titled:

Microsoft .NET framework 3.5 service pack 1 and .NET 3.5 Family update (KB951847) x86

I used the "KB951847" to search for the update on the site. I was unable to locate it. I did, however, find a different update using the same method. I also read something on a forum somewhere, where stopping the download may cause this issue. This download may have been stopped manually by me at some point, or could have been stopped abruptly due to a power outage.

Regardless, I booted into safe mode and ran Norton 360's comprehensive scan. It found nothing at all.

KaneShade, on May 29 2009, 08:39 AM, said:

Hi KaneShade,

Since no infections were found during the scan and you mention that you may have manually stopped the download of an important update, I suspect that your problem is related to Vista itself, and is not related to Norton 360. I would advise you to contact Microsoft for them to help you re-establish the ability to have Windows Update automatically run.


Thank you,
Mike

With all due respect, if I wanted to pay them 60 bucks to help me fix this, I would have gone that route to begin with. Would have been much quicker.

Is this issue considered closed? I don't want to pay 60 bucks an hour for help. That's why I came here. Should I open a new thread? What should I do?

Mike, is it possible the Norton firewall, or router firewall is blocking windows update, and/or my messenger programs?

KaneShade, on May 29 2009, 07:20 PM, said:

Hi Ken,

Yes, it is possible that the problem may be due to an issue with your router or your installation of Norton 360.

What I can suggest that you try is to disable the Firewall functionality of your router first, and possibly reset it as well, and see if you still have the same problem. If you still have the same problem, then you can try properly uninstalling and reinstalling Norton 360 by carefully following the steps below.

Make note of your Activation Key for Norton 360.

1. Click on the following link to download the Norton Removal Tool:

Norton Removal Tool and Instructions

2. After you run the tool, please restart your computer. Then log in to Windows again and run the removal tool again. Restart your computer after it is finished running the second time as well.

3. Either open Windows Update from the Start Menu or launch IE and attempt to download and install the available updates from Windows Update. If you are successful, then the issue may have been related to a corrupted installation of Norton 360. To cleanly reinstall the latest version of Norton 360, follow the instructions below.

1. Click on the link below and then choose the "Download" button under 'Norton 360 " to download the latest installer.

Re-download latest Norton Installer

2. When the installation is complete, launch Norton 360 version 3, mouse-over the "PC Security" bubble and choose "Check for Updates." When the updates have been installed, restart your computer.

3 Mouse-over the "PC Security" bubble and choose "Scans" and then perform a "Comprehensive System Scan." (You may want to do this step when booted into Safe Mode)

4. When the scan is complete, again try to run Windows Update. If the problem still persists then it is most likely related to a problem with Vista. If this is the case, then you may want to create another thread and hopefully someone can assist you.

In regards to your messenger program, make sure it is added to the list in the Norton Firewall in Norton 360. The instructions below will guide you through this step.

Allow internet-enabled applications through in Norton 360 version 3

Thanks,
Mike