One possible explanation for errors at this point might be, that the Windows Script Host (WSH) is disabled. WSUS Offline Update uses some VBScripts to extract information from the file package.xml. If the WSH is disabled, this will fail — but usually, it will
silently fail without any error message.
The WSH can be disabled with the Microsoft Management Console, Registry hacks or various Windows optimizers. Starting in Safe Mode restores all Windows services to their default values.
While both UpdateGenerator.exe and UpdateInstaller.exe need the Windows Script Host, only the latter does actually check, if the WSH is running. This allows a simple comparison: