0x80070246 Error - Suggestions ?

[Somnolent]

Trying & failing to install Cisual C++ 2005 Components
After messing around collecting error logs & so on, I'm told I have     0x80070246 Error    problems in the registry

Any suggestions... the only ones I've been pointed at so far cost $$ and are of course of unknown efficacy

[tiermat]

It would sound like a corruption issue, from what I have read, thusly: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942968

[Somnolent]

No doubt some sort of corruption somewhere - but that kb not really relevant.
I'm on Win 7 and the issue is not with Win Update...

Thanks for looking though
 

[Somnolent]

Problem persists...Tried any number of registry cleaners and other solutions I've found around the interweb, none of which seem to help.

One of the suggestions was to run sfc /scannow from a command prompt opened as an administrator, but it wouldnt even let me do that. 
Anyone got any bright ideas (apart from clean install of the OS - which will be expensive in terms of time and buying new licences for software)