Original title: Generic Win 32I have the latest version of XP sp3. Recently for what seemed like no reason at all, I receive a Generic Win 32 error, my sound card is turned off, and any program, whether it be a site like youtube, or a media player like Windows Media Player will continue to function, but if I change songs, or go to another site etc there is no sound what so ever. My attempts to fix going from site to site and through many blogs I have had no such luck.-Restarting- (lets sound work for about 10minutes then it dies)-Tried to repair the OS via command prompt sfc /scannow (this did nothing)-Ran varies virus and adware programs, spybot, avg, windows defender, and combofix (nothing)-Created a new profile with admin privileges (nothing)-Ran all previous scans in safe mode with and without networking (nothing)-Downloaded new sound card drivers Realtek AC 97' (nothing)-Uninstalled and Enabled the sound driver via My Computer-Properties-Hardware(nothing)-Tried reloading sp3 (nothing)-Would love to restore to an old save point via System restore but after the error for some magical reason all my back up saves went somewhere THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF MESS. Any more suggestions would be helpful.

Hi Mehatewindows, You may first check the Event viewer when you restart the computer and before shutdown.Refer the link:How to view and manage event logs in Event Viewer in Windows XPhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427 Method 1:You may remove all the external devices connected, especially any HP devices connected remove that and check what happens.If this corrects the issue then add the devices back one at a time until you discover the piece of hardware causing the issue. Then get any updated drivers\software for the device. Method 2:You may also check in clean boot if the issue occurs.A clean boot helps to verify if any third party application services or startup item is causing this issue.You may refer the following KB article to put the computer in clean boot:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353 If your issue is resolved after performing Clean Boot, then follow the steps mentioned in the above KB article to narrow down the exact source.After trying clean boot to resolve your problem, you can follow the steps to configure Windows XP to start normally.Hope this information is helpful. Praseetha KMicrosoft Answers Support EngineerVisit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.