Vista - XML Core Services 4.0 Service Pack

I just got this new computer with Vista 64 bit on it and I run into a lot of problems. One of them is that I cannot install this update that I am prompted to install as being critical. It doesn't install no matter what. I tried going directly to the website but still it doesn't install. I usually got error code 652. I also got error code 643 one time but mostly 652. The full message reads:

Error opening installation log file. Verify that the specified log file location exists and is writable.

At one point, trying to download from the website, after logging in as Administrator, I got the message that another installation is in process. There was no other installation other than this one which I kept trying over and over. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

BTW, I was online with chat support with Hewlett Packard, my computer's manufacturer for quite a while on two separate days and they couldn't figure it out. They suggest appealing to Microsoft directly. What is going on here?