[Tw33k]

Hi all!

Running Windows XP Pro SP2 on a Pavilion dv6233se. I started to notice recently that a particular instance of svchost.exe (Service Host) was taking up an abnormal amount of RAM. Once I restart, it uses about 30mb and then climbs up to 100mb+. Sometimes Windows even shuts down after a minute because a critical system process ended. Any ideas?

[codebox]----- [Running Processes] ----------------------------------------------------------------

Module Name Path Size
SHELL32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 8482816
xpsp2res.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 2904064
msi.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 2875392
AcGenral.DLL C:\WINDOWS\AppPatch\ 1875968
ole32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 1298432
comctl32.dll C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls 1060864
kernel32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 1003520
COMRes.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 806912
USERENV.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 733184
ntdll.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 720896
ADVAPI32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 634880
comctl32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 630784
USER32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 593920
RPCRT4.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 593920
OLEAUT32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 569344
CLBCATQ.DLL C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 520192
SHLWAPI.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 483328
rpcss.dll c:\WINDOWS\system32\ 409600
msvcrt.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 360448
hnetcfg.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 360448
GDI32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 290816
mswsock.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 258048
UxTheme.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 229376
WINMM.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 184320
WLDAP32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 180224
rsaenh.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 163840
DNSAPI.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 159744
ShimEng.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 155648
IMM32.DLL C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 118784
iphlpapi.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 102400
WS2_32.dll c:\WINDOWS\system32\ 94208
MSACM32.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 86016
Secur32.dll c:\WINDOWS\system32\ 69632
wshtcpip.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 32768
WS2HELP.dll c:\WINDOWS\system32\ 32768
winrnr.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 32768
VERSION.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 32768
svchost.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 24576
rasadhlp.dll C:\WINDOWS\system32\ 24576
[/codebox]

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How does it behave if you boot to Safe Mode with Networking? If better then something is starting at boot that is causing the problem. Try the following:

First, physically disconnect from the Internet to prevent a malware infection while your Anti-virus and/or Firewall are disabled in the following steps, then do a normal boot:

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything (I mean everything).
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.

Reconnect to the Internet when your AV and firewall are active again.

[Ztruker]

How does it behave if you boot to Safe Mode with Networking? If better then something is starting at boot that is causing the problem. Try the following:

First, physically disconnect from the Internet to prevent a malware infection while your Anti-virus and/or Firewall are disabled in the following steps, then do a normal boot:

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything (I mean everything).
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.

Reconnect to the Internet when your AV and firewall are active again.