HELP BEFORE I GO CRAZY!

Amy · Post by **Amy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:54 am

I need help: How do I get rid of this error message that unceasingly appears?

svchost.exe - Application Error

The instruction at "0x009a96bc" referenced memory at "0x00000000". The memory could not be "written".

Click on OK to terminate the program
Click on CANCEL to debug the program

Make it stop!!!

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:59 am

"Svchost.exe" (Generic Host Process for Win32 Services) is an integral part of Windows OS. It cannot be stopped or restarted manually. It manages 32-bit DLLs and other services. At startup, Svchost.exe checks the services portion of the registry to construct a list of services that it needs to load. In normal conditions multiple instances of Svchost.exe run at the same time. Each Svchost.exe session can contain a grouping of services, so that separate services can be run depending on how and where Svchost.exe is started. This allows for better control and debugging.

The svchost.exe file is located in the c:\windows\System32 folder. In other cases, svchost.exe is a virus, spyware, trojan or worm!

Run Spybot and Adaware to remove your spyware.

Amy · Post by **Amy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:10 am

I ran AdAware and Norton...I'll download Spybot and try that. Thanks.

-mogwai · Post by **-mogwai** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:17 am

try windows repair

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:32 am

eww, not WinBlows repair. I'm pretty sure that won't be able to completely fix the problem. Spybot S&D, however, will find it if it's indeed a trojan or the sorts. Of course, if it latched itself onto the file and it's deleted, there will be definite Windows corruption, but that remains to be seen.

Amy · Post by **Amy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:34 am

Okay, Ad Aware and Spybot missed it. Still getting the message...(yes, both were updated)...I am running Norton now...

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:01 am

goto start / run - type "SFC/SCANNOW" (without quotes)

Have your XP cd in the drive - windows will ask "do you want to scan all system files for integrity?" --> choose yes

This will scan all system files and folders, replace/repair all automatically

If this fails - you can try system restore - start / all programs/ accessories / system tools / system restore
choose a date as close as possible to the date when this happened

Remember that any updates (av software etc.) will be lost

Svhost.exe covers a whole load of stuff in XP --> are you using XP's inbuilt firewall? --> or any software firewall --> sometimes firewalls will cause this error!

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:07 am

Hmm, yet another thing to put in the book in my mind, lol. I didn't know the firewall that came with Windows would cause Svchost errors. Good thing I don't use it, and actually I'm looking for a good one. I used to use ZoneAlarm, but when I build my new system I plan on using something more comprehensive. I know one I was wanting to try but couldn't because it ate the hell out of my system resources was SyGate. I heard it can block a buttload of exploits.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:22 am

SyGate is a good firewall... but only if you want to have something like 10 clients connected behind your firewall (essentially your going to run you box as a firewall) -- this is for people who are gonna use VPN - plus if you need to set some pc's to work in a DMZ or if you need to forward port 80 etc..

I doubt your gonna need that? -> if you do.. then get a cheapo box setup and run a Linux firewall LOL

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:27 am

ohh, man I thought it was a personal firewall. Well, I'll have to remember that when I set up my home network. Then I can figure out how to set up a separate box on the network to operate as a firewall (remember, I'm only in part 2 of the CCNA prog, lol). Know of any good personal firewalls that don't have many exploits, if any at all?

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:48 am

Software Firewalls are only as good as the code their written in!

I don't use any personally @ the moment (just the one built into my linksys router)

I normally use SUSE Linux as my gateway/Firewall/bittorrent box
If you want to use a seperate box for a firewall, then Smoothwall (Linux)... Is easy to configure and has more than enough options (even for a Cisco guy like you lol)
Smoothwall boots from cd, so all files are read-only (better protection) = only issue is it's not customisable

For windows ZoneAlarm is good (stealths all ports by default and asks for confirmation b4 allowing outbound connections)
I like Tiny personal firewall - uses almost no resourses and again has more that enough options
Kerio firewall is also supposed to be good too

@ Amy - Did any of that help????

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:03 pm

killswitch83 wrote:ohh, man I thought it was a personal firewall. Well, I'll have to remember that when I set up my home network. Then I can figure out how to set up a separate box on the network to operate as a firewall (remember, I'm only in part 2 of the CCNA prog, lol). Know of any good personal firewalls that don't have many exploits, if any at all?

Actually my bad... SyGate is a personal firewall.... I was thinking CheckPoint or Wingate or something..... (can't remember - just finished supporting this cr*p for the last 8hrs lol)

T-Shirt · Post by **T-Shirt** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:22 pm

Amy, do you have a HP all-in-one printer like 7310, 7410, 2710 ? There is a known error in the drivers that can cause this, check the HP site for a patch

Amy · Post by **Amy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:33 pm

Yes, we do have 2 HP Printers installed, and one is an all-in-one! Well, Norton didn't find anything, and the next time I reboot Windows is supposed to run scandisk. After that, I'll get on HP's website and check for new drivers. I'm at work tonight, so I'll have to do that tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's advice...I hope something works!

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:55 am

killswitch83 wrote: Know of any good personal firewalls that don't have many exploits, if any at all?

well, if you want the best- go hardware instead of software. get a router hooked up before your rig. your computer will be hidden from others and it won't eat any system resources. you will still need a separate app against spyware (spysubtract works fine for me running in the background, in addition I check with noadware,ad-aware, spybot S@D, xoftspy) and viruses (kaspersky won out of 37 different antivir and it auto updates deffinitions every 4hours)

mega antivirus test (kaspersky won):
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1260/

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:15 am

Hey, it's all good. I already got my Firewall/AV combo set up (AVG and ZoneAlarm). So far so good, using both right now on this little POS I have, and it doesn't seem to be bogging down performance too badly, while catching things it should. I already knew about ZoneAlarm, but needed opinions about it, so it pretty much reinforced my opinion of em, thanks for the help guys

btw, thinking about later on investing in a hardware firewall by Cisco, lol...talk about security

Kerii · Post by **Kerii** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:03 am

You tried disabling third-party browser extensions?

Sometimes even after a program removes spyware, a few bits and pieces are left over. So if you don't use any IE extensions... you can try and disable it in Internet Options > Advanced.

Worked for one person I know who got infected with an obscure spyware strain that couldn't be completely removed.

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:17 am

Kerii wrote: Worked for one person I know who got infected with an obscure spyware strain that couldn't be completely removed.

wasn't CWS (coolwebsearch)? that was the nastiest spyware I've ever got on my rig. it took me 1 week of strugle, before I found CWS shredder (freeware) that was made to anihilate it. CWS shredder is also included in spysubtract pro (not free) which I'm using now. never had any more problems with it

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:39 am

I know one time I had that problem with Xupiter toolbar, but that was before they updated Spybot S&D to include the full uninstaller for it, not to mention the actual entry to look for it.

T-Shirt · Post by **T-Shirt** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:42 am

Amy wrote:Yes, we do have 2 HP Printers installed, and one is an all-in-one! Well, Norton didn't find anything, and the next time I reboot Windows is supposed to run scandisk. After that, I'll get on HP's website and check for new drivers. I'm at work tonight, so I'll have to do that tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's advice...I hope something works!

Apparently it's a conflict between WIA(Windows Image Acquisition ) and the HP scanner/printer monitoring app.
many have had it work fine with WIA disabled.
Sorry, didn't save the links, google around with the error message