What a joke. Do they actually expect us to run their "automatic updates" service to query windowsupdate.micro$oft.com?

Anyone know how I can simply view all post sp2 hotfixes and cherry pick those I want to download under v5 of WU? The mainpage had this about yet another flaw in internet explorer. (Makes me glad I use Mozilla, but I'd like to d/l a fix all the same).

We're Sorry

Windows Update cannot continue because a required service application is disabled. Windows Update requires the following services:

Automatic Updates enables detection, downloading, and installation of critical updates for your computer.

Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) enables faster, restartable downloading of updates.

Event Log logs Windows Update events for troubleshooting. To ensure that these services are enabled:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. Type services.msc and then click OK.

3. In the list of services, right-click the service name, and then click Properties.

4. In the Startup type list, select Automatic.

5. Verify that the service status is started.

If this does not resolve the problem you may request help from one of the following resources

I believe you can run the AU service, and still disable it via the AU options, thus the service won't be disabled.