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I just couldn’t figure it out:  after numerous attempts to install Win2k3 Service Pack 1, I continued getting the 0x8007F0F4 error through Windows Update.  I read a few newsgroup posts and decided to download the network installation SP1 package in hopes that I was just having trouble with the WU services.  No joy…except when using the network install, the error messages I got were even less helpful.  No amount of Googling or newsgroup searching seemed to help.  After quite a hassle and no effective leads, I was ready to give up on Windows 2003 SP1. 

Luckily (or so I thought) Win2k3 SP2 was released and my problems were solved!

Wrong.

The same error was continuing to pop up when using the WU service:  0x8007F0F4

Google and the newsgroups were even less help in relation to SP2.  Most problems centered around Windows XP SP2 and the 0x8007F0F4 error, which of course didn’t apply because I’m sure my servers aren’t on battery power.

When I checked the %windir%\WindowsUpdate.log I couldn’t find much to go on except "Update is not allowed to download due to regulation." 

Normally, it seems, the "regulation" problem happens when too many clients try downloading patches all at once.  That, or your Windows license is invalid.  For me, however, the problem occurred over and over, spanning at least a couple months (the log overwrites itself after a while) and I knew our enterprise license was still valid.

I continued getting 0x8007F0F4 errors no matter what time of day I attempted the download through WU.  Finally I decided to try the network installation version of SP2 and I finally got a reasonable error message:

Setup has detected that the Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) service is disabled.  The MSDTC service is required for the successful installation of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).  Please enable the MSDTC service, and then restart the installation of Windows 2003 SP2.For (sic) more information about enabling the MSDTC service, contact your network administrator.

Luckily I was the network administrator and I had a slight clue about the next step.  A quick trip to the Services Manager allowed me to set the MS DTC service to "manual" and I was back in business after starting DTC!

Why did was DTC disabled in the first place?  The lockdown guide I used a few years ago suggested disabling DTC due to the chance of exploitation.  Evidently, you can operate normally for years, receiving every other update except Service Packs, with MS DTC disabled.

I’d love to find out why this is the case.  But then again, ignorance is bliss.

Thanks for nothing, MS.