XP Error: "Attempted to read or write protected memory.

[bvaughn]

On my T40 running Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2, after installing various driver updates, I now get the following error message after boot-up: "Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt."

I ran PC Doctor, and that gave no indication of any memory problem. The computer runs normally as far as I can tell.

Who can explain what that message means? How can I make XP stop displaying the message every time Windows starts?

[Wiz]

This is also often caused by bugs in the software and since it happened after you updated some drivers/programs it's most likely not a hardware problem. I also read that some got this error because of some missing permissions.
What kind of drivers/programs did you update just before this started? Do you know what is causing this error? Any information in the windows event log?
You could also try to run msconfig and disable the components you think is most likely the reason for this error message then try to restart and see if the problem goes away. That way you might find out what is causing the error.
Hopefully you can find something in the event log so you might find the source for the error.

[GomJabbar]

It is possible that .NET 2.0 is causing this error. See following page for more info and a hotfix.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923028/en-us

[bvaughn]

By uninstalling then reinstalling .NET Framework 2.0, I determined that it is the source or cause of the error message. The fix that GomJabbar pointed out would not be applicable, evidently, according to the Microsoft web site, since I cannot relate my situation to the one described there. I tried installing version 3.0, but that made no difference. Therefore, I uninstalled version 2.0 (and version 3.0) and reverted to version 1.1 with its Service Pack 1. Thanks for your suggestions.