[markomus]

So I had to do a System Recovery on a Compaq Presario S4000V.

By default, it comes with XP Home SP1, Norton 2003 and a WHOLE truck load of crapware (though only a couple of things run on startup, so we're fine).

I dutifully and immediately dumped a bunch of that junk and kicked off Norton. I used my CD with SP3 to bring things up to speed. Then went to Microsoft Update. The browser (IE6) hung on "Checking if your computer has the latest version...." After at least 15 minutes nothing happened.

So I tried installing IE8.

No dice. Got the "Internet Explorer 8 could not be installed. You must restart your system to confirm that any changes to your system are undone" message. WHAT?!?!?! Ok.

After several attempts and checking around I saw nothing that helped.

So I decided that maybe I boobooed somehow. Did another system restore. Same thing.

This is now the third time (and I didn't remove ANYTHING). A charm? Nope. Not so charming. Same thing.

To be sure, everything else works fine. I can use Chrome, for example, to access the Internet.

Other suggestions? (I might have already tried stuff or failed to mention this or that, but forgive me: It has been quite the long, arduous battle.

[TOGG]

When SP3 first came out I remember reading something about how important it was to ensure that it and IE were installed/upgraded in a certain order, unfortunately, I no longer remember the details! I'm sure someone else here will be able to provide the necessary detail but, meanwhile, have a look at this MS KB article about how you correct things if you did install them in the wrong order; http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950719

I don't know if it affects the situation at all but, when you refer to 'System Restore', did you mean a Windows restore point or the computer manufacturer's restore to original factory condition?

As for collecting Windows Updates, I am able to do it using Firefox with the IETab addon and the 'Custom' option on the MS update site.

[markomus]

Great! I'll give that a try.

System Recovery is what I meant. Sorry. I changed it for future readers. Meaning, then, of course, the recovery partition by Compaq.

[markomus]

What I don't get, though, is why it should hang like that when I recovered the system and didn't install ANYTHING. I can recover the system, boot up, go straight to Windows Update and it immediately stalls out on me (keeps hanging on that "Checking if your computer..." message)

[markomus]

Will try Firefox's IE tab. VERY good suggestion! But I just don't know if IE8 will ever install. And since it isn't my computer there's no convincing John Q. Public not to use IE. As far as he's concerned, the little blue e = "the Internet" Everything else is "I don't know what THAT is. Get it off my computer, please"

[markomus]

Firefox IE tab = no dice. Good idea, though.

The Microsoft article pertained to when one can't uninstall IE7 or IE8 after installing SP3. My issue was not being able to get IE8 to install in the first place (regardless of SP1 or SP3). So I guess I'd need a KB that deals with that very issue.

Guess I've scored another one for having a talent for getting the most impossible of problems to solve.

[Phantom010]

Try the following command:

Click Start > Run > type CMD

In the command prompt, type (or paste):

 
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

This restores the default security settings in Windows.

Try installing IE8 again.

[markomus]

Originally Posted by Phantom010

Try the following command:

Click Start > Run > type CMD

In the command prompt, type (or paste):

 
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

This restores the default security settings in Windows.

Try installing IE8 again.

Tried it. Came back unrecognized or non-system command (or however that goes). Thanks, though!

[Phantom010]

Did you use the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall Norton? If not, download it and run it at least twice.

[markomus]

So I went with this nifty little thing I discovered called a "Destructive System Recovery" in the advanced options.

My highly technical and brilliant analysis is simply that the non-destructive system recovery left intact some settings that work against the updating and installation processes--settings which can't be changed by the simple tech guy like me--unless things get ugly.

So that's what happened. I backed up data and did the destructo thing.

We're good to go.

Thanks everyone!