Oh well, downloading the "professional" version of sp3 (the .iso) didn't help either.

Any attempt to visit Windows Update still redirects the machine to this useless link. Oddly, "Automatic Updates" still works, but using that requires that the machine be left powered on continuously. Duh.

I might just leave it at that, though, since playing with toy systems from MS is near the bottom of my life goals.

Or I might redo it all again with a slipstreamed installer. But that would still requiring do the hardware drivers dance again to get video, sound, and ethernet working.

Cheers