Windows SideBySide Errors in XP Pro

This is the second time in the last six months I have been hit with
this type of error.

A few days ago I suddenly started having trouble opening programs,
then lcosing programs, and shutting down and rebooting. Event viewer
shows groupings of the same errors repeated several times:

Event 32 - Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.MFCLOC could not be found
and Last Error was The referenced assembly is not installed on your
system.

Event 59 - Resolve Partial Assembly failed for Microsoft.VC80.MFCLOC
could not be found and Reference error message The referenced assembly
is not installed on your system.

When this happens I cannot open any programs, cannot close any, and
cannot shutdown or reboot. I have to force a shutdown with the Power
button.

Antivirus and AntiSpyware scans indicate the system is clean.

MSKB articles for these errors state that there is a private hotfix
for this that I could obtain by contacting MS directly, but it is only
for Windows Server 2003-based operating systems. I'm running XP Pro
SP2, so this shouldn't apply. Does this mean that perhaps one of my
applications is connecting with a Windows Server? (I'm grasping here).

I have seen a couple of posts on other boards that suggest this may be
related to automatic updates for Windows Installer. (SUS / WSUS)

Does anyone have any idea what could cause this? Any particular
applications? (I haven't installed anything new recently - just
updates to existing programs).

Thanks

--
Jim McGowan
.