Error message?

Question

I keep getting a Generic Host Process for Win 32 message and it then takes my computer off-line, and also the sound goes out for my computer. I've tried to downlaod the fix, but it won't install. Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem since the fix won't install? Is anyone else having this problem? I can only stay on-line for a few minutes before this message pops up, then I completely have to restart my computer to get it back on-line.

Answer 1

Generic Host Processes are a generic laundry list of services Microsoft uses for XP. Many of them are associated with Network applications (communicating locally or through the Internet) so the short answer is yes. You should allow access. In some very rare cases a virus can replace one of these host services with a fake file but any good antivirus program would catch this easily.

Here is a longer version (a sort of primer) of what I summarized above:

Terminology:

Host: This is another name for the computer itself.
Process: This is a program running on your computer.
Service: This is a program that runs invisibly in the background. The main difference between a service and an ordinary application is that a service will load and start running whether or not you log into Windows.


A generic host process is a name that Windows gives to many different services running on the computer that don't have any other name. An example of a generic host process is svchost.exe. Should you block a generic host process?

Typically svchost or any of the other generic host processes should be permited, at least temporarily.

Please be aware that some viruses and/or Trojans can infect or replace svchost.exe, so svchost.exe then becomes a virus. However, any modern antivirus software can detect when svchost.exe (or any other generic host process) becomes a virus, and stop it from doing any harm. We recommend scanning your computer for viruses at least once a week.

Is there a way to see a list of the services being associated with svchost?

If your operating system is Windows XP then you can view a list of the services using the following instructions.

Click on the Start button and go to the Run line. Type "cmd" without the quotation marks and click the "OK" button. Type "tasklist /svc" (without the quotation marks). Hit the "Enter" button on your keyboard to run the above command

Answer 2

Always search microsoft there good about posting how to fix problems with there own software