1. Let's assume that .NET 1.1 Framework is present. In case Microsoft's .NET Framework 2.0 has not been installed properly, it is necessary to repair the installation. First, go to Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs. Scroll down until you come to the Microsoft .NET Framework entry. If it says 2.0, you are good to go. If not, then you need to download the correct .NET 2.0 Framework from Microsoft. If you have the correct version, click on the entry and then on Change/Remove. When the setup screen appears, select Repair and follow the instructions.
2. Instead of trying to install Windows XP's Service Pack 2 from Microsoft's website, download the administrative installation package from the aforementioned link to do so -- it might be a good idea to slipstream an WInXP SP2 setup CD anyway. If during the setup of SP2 it turns out that the product key used for the initial setup of Windows has been blacklisted, Jelly Bean's Magical Keyfinder helps to find out which one was used to install the OS. A handy tool to search for Windows Key generators is the PeerSpider from the official PeerSpider page.
3. More software can be found at Microsoft's place

1. Make sure that you have placed muBlinder in its own folder. You should now be able to run muBlinder.
2. When you run muBlinder.exe for the first time. After accepting the EULA, the file ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.dll and a data folder will be placed inside the muBlinder folder. Inside the data folder, three sub-folders will be created. The one named 'blinders' is where any downloaded blinders must be placed.
3. Look under the Validation tab and the Notification tab in muBlinder (Method 1 is recommended for notification).
4. Read this explanation with regard to the message you receive under Validation: First, you will see something à la «.DLL check failed», but after clicking the [Blind/Enable] button on top, that should change to «.DLL check passed» -- at least until Billy the Bully invents new hassles.

1. Depending on whether the empire of evil or our heroic geniusses updated their software more recently, muBlinder might sometimes have problems at Microsoft's Download Center. If you wish to install software such as Internet Explorer 7 (IE7), Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11) or Windows Defender (WD1), until muBlinder is on top of Microsoft again, search the Internet for direct download links in order to bypass the Download Center gateway validation check.
2. Having downloaded the program setup package, you can download a respective blinder (under the Blinders tab), to install the program and bypass the in-built validation check at install. For more details see more detailed instructions on patching setup packages or take a look at the examples further below.
3. The information contained in previous replies might turn out to address the problem you were just about to ask about -- read them before spamming the board with the same FAQ again.
4. Only download a blinder if and when you need it. The 'Latest Blinders' are the ones most likely to be working currently.

Download the WMP11 Blinder from the Blinders tab and save it in the data/blinders folder where you placed muBlinder.exe. Go to the Blinders tab, the blinder will appear at the top, click on RUN and follow all the instructions carefully.

The WMP11 executable is in fact a compressed file that would self-extract and run setup.exe (or similar) if you double-clicked on it. You want to avoid doing so, because you need to patch a component within the package in order to be able to bypass the validation at the beginning of the installation procedure. You can unpack the compressed file by using a compression tool such as WinRar or WiZip. Windows XP's integrated .zip handler will not do the job. Extract the setup package into its own folder and remember its location, so that you can find it during the following step.

Click on muBlinder's Start button. Some progress information and LegitLibM.dll will appear in the 'File name' box at the bottom. Using the 'Look in' box at the top, use the arrowhead to navigate to the folder you created in Step 2. When you reach that folder, you should see LegitLibM.dll appear in the main window. This is the file you are looking for. Click on 'Open' and look in the progress information box below the blinder instructions. You should see that blinding has been successful. The correct file has been patched.

Now exit muBlinder and go to the folder you created earlier. Run the file 'setup_wm.exe' that you find there. WMP11 will be installed with validation blinded. Do not forget to restart your computer.

You should be able to adapt the above explanation to interpret the instructions included with other blinders, such as that for IE7: download IE7 from Internet Explorer IE 7 and run the latest version of muBlinder. Check its status under the 'Validation' and 'Notification' tabs. Under the 'Blinder' tab, download the blinder for IE7. Save the blinder in the \data\blinder subdirectory of the folder where you placed muBlinder.exe.

Inside muBlinder (Under the 'Blinders' tab), click 'Run'. Follow the instuctions on screen and subsequently, run the Setup once again. Read and follow all instructions that come with muBlinder or the blinders very carefully.

If IE complains about a missing Cryptographic Service, set the latter to 'automatic' in Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Adminstrative Tools -> Service.

In case you have previously used a WGA crack, delete LegitCheckControl.dll from C:WINDOWSSystem32. Now visit the dark side of the force at their Updates website and if the Empire wants to install the WGA Validation tool, pretend that the temptation is stronger than your will and give in. For non-IE browsers, you will be redirected to an alternative site, but it is assumed that you use Internet Explorer for all M$ related tasks. In fact it is essential for the operation of muBlinder that you do so.

When the WGA validation tool with ActiveX has been installed, go to muBlinder's Validation screen, which should look similar to this:

Detecting DLL : Passed!
DLL Version: Passed! (1.5.0723.1)
DLL Status: Failed! (No Replacement DLL)

Now click on the [Blind/Enable] button in the upper region of muBlinder's Validation tab. The screen should now show:

Detecting DLL: Passed!
DLL Version: Passed! (1.5.0723.1)
DLL Status: Passed! (Replacement DLL)

You are ready to download updates.

1. Disable automatic updates in the Control Panel.
2. EDIT: Stop the Automatic Updates Service. Go to your Windows directory and delete both "Windows Update.log" and "WindowsUpdate.log". Restart he Automatic Updates service.
3. Make the Update sites 'Trusted sites'. To do this, go to Tools --> Internet Options and click on the Security tab. Highlight 'Trusted sites' and then click on the 'Sites' button. Ensure that the server verification (https) box is not checked. Then enter the following sites:

   http://WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com
   http://Update.Microsoft.com

net stop wuauserv
regsvr32 atl.dll
regsvr32 msxml3.dll
regsvr32 wuapi.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 wucltui.dll
regsvr32 wups.dll
regsvr32 wups2.dll
regsvr32 wuweb.dll
regsvr32 qmgr.dll
regsvr32 qmgrprxy.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
net start wuauserv