Problems Getting IE Security Patch

[MarkTwain]

I'm running under Win XP Pro, SP 2. I went to Update IE 7 with that high-profile IE
Security Patch that came out on 12/17/08. The Updater told me I'd need to install
SP 3 before I could get the Security Patch.

The SP 3 install went OK till about two-thirds of the way through, hiccuped, and
popped up an Access Denied! error message. Then it uninstalled & undid its previous
install, finishing with the ominous message, "Windows XP SP 3 did not complete its install...
Windows XP has has been partially updated and may not function properly."

Oh, brother.

Anyway, I re-booted and everything seems to function OK--for now...

How can I properly retrieve SP 3, so I can get that important IE security patch?

This link discusses the issue you are having:

http://www.microsoft.com/communities...=en-us&m=1&p=1

[MarkTwain]

Thanks, USNR, I'll check that out....