SVCHOST problems...

[canihavealogin]

Hi everyone,

i have just joined up and i hate to say it, only because i am stumped by a problem and looking desperately for some help.

I recently purchased a Tenda W332P Wireless N PCI card for my desktop machine as i have just finised my new home office and running cable up there just isn't practial for me.

One bizzare thing about the card is the provided CD and the download from the manufacturer don't have a drivers folder, you can only install it by running the application which unpacks the drivers into the Program Files folder. I have copied the files out of there and saved them onto my machine so i could try just installing the hardware on it's own without the control program but that makes no difference to my issue.

The problem i have is that after installing the card and software onto my machine i get the SVCHOST.EXE process running up all my spare CPU cycles so it runs like a dog.

I have been doing some troubleshooting/investigating on this problem and this is what i have found out.

Once it's installed, i can't go into the Network Connections window, Windows just hangs and hangs.

Downloaded latest application/driver from the supplier website but the same problem persists.

Tried installing the card with only the drivers, not via the supplied software but same issue.

If i uninstall the card/software, the problem disappears.

I checked the process using Process Explorer and it's packed with all sorts of Windows services, including Automatic Update among others, i can provide a dump of the info if it helps.

If i stop the process, the network services stop running.

My system specs are :

Windows XP SP3
Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM

Well, that's not all of it but i'm not with the machine at the moment so if you need to know more then let me know.

I think that just about covers it but feel free to ask any questions and i'll look forward to hearing your suggestions!

 

[KSoD]

Get teh Task Manager up. Either by right click on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager or by Ctrl+Alt+Del.

There go under Processes Tab. Right click on the svchost.exe program that is running wild. Select the go to Services option. That will tell you exactly what that running process is tied to.

Does it show it being tied to anything that deals with your network drivers or your network card? I know you say that the problem goes away when you uninstall the card, but it could be that installing the drivers is conflicting with another driver which is in turn causing the jump. Until you do what i mentioned above we wont know for sure.

Can also try Autoruns or Process Explorer from SysInternals as well.

Sysinternals Process Utilities

 

[canihavealogin]

Hi Mak,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I checked in Task Manager and couldn't see the option you were talking about.

Using Process Explorer i can look at the properties of the SVCHOST and there are 12 services bundled up in it, including Netman (Network Connections) and Nla (Network Location Awareness).

Ok, i cut that last reply short as their Tech Support just sent me some new drivers to try but they have been no help and the problem is still there.

Running Process Explorer from Sysinternals i see the following services using the svchost

AudioSrv
BITS
Browser
CryptSvc
Dhcp
dmserver
ERSvc
EventSystem
FastUserSwitchingCompatibility
helpServ
HidServ
Lanmanserver
lanmanworkstation
Netman
Nla
RasMan
Schedule
seclogin
SENS
SharedAccess
ShellHWDetection
srservice
TapiSrv
Themes
TrkWks
W32Time
winmgmt

As you might notice, there seems to be more that the 12 i mentioned in my earlier post but this is straight after a reboot so that might have something to do with it i guess, my knowledge of SVCHOST is pretty limited hence why i am on here i guess!

I am still sure this is some kind of driver conflict somewhere but if you could give me some advice on how to troubleshoot it further i would be greatful. The other option is simply to return the card to eBuyer and get a slightly more up market one from one of the more reputable suppliers, i was going for the cheap and cheerful option but while it's cheap, i'm not feeling the cheer at all!

 

[KSoD]

I see nothing listed that looks suspicious. Nothing that draws out my attention as trouble.

go through this:

Osiris Spyware Guide

 

[canihavealogin]

Hi again Mak, thanks for the continued support!

Right, since i have last posted i have done some other bits and to be honest i think i rebuild is in order. By following the driver config line of thinking, only because it is many years since i got hit with a spyware/malware/virus/nagware infection and maintain pretty decent defences i have written off the idea of this being the problem, i decided to update my other network drivers.

I checked in my machine and i have a MSI P6N SLi Platinum motherboard so checked up on the specs and found it runs a nForce Northbridge, i decided to update the Nvidia drivers to the latest release as i figured it may help.

However, since doing this i now get the SVCHOST process running at 100% all the time now!

Before i did this however i went through my system and removed all my old and unused software in an effort to clean things up first but there still seems to be something underlying that is playing havoc with my Network Controllers.

To be honest it has been a long time since i rebuilt her, so she could probably do with some TLC and appreciate a nice new Windows install, i just have so much data on there and so many apps and patches that need re-installing it's always a daunting task. I wish my home comp was as simple as the ones at work so i could just use a simple image to get it all done!

Maybe that should be my first task after the rebuild...

So one last question, do you know of any way of being able to track back to find out what drivers are running and if they are causing conflicts or do you think a re-build would be the easier option?

Thanks again for your help with this.

 

[KSoD]

I dont know of any way to back track a driver. Right now the best option i would say would be a redo of the PC. Sadly i know how frustrating it is. But an idea, once you get it all setup with your software and drivers working properly, make a image then. Wont be so much work later on.