What does this error message mean?

[VenomXt]

try googling memtest86 google it has a bootable cd iso. do you have a cd burner? or maybe a friend does?

 

[Mastershakes]

You will likely need to reinstall IE.

Just to be sure it's not the memory - I need you to check and make sure you do not have Internet Explorer (iexplore.exe) at start up.

Sometimes even after malicious software or trojans have been cleaned off, their hooks remain. Because the hooks no longer call anything decent, they generate an application error.

Good to see the error has not reappeared (yet)

Had an Oracle user yesterday experiencing these errors everytime he exited IE.
Repairing IE resolved it (for now - I'm sure the user will add something to IE again someday that will mess it up, again)

 

[dave holbon]

Without any proof whatsoever and no links to academic sites or professors of micro-electronics I will state this now as a fact: - There is no single human being on this planet that knows how a modern computer works in total, an average run of the mill graphics card has twenty seven million transistors, XP has over twenty million lines of code, some applications have in excess of five million lines of code and so on and on.

When XP reports an “application error” and gives a memory address is this correct? The fact is, on balance, it probably is correct, protected memory violations are just that but it does not rule out a single transistor “latching-up” momentarily usually caused by excessive heat which could (in theory) produce a wrong address in the first place either before or after the memory was accessed. Who knows?

Strangely many moons ago when companies like ICL (which I used to work for) employed graduate engineers to trouble-shoot these types of errors, they found that the best solution was to make them all redundant and instead employ “fitters” that just swapped out parts or re-installed everything until the problem went away and we are now left with this legacy. There is no correct answer only best guesses that is until the problem becomes “stable” and is repeatable then we are in with half a chance, otherwise you have none, only guesses based on what you have read.

 

[Mastershakes]

Without any proof whatsoever and no links to academic sites or professors of micro-electronics I will state this now as a fact: - There is no single human being on this planet that knows how a modern computer works in total, an average run of the mill graphics card has twenty seven million transistors, XP has over twenty million lines of code, some applications have in excess of five million lines of code and so on and on.

When XP reports an “application error” and gives a memory address is this correct? The fact is, on balance, it probably is correct, protected memory violations are just that but it does not rule out a single transistor “latching-up” momentarily usually caused by excessive heat which could (in theory) produce a wrong address in the first place either before or after the memory was accessed. Who knows?

Strangely many moons ago when companies like ICL (which I used to work for) employed graduate engineers to trouble-shoot these types of errors, they found that the best solution was to make them all redundant and instead employ “fitters” that just swapped out parts or re-installed everything until the problem went away and we are now left with this legacy. There is no correct answer only best guesses that is until the problem becomes “stable” and is repeatable then we are in with half a chance, otherwise you have none, only guesses based on what you have read.

I agree with your logic.
I prefer troubleshooting over 'fitting' - I can't stand re-imaging. It's boring, and you never figure out what the hell happened so that you can prevent future issues. (Proactive)

In our troubleshooting we have determined it's highly unlikely to be a stuck transistor.

Here's how we got there:

iexplore.exe was not likely put into startup by user.
the issue occurs only at boot, and is always ie. It does not happen every boot.
spyware/malware/adware is sometimes quite persistent - and will try to modify settings on a reboot. usually a .dll or .inf will attempt the changes.
The attempt is starting iexplore or calling something in it --- but it has not been allocated memory.
As I'm writing this post, I got an application error trying to open a proprietary program. memory errors. It is in-house.... I attribute it to bad coding.

IF the transistor is the culprit why is it iexplore.exe that crashes?

My last experience with memory failure was a bunch of random BSODs, and it occurred with all kindz of applications.

------------------

Next day, I've run the memtest all night. No errors.

"There is no correct answer only best guesses that is until the problem becomes “stable” and is repeatable then we are in with half a chance, otherwise you have none, only guesses based on what you have read."

- the error is always a memory reference error, and iexplore.exe is the application. It occurs at the same time when it happens, at boot.

It's stable, and repeatable.

I'm no fitter.

 

[bush dogg]

It happened when I re-booted the computer. Just a pop up box that had the above message in it. Didn't cause any problems. I just clicked OK.


I do have Firefox installed, but I do still use I.E. once in a while (I am right now).

If this popup happens at startup or when IE slows down I would run with the idea first of a virus or spyware of some type.

There may be iexplorer set to run at startup?

To see if there is.

click start/run/in the open box type msconfig/click OK/ then click startup tab/look for iexplorer checked.

Have you had any viruses,worms or nastys that had to be removed in the last few months that may have left something behind?

What I would do one right after the other is run a virus, spyware scan then

download Hijack this from here run it and post the log so someone can check it out to eliminate these as possibilities.

I'm leaning to spyware or a nasty of some type and I think Hijack this might have the answer?

 

[dave holbon]

This may help isolate this issue: -


Scripts and Security (Courtesy of MS)

Much has been made about the security risks posed by Windows Script Host. The power and flexibility afforded by WSH can be used by forces of evil just as easily as they can be used to make your life simpler. Indeed, the infamous I Love You and Anna Kournikova e-mail worms were powered by VBScript attachments.
You can make some simple changes that reduce the chance that you’ll accidentally run a nefarious script.
As a first line of defence, be sure that the file name extension is always displayed for script files. (This would have tipped off many people who opened an e-mail attachment named Anna Kournikova.jpg.vbs. Because the extension is not displayed by default, many hopeful fans expected to see a picture of the tennis star.) Second, change the default action for scripts from Open to Edit. This causes the files to open harmlessly in Notepad if you double-click a file. To make these changes, follow these steps:
1. In Windows Explorer choose Tools, Folder Options.
2. Click the File Types tab.
3. Select the JS (JScript Script File) file type and then click Advanced.
4. Select the Always Show Extension check box.
5. In the Actions list, select Edit and click Set Default. Then click OK.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for JSE (JScript Encoded Script File), VBE (VBScript Encoded Script File), VBS (VBScript Script File), and WSF (Windows Script File) file types.
7. Click Close when you’ve secured all the script file types.
Changing the default action to Edit makes it more difficult to run scripts that show up as e-mail attachments, which is one of the most likely places to find a malevolent script. However, it also makes it more difficult to execute legitimate scripts from trusted sources: You must save the attachment and then, in Windows Explorer, right-click it and choose Open. You can use this same technique (right-click and choose Open) to run any script stored on your computer, but if you want to avoid that inconvenience for a script that you know to be harmless, simply create a shortcut to the script. (Be sure the Target text in the shortcut’s properties dialog box begins with wscript.exe orcscript.exe; if you include only the script name, this trick won’t work.) Double-clicking the shortcut runs the script without further ado.