help needed

hi all,
i need help please, i'm sorry this is long winded
i downloaded a file and it caused problems it wiped
out my provider aol with all it's files/folders etc
it knocked all the windows xp security updates out
and also stopped the system restore feature, iv'e removed all
of this downloaded file and got the computer up and running again
now the computer wont allow the windows updates to install and i
a banner all the time saying updates are ready for your computer
and when i turn off it says 1 of 73 downloads dont turn off, but the computer does turn off hence no updates. from microsoft website it said you have a problem on your computer or it's set not to accept update for windows. it is set to accept updates, and as i said the system restore only goes back to 3/8/07 this is the date this all started. can anyone throw any light on how to fix this. if i re-install windows xp will this overwrite the software thats on the computer at the moment and give me a clean system and restore all the settings as original and allow windows to update and get rid of this problem, apart from not alowing windows to install the updates everything is working first class. many thanks in advance for any help advice.

[Annabell]

Apologies Clipper i have just noticed your post

Please try this MS fix

This error may occur if the WUAUSERV and BITS services are not configured properly in the registry
Resolutions

Add WUAUSERV and BITS to the SvcHost process
Click Start > Run
In the Run box, type regedit and click OK
Navigate to the following key: HKEY_Local_Machine \ Software \ Microsoft \ WindowsNT \ CurrentVersion \ SvcHost
Double-click to open the netsvcs key
Under Value Data, add BITS and WUAUSERV to the list of services
Click OK
Exit the registry editor
Restart the system

This information from Microsoft, Ann