I know this ones a common theme, but all the promising help threads I have
found here have not helped me yet. I've opened a new thread since someone
suggested it was the proper procedure. I am by no means an expert, so I hope
the following details are clear and enable some benevolent do-gooder to help.

Problem: Windows updates hangs and fails with Error Code 0x80246008. Event
Log shows service specific error code 2147942402. BITS will not start. OS
is W2000 SP4. Yes - Norton was uninstalled recently - I understand this
tends to do strange things.

Here are my failed solutions:
- Installed rollup 1 for SP4
- Deleted files from C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader
- registered (regsvr32) on oleaut32.dll, jscript.dll, vbscript.dll,
msxml.dll, softpub.dll, wintrust.dll, initpki.dll, and cryptdlg.dll,
- Ensured that dependencies (RPC, System Event Notification, COM+ Event
System, and Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions) were
started.
- Local System Account logon enabled (in BITS)
- Tried to load Bitsadmin from Support.cab on my installation disk. (it
wasnt found in the unzipped directory)
- Tried to reset the security settings on the BITS service by using 'sc
sdset bits' (but my OS didn't recognize the sc command)
- Registered (regsvr32.exe) on qmgr.dll and qmgrprxy.dll
- Tried to reinstall the BITs service from the command prompt using
"%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection
DefaultInstall 132 %SystemRoot%\inf\qmgr.inf" --> install failed
- Tried the following from the command window;
[
rd /q /s "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader"
hit ENTER
Now key in:
net start BITS
and hit ENTER
] - BITS failed to start with same error code
- Added BITS and WUAUSERV to the ntsrvc registry key