Hi Alex - Try the following:

Install the newly released 'standalone' version of Windows Update Agent 3.0,
v. 7.0.6000.374, for 32 bit machines available here:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/v7...gent30-x86.exe

You will also need to install or re-install KB927891, here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=927891 for a complete fix. (You are
showing the specific symptoms of this hotfix, BTW.)

Now reboot. Now reboot again (Yes, twice.)




--
Regards, Jim Byrd,
My Blog, Defending Your Machine,
http://defendingyourmachine2.blogspot.com/



In news:OaN%23LjijHHA.4464@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl,
Alex <alexdeletethishammerstein********.co.uk> typed:
|| hi
|| when i switched my laptop on this morning, and tried to log on, I
|| received an error message:
|| svchost.exe application error. The instruction at 0x7c918fea
|| referenced memeory at 0x00000010. The memory could not be written.
||
|| My machine then hands. Can anyone tell me what i need to do
||
|| thanks