"Explorer.exe Has Generated Errors and Will Be Closed By Windows" Error Message When You Try to Install Service Pack 3

If you start the Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 Setup Wizard from Windows Explorer (start Windows Explorer, and then double-click w2ksp3.exe), you may receive the following error message after the Windows 2000 Setup Wizard is complete:

This behavior occurs because SP3 for Windows 2000 does not correctly update the following Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 file:

To work around this issue, quit all running programs and close all open windows before you install SP3 for Windows 2000. If you start the Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 Setup Wizard by double-clicking w2ksp3.exe in Windows Explorer, quit Windows Explorer before you continue to install SP3.

To run SP3 for Windows 2000 from a command line, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type drive:w2ksp3.exe (where drive is the drive that contains the SP3 CD-ROM), and then click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.