As the technology of computers, operating systems, security issues and the interaction of application programs with the operating systems becomes more and more complicated, problems associated with the technology and finding solutions to them also become equally complicated.
Adding fuel to the fire, many times, hackers and virus program writers seem to be smarter than Microsoft software specialists in finding loopholes in the security aspects of Windows OS and play havoc with it. Another reality is that there are always some petty omissions and commissions, bugs and faults in software coding which tend to emerge under practical working conditions. So there are always revisions, upgrades, “service packs” and so on, issued periodically from Microsoft and other software vendors.
In such a complex scenario, no one really seems to be an expert in giving the right solution to any specific computer oriented problem, be it a hardware vendor, the software vendor, the Anti-Virus software supplier or the Internet service provider.
In Search of Solution for Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Error
This writer was living with one such problem in his computer for almost 18 months, groping unsuccessfully to get a solution to the problem. After connecting to the Internet through DSL and browsing the internet for a while, the system will simply hang. The DSL connection icon at the bottom right corner of the computer, when clicked to know the status, will momentarily appear on screen and disappear immediately. Neither the connection status can be known nor be closed. Then the above error (“Generic Host Process for Win 32 services…..”) will appear.
The Internet can not be connected again until and unless rebooting is done. When the user next connects to the internet they cannot be sure if, and when the same problem will resurface again.
Each solution to the above problem (or a suggestion about the cause of the problem) only ended up in running from pillar to post with no headway. This is how the merry-go-round was working:
- The computer service engineer says that it is not a hardware or software problem, but it is to do with the DSL connection.
- The DSL service provider says it is a virus problem.
- The Virus program, even after latest updating, does not report any virus or spyware.
- The Service Engineer suggests a full reformat and reloading of the operating system and application programs. He makes sure that Service Pack 2 is installed for Windows XP.
- The problem goes away for a while, but returns to haunt the user soon!
Hunt for a Solution in the Internet
When none of the service providers could offer a solution, the next hunt was naturally in the internet, by searching the various discussion forums of various websites for a clue. Funnily, many of the solutions discussed in those forums were suggesting virus removal or reformatting and reinstallation of the OS!
A Solution at Microsoft Security Updates
And at last, there was one suggestion to try out Security Update Patches of Microsoft. This writer, having exhausted all the other avenues, decided to look for and try Microsoft security updates issued (post SP3) and downloaded the following two updates:
After installation of the above two updates, the problem got solved once for all!
So it was not hardware, it was not DSL, it was not a Virus, it was not a Spyware, but some incorrectly resolved security issue of the grand old Microsoft which made one to suffer for almost 18 months.
