Can't reinstall Zune 3.1 (Windows XP)

[Pokii]

VERSION OF ZUNE
======================
I have a Zune 120, actually...

VERSION OF ZUNE SOFTWARE/FIRMWARE
=====================================
Zune 3.1, I believe. Whatever's the newest version that it tries to install.

OPERATING SYSTEM
======================
Windows XP Professional Edition

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
=======================
Ok, yeah...

So I bought my new Zune online and picked it up at the store, blah, blah, blah. When I got home, I installed the Zune software with zunesetuppkg-x86.exe, which I downloaded from Zune.net. It installed just fine and everything was just peachy. Got it to sync and put a bunch of stuff on it and everything.

The next day, however, my Zune stopped syncing with the software. I went scouring the internet for every possible thing to do (i.e. using a different USB Port, reseting the Zune, etc.), but nothing seemed to work. The only thing left that I could think of was to uninstall it. I checked the page on the official Microsoft Website on how to uninstall/reinstall it (How to remove and then reinstall the Zune software) but apparently I must have done something wrong, because it just won't reinstall. Methinks the problem probably occurred during the "Perform a Clean Startup" phase, as I'm not incredibly tech savvy and wasn't entirely sure what I was doing...Please note that I did manage to at least completely remove all traces of Zune software from my computer, however. (As far as I can tell, anyway. It's no longer in the Add/Delete Programs menu, at least...)

Case and point though, when I run zunesetuppkg-x86.exe (or any of the further mentioned .exe files), it gets to about 11%, skips dramatically to 96%, and then fails to install giving me this exact message:

Installation failed

Setup must stop because the required package 'Zune' didn't install.

DriverCA 19:14:32.875: Operation 'InstallHardwareDriver' has finished with result 0x80070005

Error code: 0x80070005

A required component cannot be installed when you try to install the Zune software

Anyway, this lead me to customer support, which just pointed me to the omnipopular "4-step-reinstall" (or so I like to call it) involving the download, file extraction of, and running of startzune.exe (from ZunePackage31.exe). I honestly don't see how it's supposed to help, though, since running it (and it's counterpart, zunesetup.exe, under the x86 folder) has caused it to fail to install in the exact same manner as the original zunesetuppkg-x86.exe.

Now my understanding is that I'm missing something that it needs to install. Funny thing is, everything I need should come with the ZunePackage31.exe file, right? Well, if that's the case, I'm not sure what's up. I've run every single runable file in the x86 folder and it still won't install with any of the 3 .exe's.

The link I get upon installation failure suggests that I need the following:

* The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
* Microsoft Windows Media Format 11 runtime
* Microsoft Error Reporting 2.0
* XMLLite

Most of those, I believe, came with ZunePackage31.exe, and I've attempted to remedy each of them individually, but still nothing's worked...Here's what I've tried to do for each of those programs:

* The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Some other .NET stuff was getting in the way of installation of this one (namely Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1), but I managed to uninstall them, and install dotnetfx.exe (which came with ZunePackage31.exe) , and then reinstall the Service Pack again. Everything seems to be working fine, so I doubt this one's the problem.
* Microsoft Windows Media Format 11 runtime - This one wasn't too hard. I downloaded and installed wmformat11sdk.exe. Installation was a success, so unless this is actually the wrong format, I don't think this is the problem, either.
* Microsoft Error Reporting 2.0 - I'm still not sure about this one...I couldn't (and still can't) find anything on the Microsoft website (or internet in general) in the way of a .exe file for this. There was, however, a file in the x86 folder of the files extracted from ZunePackage31.exe called dw20shared.msi. Whenever I run it, it always pops up a window entitled "Microsoft Application Error Reporting" that loads really quickly and disappears half a second later. If that's it, then I've run that a bunch of times, though it hasn't ever done anything more than popping that window up when I try to install it.
* XMLLite - This is my biggest bet as to what's wrong with the reinstallation of Zune 3.1. Whilst probing the internet for how to actually update XMLLite, I was lead to this page. The first download on that page (KB915865) is the one I'm almost certain I need (WindowsXP-KB915865-v11-x86-ENU.exe). However, whenever I try to run it, after getting to the Terms of Service section and checking "I agree" I'm given a window that says:

KB915865 Setup Error

Files from the Package are incompatible with files on your system.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure this guy's the problem, but unfortunately I have no idea about how to go about fixing it...


THINGS ATTEMPTED SO FAR
===========================
Oh, whoops. All these are mentioned in the above section ^^;

HAVE YOU SEARCHED ONLINE/ZUNEBOARDS TO FIND A SOLUTION?
================================================== ========
I've been everywhere I could possibly think to go and for some reason there really seems to be nothing that works...

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY ERROR MESSAGES?
========================================
Just to repost it again:

Installation failed

Setup must stop because the required package 'Zune' didn't install.

DriverCA 19:14:32.875: Operation 'InstallHardwareDriver' has finished with result 0x80070005

Error code: 0x80070005

A required component cannot be installed when you try to install the Zune software

Oh, and the one for WindowsXP-KB915865-v11-x86-ENU.exe...

KB915865 Setup Error

Files from the Package are incompatible with files on your system.

ATTACHMENTS
====================
Just to repost it (if not just for my own sanity), here's a screenshot of that error message I get when running startzune.exe, zunesetuppkg-x86.exe, or zunesetup.exe



And here's a shot of that nasty little window that keeps popping up whenever I try to run WindowsXP-KB915865-v11-x86-ENU.exe


======================




Thanks so much for any help. I've been at this for 3 days now and I really want this thing fixed. I really love my Zune and I'd hate to have to sell it and get an iPod or something over something as ridiculous as the software not installing, especially since it has once already.

[Pokii]

Erm...bump...