i am on 56k and hence i cannot realy download the 33 odd critical patches that i need for windows xp.
my m8 has adsl and has offered to burn me the files on cd.

is there anywhere that he can downlad these files directly rarther than use the the windows update page which will not allow him to save these files to cd

Go to the Windows Update page

Select "Personalize Windows Update"
Tick the box to "Display link to Windows Update Catalog"

Select "Windows Update Catalog" in the left hand frame
Click "Find Updates for Windows Operating Systems
Select the OS and language you want

Wait for the list of updates
Add the ones you want and then go to the download basket.
Select the location you want to store them
Click "Download now"

Have fun.