There is an easy Windows error fix for the SVCHOST.EXE application error message that sometimes afflicts Windows XP Professional PCs. When this windows error message is displayed, you will have the option to either click OK to terminate the program or click Cancel to debug the program. This error message usually occurs after Windows Updates runs before your previous shutdown. When starting the computer in Safe Mode, you will still receive the error message. If you use the event log in Windows XP, you should find out that the process causing the problem is svchost.exe.
The first thing you need to do to fix this problem is verify your Windows Update service settings. To do this, click the Start button found at the bottom-left corner of the desktop. Once the Start menu opens, click Run and type services.msc in the text field. Click OK when you are done. Now you need to locate the Automatic Updates service. Once you find it, double-click the option. Select the Log On tab. You have to make sure that Local System Account is selected as the default logon account. You will also need to uncheck the option named Allow service to interact with desktop. After that, look in the Hardware Profile section found under the Log On tab. Enable this service. Now you need to click the General tab. Make sure the startup type is set to Automatic. This can be done by using the dropdown menu. Look in the Service Status section. Make sure this service is started by simply clicking the Start button to enable it. You will have to do the same thing for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
After configuring the Windows Update service settings, you will need to re-configure several Windows Update DLLs. The first thing you need to do is click the Start button located at the bottom-left corner of the desktop. After that, click Run and type cmd in the text field. Click OK. When the Command Prompt opens, type REGSVR32 WUAPI.DLL and hit Enter. You will have to wait until you see a message reading DllRegisterServer in WUAPI.DLL succeeded. Once you have accomplished this, you will have to repeat the process by typing the following commands and hitting Enter after each line:
REGSVR32 WUAUENG.DLL
REGSVR32 WUAUENG1.DLL
REGSVR32 ATL.DLL
REGSVR32 WUCLTUI.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS2.DLL
REGSVR32 WUWEB.DLL
After doing this, you will have to delete the corrupted Windows Update files. Type the following command in the command prompt and press Enter: net stop WuAuServ. After that, type cd %windir% and hit Enter. After that, type ren SoftwareDistribution SD_OLD. This will rename the SoftwareDistribution folder. You will then need to restart the Windows Update service by inputting the following command: net start WuAuServ. Type Exit and hit Enter to close the Windows Command Prompt. When you restart Windows, you shouldn’t receive this error message anymore.
