Windows Genuine Advantage "We are sorry . . . "

[Paul Unger]

I have three thinkpads. I have a slow internet connection with a limited monthly download allowance. I manually download MS security patches and other updates so that I can deploy them on my three machines without downloading 50MB three times. All copies of Win XP are legit. That's the background; here's the problem:

I'm trying to download http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951072. I'm told I need to validate my copy of Windows (though I've done this a number of times before on all my machines; how many times do they need to know I have a valid copy?!). I'm taken to a page that says: "Validation required" and "Continue". I'm invited to "Install the Genuine Windows Validation Component". I have to use the "Alternate Validation Method" because I do not get the "Internet Explorer Information Bar" that would take me through the process (an ActiveX issue?). A popup asks, "Do you want to install this software? Windows Genuine Advantage." I click "Install", I "Run" it, I get a "Code". I copy the "Code" the the clipboard and paste it in the box "in step 2". And then I get the page, "We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found" with "Search Microsoft.com for: downloads exeValidation aspx displaylang en" below. Obviously, I'm unable to proceed with my initial download . . . This happens on my six month old T61 as well as my five year old T42. Any ideas what's going on? Is it something with me or Microsoft? Any help would be great!

[sarbin]

ygpm.