JSI Tip 10572. When you attempt to enable the Automatic Updates feature on Windows XP it is unavailable or you receive 'We are sorry the Security Center could not change the Automatic Updates settings'?

After you upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows XP Professional, a pop-up message prompts you to turn on the Automatic Updates feature so your computer can be kept up to date. When you use Control Panel to open the Security Center applet and turn on the Automatic Updates feature, you receive an error similar to:

We are sorry the Security Center could not change the Automatic Updates settings.

When you try to turn on the Automatic Updates feature from the Automatic Updates tab in the System Properties dialog, you find that the Automatic Updates feature is not available.

To resolve this issue:

1. Open a CMD.EXE Window.

2. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:

REG ADD HKLMSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdateAU /V NoAutoUpdate /T REG_DWORD /F /D 0
REG ADD HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesBITS /V Start /T REG_DWORD /F /D 2
REG ADD HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServiceswuauserv /V Start /T REG_DWORD /F /D 2

3. Shutdown and restart Windows XP.

NOTE: See tip 0324 Registry entries for services.

NOTE: See tip 7633 How do I configure Automatic Updates using the registry?

NOTE: See tip 7632 How do I configure Automatic Updates using group policy?