How to Fix the Svchost.exe Application Error in Windows XP?

Verify and Configure your Windows Update Service Settings

• Click on the Start button at the bottom left-hand corner of your desktop. Once the Start menu opens, click Run and then type "services.msc" in the text field. Click OK when you are done.
• Navigate to the Automatic Updates service in the right-hand pane and then double-click on it. Select the Log On tab. Make sure that Local System Account is selected as the default logon account.
• Uncheck the option "Allow service to interact with desktop." Now go to the Hardware Profile section, also found under the Log On tab. Enable this service.
• Click on the General tab. Verify that the start-up type is set to Automatic. If not, use the drop-down menu to select this option.
• Go to the Service Status section. Click on the Start button to enable this service. Do the same thing for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (or BITS).

Reconfigure Your Windows Update DLLs

• Click the Start button and then click Run. Type "cmd" into the text field. Click OK.
• In the Command Prompt, type in REGSVR32 WUAPI.DLL and hit Enter.
• Wait until you receive a message reading "DllRegisterServer in WUAPI.DLL succeeded."
• Repeat this process for each of the following commands; type in each command and hit Enter after each line:

REGSVR32 WUAUENG.DLL
REGSVR32 WUAUENG1.DLL
REGSVR32 ATL.DLL
REGSVR32 WUCLTUI.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS2.DLL
REGSVR32 WUWEB.DLL

Delete the Corrupted Windows Update Files

• Type the following command into the command prompt and press Enter: net stop WuAuServ. Type in: cd %windir% and hit Enter.
• Now type in: ren SoftwareDistribution SD_OLD. This will rename the SoftwareDistribution folder.
• Restart the Windows Update service by inputting the following command: net start WuAuServ.
• Type in: Exit and then hit Enter to close the Windows Command Prompt.
• Reboot your PC. When you restart Windows, you shouldn't receive this error message anymore.

source: ehow.com

Tips & Help For Improving Your Windows Operating System

There are many variations of Windows on the market. Vista and XP are now regarded as "old" but you will find hundreds of people who still utilize this operating system. There are also many sights out there that provide windows help but you need to make sure that they are legit sites. If you are not sure, then do not follow their guidelines or assistance. You could ultimately really mess up your personal computer and wind up paying hundreds of dollars for someone to correct it in your case.

There are five factors that help keep your operating system running smoothly whatever version you are using:

• There are many files on our computer that don't get deleted once you uninstall a program. To get rid of these unwanted files start with a registry clean up. Whenever you download new programs, many entries are then listed in the registry. The current can be compromised by all the unwanted registry items that fit in with files which have been deleted. You may get Little Registry scanning and cleaning to help you clean out all those unwanted registry files.
• Another windows help tip is to turn off start up programs that you don't use when you boot the PC. You will need to check out start, run, and type in ‘msconfig' to obtain a listing of programs that are making an attempt to run during start up. Afterward you go in and uncheck the ones that you don't want to launch when you boot the personal computer. This will maximize the speed at start up.
• Shut off your windows indexing. Indexing was created therefore you could search files on your laptop faster, but it could possibly get overloaded. You'll be able to disable this by entering my computer and then you need to click on ‘main hard drive'. You can also do this for any other drives that you have on your personal computer.
• Cleaning up your unwanted files. It cleans away your computers temporary files and also any duplicate or redundant files. It is recommended which you do this before you defragment your personal PC. It will increase the speed of your computer because you'll have a lot less files for the computer to search through any time in search of something.
• Whole cleanup of your respective system. The advised software for this is called CCleaner. It performs a whole sweep of all files on your pc and helps you get rid of the unneeded items.

source: articlebase