boot time error from svchost.exe

Question

I need help with a boot time application error that I recently started getting. My OS is Windows XP Home edition. My machine is a Dell Dimension from 2004. I’ve kept up to date with XP patches and Norton updates.

The application error message box title is "svchost.exe - Application error". The message states "The instruction at 0x745f2780 referenced memory at 0x0000000. The memory could not be 'read'".

Soon after that I receive a Windows "needs to close" message that says "Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem and needs to close".

The machine is mostly booted when the messages appear. Norton Firewall and Virus Protection icons are in the system tray. If I do not touch either of the error message windows, I can run the computer to get email, go on the internet, etc. As soon as I close the error message windows, the computer locks up. If I try to shut down without touching the error message windows, the shut down process closes them and the computer locks up. I am forced to close the computer by turning of the power protection bar.

The only change I made to my PC recently was regarding Windows updates. I changed my preference setting (accidentally through Norton Protection Center) from “notify” to “automatically update”.

I'm not sure it is a software or hardware problem, so that makes me a bit hesitant to use Norton Save & Restore to restore my C drive to the way it was before this problem started.

I searched the Dell forums. I know more now, but this exact situation was not covered. From the posts, I can see some things to try, but if anyone has suggestions, please offer them.

Any help is appreciated.

dunedin · Answer

Hello Michael :smileyhappy:

This is a hard one to track down. There are so many causes.
Norton has sometimes been implicated so I think it would be worth reversing the changes you made to "Automatic Updates"
Change it back to "Notify" in Norton Protection Center.
Reboot

Go to Windows Updates and see if there are any outstanding Updates for you. It could be that Automatic Updates had some sort of problem.

Also
Disconnect from the Internet (for safety), shut down Norton.

Go to msconfig and remove the check from Norton to stop it running at startup.

Reboot.

Does the error still occur?

Don`t forger to re-enable Norton (and in msconfig) if you intend to go online again :smileyhappy:

Michael R. · Answer

I went to the Windows Update web page and change my update setting from 'automatic' to 'notify'. I shut down the machine and when I turned it on again, the svchost error was gone. Amazing, but true.   Thanks for your suggestions.

dunedin · Answer

Happy to have helped you :smileyhappy:

mpleroy · Answer

Had this problem yesterday. Solved with this help:

http://swigartconsulting.blogs.com/tech_blender/2006/07/windows_update_.html

Wrote MS for a fix for the automatic update issue and they referred me to Dell as I have an OEM version of XP SP 2 (new Dell Inspiron 640m). CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? This is not, should not be, Dell's problem. When you read the above site you can see how this is a MS Windows problem -- do they wonder why we don't find their support at an acceptable level?

MP LeRoy
Los Gatos, CA

tomintx · Answer

LeRoy's reference is the best. In that message is an alternate way to access and install the updates, which worked great for me as well yesterday. I noted there was a needed software update to the Auto Update files which MS Windows required before even performing the normal update. Likely this fixed the Auto update file, so now when I reactivated Auto Update, it all works normally.

1.Go 2 the start menu
2.Right click "my computer"
3.Click "properties" then the "automatic updates"
tab
4.Choose "turn off automatic updates"
5.Reboot your computer
6.Go back to start menu and in all programs go to "windows update" you have to be connected to the internet.
7.Manually update windows.
8.Turn your automatic updates back on.

dunedin · Answer

The fixes are basically the same. :smileyhappy:   The main thing is to turn off 'Automatic Updates'

Windows General

boot time error from svchost.exe

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