svc host error message

Freshly loaded OS. Win2Kpro.
Put in a temporary dial-up connection to update the OS before installing Office and other apps.
Windows is working what seems like just fine, until when attempting to update, It just refuses to continue.
Error message is about svchost.exe and says that windows must close the program.
Everything works fine within the system, except forms, like search for files, and the control panel has severe limitations. If you open WNNT in an attempt to locate the svchost.exe file and investigate the error, nothing is viewable.
The only thing that I could find in knowledgebase about it was something about after downloading bearshare. this is n/a here.
Any suggestions or URLs for information?