How To Fix Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Error

By Nakodari | Published: November 4, 2008

If you are encountering Generic Host for Win32 Process error it means the following, you received this error while starting your computer and you are using Windows XP service pack 2(If you are using any other Window, you can still use the method in this post to fix it). The reason of this error is due to a bug in Windows security update 873333 (MS05-012), if you installed this update then you will definitely receive this error.

The other problem that this security update gives is that file names are not displayed in e-mail messages that include file attachments when the following conditions are true:

The file name contains double-byte character set (DBCS) characters.
The file name is longer than 42 characters.

Method 1 – Applying Microsoft’s Patch

There are different methods to fix these problems, but the best way is to download Microsoft security patch that fixes this bug in the previous security upgrade. You can download it from here(Note that this security patch is for Windows XP 32 bit version only). After it is installed, simply restart your computer and you will not receive this error.

Note: This patch above is for Windows XP 32 bit version only. To get complete list of patches for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 64 bit/32bit and Windows XP 64 bit, please go here.

Method 2 – Updating Your Windows Manually

If this does not fix your problem then try using this method,

Go to the Start menu and right-click My Computer and select Properties, in the properties window click on Automatic Updates tab and select Turn Off Automatic Updates and reboot your computer.

Now go to Start menu > All programs > Windows Update(make sure you are connected to internet while following this step). Here manually update your Windows and in the end Turn your Automatic Updates back on. Finally reboot your computer once again.

The Generic Host for Win32 process error will finally vanish forever !

If this method does not work, let us know, and we will do our best to help you. Got any questions, suggestions, or feedback? Let us know in the comments.