Service host, or svchost for short, is an essential windows system process. Svchost is needed in executing processes from dlls, which are considered the cores of windows architecture. Since svchost processes are required in executing various windows services, there will likely be multiple instances of svchost running simultaneously at any given time. Ideally, svchost.exe must never be terminated as this can cause system instability.

A svchost error is usually displayed with an onscreen error message as follows:"svchost.exe-Application Error. The instruction at 0x009a6f9a" referenced memory at "0x00000000." Additional messages like "The memory could not be written," "Click on OK to terminate the program," or "Click on Cancel to debug" may also be displayed. The svchost error usually happens after the user installs a Windows update.

To avoid permanent damage to the system files, there are certain steps recommended by IT experts in fixing the svchost error. The first few steps involve adjusting the settings of the system's Automatic Updates service. To do this, the consumer must open control panel, select performance and maintenance, and then click on administrative tools. The consumer must then select the services tab, which will open the services management window. Once at this window, the user should double-click the automatic updates icon. Next, the user should go to the log on tab and make sure that the local system account option is checked and that the allow service to interact with desktop option is unchecked. From the log on tab, the user should switch to the general tab and adjust the settings so that start up type is set to automatic and service status is set to started. After this, the user should then verify the same information for background intelligent transfer service.

To complete the troubleshooting process, the user should register the dlls that go with the windows update. The user can do this by selecting start and clicking run. The user should then run the command REGSVR32 to be able to register the necessary dlls one at a time. WUAPI.DLL, WUAUENG.DLL, WUAUENG1.DLL, ATL.DLL, WUCLTUI.DLL, WUPS.DLL, WUPS2.DLL and WUWEB.DLL are the windows update dll files that need to be registered again.

Once the correct dlls are in place, the client should now delete the corrupted windows update files. To do this, the client should go to start and then click on run. The user can then open the command prompt by typing "cmd" in the run textbox and pressing the enter button. Once command prompt starts, the user should type "net stop WuAuServ" and then hit the enter button. This is a command that will stop the windows update service. Still in command prompt, the user should then type "%windir%" and hit enter once again.

The next step would be to rename the sotfware distribution folder by typing "ren SoftwareDistribution SoftDistr_Bak" and then pressing the enter button. The consumer should then enter "net start WuAuServ" to restart the windows update Service. Entering the word Exit will finally close the command prompt window.

As a reminder, svchost errors can also be caused by viruses, spyware and other malware forms. Using an effective antivirus software and thorough registry cleaner are good ways of ensuring that the computer system is at its optimum performance.