Windows – svchost.exe is crashing

svchostwindows

I came in this morning (and not for the first time) and found a dialog box on my screen saying "svchost.exe has caused an exception. Would you like to debug this?"

Fortunately, it gives the PID. Using tasklist /svc I see this instance of svchost is running the following:

svchost.exe 1684 AudioSrv, Browser, CryptSvc, Dhcp, dmserver,
ERSvc, EventSystem, helpsvc, HidServ,
LanmanServer, lanmanworkstation, Netman,
Nla, RasMan, Schedule, seclogon, SENS,
SharedAccess, ShellHWDetection, srservice,
TapiSrv, Themes, TrkWks, w32time, winmgmt,
wscsvc, wuauserv

After this happens the most noticeable thing I am missing is audio. My system doesn't think it has audio hardware anymore.

Any ideas on what could be causing svchost to crash or how to go about narrowing it down?

System:

  • Win XP SP3
  • Dell Latitude E5500

Best Answer

Lots of things cause svchost to crash. Svchost is a container for running several system services, and sometimes it's not very clear which service caused the crash.

You'll need to find out more information before you can diagnose the issue. Check the application/system log for errors and warnings. Usually these can be referenced on Microsoft Help and Support with details, cause and resolutions.

Microsoft has a KB about troubleshooting service crashes.

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