KB898461 is a software update from Microsoft Windows for the Package Installer for Windows.

KB898461 is a useful update for Windows XP in the sense that it reduces the amount of data to download during Automatic Updates and thru express installation package.

This is how KB898461 works.

1. Every time we run Windows Update thru Windows Update Site or thru Automatic Update, some files for Windows Package Installer are downloaded.

2. These redundant files download can be minimized by running a set of files installed permanently in your Windows XP system
3. After Installing KB898461 Update, the Windows Package Installer files will be stored in “%windir%\System32\PreInstall\WinSE\WXP_%lcid%_v1″ where %windir% = Windows System Directory and WXP_%lcid%_v1= language identifiers.