Got a big problem on my laptop at the moment (I'm on my girlfriends laptop at the mo).

Few days ago it started operating slowly, taking a while to load up each day etc. Then yesterday morning it froze completely. Now I turn it on and I get a message saying:

"services.exe application error

the instruction at 0x0030595a referenced memory at 0x00000000". the memory could not be read.

click on ok to terminate the program click on cancel to debug the program"

Whichever one I click nothing seems to happen? I looked on google etc but all of the suggestions seem to require you to use the control panel - but if I cannot get that far then what am I meant to do!

Before all this happened a 'just in time debugging' window was popping up all the time??

This is way above my limited computer knowledge??

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

Can you start Windows in safe mode? Press F8 before the "Starting Windows" screen appears and a menu should pop up with various boot options. Choose safe mode and see if you can try the tips that you have been given then.

Do you know if you had directly or indirectly installed anything to your laptop before this happened? Directly being an application, game or such. Indirectly being an automatic software update or an application wanting to install an additional programme such as a browser toolbar.

I'd also suggest going to [url]http://www.memtest86.com/[/url] and downloading a bootable ISO which you'll need to burn to CD. If you boot from that it will test your RAM for any problems (it does take a while and is quite thorough so make sure your laptop is left plugged in).

Oh yeah, which version of Windows are you running?

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

That kinda error msg is usually associated with memory problem as Simon suggested.

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

[url]http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic8913.html[/url]

might help

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

[QUOTE=Simon Preston;943030]Can you start Windows in safe mode? Press F8 before the "Starting Windows" screen appears and a menu should pop up with various boot options. Choose safe mode and see if you can try the tips that you have been given then.

Do you know if you had directly or indirectly installed anything to your laptop before this happened? Directly being an application, game or such. Indirectly being an automatic software update or an application wanting to install an additional programme such as a browser toolbar.

I'd also suggest going to [url]http://www.memtest86.com/[/url] and downloading a bootable ISO which you'll need to burn to CD. If you boot from that it will test your RAM for any problems (it does take a while and is quite thorough so make sure your laptop is left plugged in).

Oh yeah, which version of Windows are you running?[/QUOTE]

Hi Simon

Having a mare with this. Cant even get the safe mode option to come up!!

Using Windows XP Professional

Think I'm gonna just take it to a computer repair shop?

I had installed firefox 4 before it all went tits up

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

From what I've seen on this issue it does seem to cause a lot of head scratching amongst even the really techie guys. Personally I've never had the error come up for me in some 11 years of using NT based systems so I couldn't even begin to try and diagnose it. I'm wondering if there has to be a special set of circumstances crop up during the install of software that causes the corruption in Windows which manifests itself. Not that that helps you, of course.

Did you try making the bootable ISO to see if the memory is working properly?

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

i have no experience to offer - but to those that do undertsand this stuff - is knoppix gonna help him in this situation? i had someone use it a while back on my machine.

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

Don't know about anyone else, but if my backups were out of date, before doing any fiddling I'd yoink that drive out and copy all the stuff off. Then [url]http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/[/url] to make a linux live usb to do the memtestx86+ (usually systemrescuecd, but that is not too friendly to non-linuxers). Fail = new ram; pass = hd thorough scan, format and reinstall....

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

if you got a pair of rams. i'd take one out and see if it boots with one

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

I would take out the ram and put it back in if I were you. You might event trying taking out the hard drive and replacing. If it is your motherboard you are straight fucked. If you really want to know what the problem is go to your [url="http://www.mercuryserver.com/forums/djdb.php?id=1535"]bios[/url] and run a diagnostics and it should tell you if you have any hardware failures. If no hardware failures then you might have to reinstall the OS.

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

Hi all

Friend of mine had a look at it and has fixed it.I dont know what was wrong with it, but he had to take all my personal files, put them on a disc, reinstall something then put the files back on - apparently I woul have lost everything if he hadnt of done that.

So its back and seems ok. Cheers for all your input. Think I will be buying an external HD to store my stuff on in future!

Re: Aaargh! Major laptop problems!!!!Help!

Sounds like he just reinstalled Windows to me.