Skype 5.3 is crashing with Windows XP SP3

[Benedykta]

Hey guys I am using Windows XP SP3 in my computer. I had installed Skype 5.3 in it. The issue is that the Skype crashes at the start up. I tried getting support from the Skype, but it’s not of any use. i had also done lots of searching in Google but dint find any solutions till now. i was not facing this issue when i was using the precious version of Skype, i am only experiencing since i had updated to the latest version of Skype. Don’t know why I am experiencing this issue. Has anyone else gone up with the same issue?

[Zhankana_n]

I am facing the same problem that you have mentioned. I am also using the same version of Skype 5.3 but instead of SP3 I am using SP2. I got the issue fixed. What I did was, I uninstalled the Skype and then installed the latest version, but I found the issue of crashing. So what I did is, I deleted all the cache files of the Skype and then quitted the Skype application. And then rebooted my system and then started Skype, and the Skype created a new cache file and running it without any problem.

[teena_pansare]

When I was facing the issue I was afraid that it might be because of some virus or a bug in the system. So I tried making a complete system scan but I didn’t find any virus or a worm. I informed about this issue to my friend, he said that once he also experienced the same issue so he deleted the shared.XML file from the Skype folder. Even I tried to remove the shared.XML file and then the issue seems to be solved for me.

[Ekpah]

If you don’t know from where to delete the shared.xml file then follow the steps mentioned below:
• If you are running the Skype then close it.
• Down at the system tray you will find the Skype icon.
• Right click on the icon and then select Quit.
• Make sure that you have enabled view hidden files and folders.
• You can go to run and type control folders and click on OK.
• Make sure from the view tab that you have enabled the show all hidden files and folders option.
• To locate the shared.XML file got to run and then type %appdata%\Skype and then select OK
• After finding the shared.XML file delete it.
• Skype will recreate the shared.XML file once you restart Skype

[windows_user]

New version of Skype has been issued to fix any corruption for Windows update. It seems that small percent of corruption was occurred in the user’s computer. This was resulting that, some of the users were not able to log in into Skype. Make sure that none of your existing Skype applications is running. So close the Skype application and then restart your system to begin downloading. And for those Windows users using Skype get the updated to the latest version of the Skype.

[Dolsy_bendal]

If you are not able to find the shared.XML file then you can go to the following location to find the file:
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Skype. This is where the location of your Skype shared.XML files. There might be chances that sometimes you will not find the Application folder. So instead of that you could have the name of your computer. The one which you will find during booting your system.

[CodGuru]

If you are not having windows XP Sp3, then update it. Before you update your Skype make sure that you have uninstalled the Skype application completely. After uninstalling use C Cleaner to remove all the registry entries of the application. I found that the Skype 5.2.60.113 will work better with the XP. So make sure that you download the correct version of the Skype that will best support your Operating System. Hope this would resolve your issue.