[dba-Tech] Svchost.exe error

Hi Jim,

Yeah, I wish I'd thought to bring Spin-Rite with me.  Maybe I'll do that 
today.

One real likelihood is, apparently an incomplete Windows update - as in 
Internet goes down during the transfer.  We had some storms out here 
recently that did interrupt our service, so it's a real possibility.

Thanks,
T

Jim Lawrence wrote:
> Hi Tina:
>
> There are a number of possibilities. That can be cause by three events:
>
> 1. A bleeding app... Bad coding resulting in memory leaks which will flood
> the memory causing a crash. That would suggest a new set of driver(s)
> was/were installed.
> 2. Hardware error. They could be physical issues with older or cheaper
> equipment that tends to just wear out. There is some free hardware testing
> software and then there is SpinRite if it is a hard drive issue... a bad
> spot on the drive could cause all sorts of havoc.
> 3. A file transfer, update or installation process that was inadvertently
> halted in mid progress leaving a seriously corrupted file. 
>
> The file, " svchost " is just the internal/external communications manager
> and is unlikely to be the problem though it is first to report it.
>
> Without seeing the equipment or knowing anything else I would suspect a
> hardware issue. A bleeding app or driver would not be running continuously
> unless it was video driver or was caused by serious core dll corruption as
> the errors would not otherwise be so persistent.
>
> Of course it could always be malware but it seems that your son-in-law is a
> logical fellow and appears to have plenty of security software.
>
> If this is helpful I could provide more details on pursuing a particular
> error... but this is enough for now.
>
> Jim
>
>
>     
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Tina Norris
> Fields
> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 12:08 PM
> To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
> Subject: [dba-Tech] Svchost.exe error
>
> Hi All,
>
> I could use a little help figuring this one out. 
>
> My son-in-law, Brad, has this problem:  during some operation, could be 
> booting up, could be almost anything, he gets the warning "svchost.exe 
> application error" usually with something like "instruction at 
> referenced memory at "0x00000010" and "memory could not be read."  It 
> seems to me I have recently seen this error with a corrupted or faulty 
> update of some software - I think I had that happen with an HP companion 
> process, something like "image monitor" that bogged down my whole 
> system, and in my case the problem was solved by a reinstall and a 
> disabling of the culprit application (it was hogging my CPU resources, 
> and I really didn't need it).  Googling the svchost.exe error postings, 
> I find that it is likely caused by some corrupted dll file that didn't 
> get to finish whatever it was doing, and nothing else could function 
> because of that bottleneck.  Several of the postings suggested that it 
> might be a failed or incomplete or corrupted Windows update, and the 
> solution could be as easy as doing a manual Windows update and rebooting.
>
> When I tried to get to the Windows update site from his computer, I 
> could not get there - IE consistently reported that it could not display 
> the page.  This was true whether I used the Windows update command on 
> the menu or I launched the browser and typed in the URL.  I tried 
> Googling the Windows update and clicking the link from the Google search 
> results, too.  Nothing worked. 
>
> Because he is doing work, often using a VPN connection with his home 
> office, he has IT support available.  I told him that while I believe I 
> can get this figured out and fixed, it will probably be a lot faster to 
> make use of his IT guys.  Today, they have been working remotely on his 
> computer - they've uninstalled all his malware protection and 
> reinstalled fresh copies, they've updated his browser to IE8, they 
> thought they had it fixed, and then it popped up again, while they were 
> getting ready to sign off. 
>
> Does anybody on this list know what I'm really dealing with here?  I 
> would love some guidance!
>
> Best regards,
> T
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