Windows Automatic Updates: not found

Have been using NIS since 2005 and renewing religiously since subscription.

 

Just two days ago, upon every boot of Win XP, a Norton Security Centre pops up showing two messages

- Norton Anti Virus is off

- Windows Automatic Update is off

 

in a few seconds, the first message goes off, leaving only the "Windows Automatic Update is off" beeping.

 

When i click on the icon, i see a RED CROSS under "Windows Automatic Update", having the status of "Not Found"?

 

THis has never happened to me, is it a malware/spyware/virus attack?

Please help.

 

It may be psychological, but my sytem seem to have slowed down these few days