svchost.exe application error xp sp3

Another variation on the svchost.exe application error which appears to keep
manifesting itself after certain Windows Updates. This time, I suspect with
XP SP1.

On startup I'm getting several warning messages that Generic Host Process
Services has encountered a problem and needs to close along with the
svchost.exe Application Error

The instruction at "0x00df96bc" referenced memory at "0x00000000". The
memory could not be "written".

Once I step through all of these, things settle down, and applications seem
to function correctly, with the exception of Windows Explorer. When I
display folders that contain photo image files as thumbnails, these start to
display, but several do not, while others down the list do. I then get the
same svchost.exe Application Error every time.

No such problem with other applications that display thumbnail images like
Roxio and HP Premier and the problem doesn't seem to occur in Explorer when
displaying thumbnails for other Office documents that are not photo image
files.

I'm right up to date with all my Windows Updates and my history suggests
that there have not been any update failures since an apparent successful
install of SP3.

Any suggestions (be nice now!) on how to resolve this error would be
appreciated.

[gerry]

Sorry, I meant to say XP SP3 not SP1.

Test your RAM.

That was one of my first thoughts. In fact I have just replaced the
original Dell Dimension 5100 1Gb RAM (2x512 modules) with 4Gb (4x1Gb) NECC
Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz SDRAM. The problem persists, so I doubt that it is
a physical memory issue.

Matter resolved in a somewhat convoluted way.

I received notification of several HP printer/software updates. HP
Photosmart Premier wasn't experiencing the same display problems that Windows
Explorer was with thumbnails, but I decided to install the updates anyway.
On restart of the system, the svchost.exe Application Error message - The
instruction at "0x00df96bc" referenced memory at "0x00000000". The memory
could not be "written" - has disappear.

However, I was still received several Generic Host Process messages, but
Windows Explorer displayed thumbnails correctly. This lead me to look into a
number of other applications. I found that none of the applications within
Roxio Easy Media Creator would launch. I ran a repair on this, but the
problem persisted. So, I took the sledgehammer approach and uninstalled the
application. Problem solved! No more Generic Host Process error messages on
startup. I have yet to try to reinstall Roxio.

Does the error reoccur after you have restarted your computer?

[krepalis]

Hi, I recently got the following application error regarding the svchost.exe.
The instruction at "0x7c80aeb3" referenced memory at "0x80040119" could not be read.
After I pressed OK then the desktop started flashing every 5 seconds. How can I fix this error using the command prompt?

Yes it does.

Can you tell me how I can do that from the command prompt? I can't use the Start etc. because the screen will start flashing every 5 seconds.

Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for
Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48
hours ago.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

Does the problem occur in Safe Mode?

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/en-us

What are your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?