Multiple appcrashes in vista - why?

I suddenly started getting a lot of appcrashes last week and the soun
is gone. I have had the computer for 10 months - not problem free o
course but at least I haven't encountered this before.


Computer: Acer Travelmate 6291 (laptop) with pre-installed Vista Hom
Premium

Symptoms, chronological order
=============================

On startup: Two appcrash popups appear, I have tracked them to Ace
eServices management service (service that starts automatically) and se
it to Manual start.

1
Description:
Stopped working

Problem signature:
Problemhändelsens namn: CLR20r3
Problemsignatur 01: KSEPG0E4UHHWRU1JABVDT2H20FOWKTUU
Problemsignatur 02: 2.5.4004.0
Problemsignatur 03: 45f64448
Problemsignatur 04: mscorlib
Problemsignatur 05: 2.0.0.0
Problemsignatur 06: 47577b16
Problemsignatur 07: 416b
Problemsignatur 08: 27
Problemsignatur 09: System.Runtime.Remoting.Remoting
OS-version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Språkvariant-ID: 1053


2
Problem signature:
Problemhändelsens namn: APPCRASH
Programnamn: capuserv.exe
Programversion: 1.0.0.0
Programtidsstämpel: 4664c6c6
Namn på felmodul: KERNEL32.dll
Modulens version: 6.0.6001.18000
Tidsstämpel för felmodul: 4791a76d
Undantagskod: e0434f4d
Undantagsförskjutning: 000442eb
OS-version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Språkvariant-ID: 1053


*** Program problems ***

** Windows Media Player can't open movies or mp3:s
Error message popup refers to web help page

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=80040155
The sound device (Realtek Hight Definition Audio) is installed an
"working" according to Device manager but neither mediaplayer or VL
produce sound. (VLC plays the video though) When I try to update th
driver as the above link suggests, the search for drivers on the we
never completes.


** Tried to open a pdf document from Firefox --> my default program fo
pdf documents, Foxit reader, opened --> appcrash in module tiptsf.dll


** Once Opera appcrashed after a minute of surfing, I haven't been abl
to reproduce this though and don't remember the problem description.


** When trying to open Event Viewer I get an error message saying tha
the snap-in module (event viewer) could not be created. Also a messag
window is shown that says "Unhandled exception in a snap-in module":
FX:{b05566ad-fe9c-4363-be05-7a4cbb7cb510}

Could not cast COM-objekt of type System.__ComObject to interface o
type Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Interop.IWaitDialog. This operatio
failed because the call to QueryInterface in the COM-component for th
interface with IID {92B4FF02-08E4-40E5-A5A6-624F8970C116} failed becas
of thefollowing error: Interface not supported (Exception from HRESULT
0x80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)).

Exception type:
System.InvalidCastException

Stack trace:
vid Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Interop.IWaitDialog.Co mpleteRequest()
vi
Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Executive.WaitDialog.I nnerCompleteDialog()
vi
Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Executive.WaitDialog.C ompleteDialog()
vi
Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Executive.SnapInInitia lizationOperation.CreateSnapIn()
vi
Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Executive.Operation.On ThreadTransfer(SimpleOperationCallbac


callback)



Ideas about the problem
=======================

1.
I dimly recall that Avast might have updated the program module (no
just the virus definitions). Might that be a problem?
Current version:
Avast antivirus 4.8 home edition
build: jul2008 (4.8.1229)
xtreme toolkit version: 1.9.4.0
using active skin version 4.2.7.3


2.
In Windows\Software distribution\Download there is one folder that wa
created/updated around the time when the problems began (if that ha
anythig to dowith anything): cbshandler

(There are actually four more but they are empty:
x86_microsoft-windows-netapi32_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16764_none_8b10 fff30496576a
x86_microsoft-windows-netapi32_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18157_none_8d05 0f6301b2186f
x86_microsoft-windows-netapi32_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.22288_none_8d6f 3cb41ae72563
x86_microsoft-windows-netapi32_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.20937_none_8bbe 0f461d98ec8d)

/Fredrik


--
maratonic