svchost.exe Crashes - Kills Sound on Windows XP

Within an hour of booting up, I get a Win32 or related error. The last time it happened, I noticed that SVCHOST.EXE was using up over 80% of my CPU Usage before the file crashed.

After the error, audio will not work on my PC. No MP3s through Windows Media, no movie audio, no Youtube audio. If I go to the device manager, there are no exclamation marks or X marks indicating that a sound device is not working. But if you click on "sounds and audio devices ", it simply says that there is no audio device. You also can't adjust the volume (the PC doesn't see that I have a mixer/audio device).

I have run AVG, Malwarebytes, Spybot S&D, and ComboFix in safe mode. I reinstalled Windows Service Pack 3 for XP, and even used their Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner. After all this, the problem still exists (error within a few minutes to an hour).

I've found this complaint posted on dozens of boards, yet so far no one seems to know how to fix it. Any suggestions?

 

Welcome aboard JavaTheScript.

Please complete your system specs. so that its easier for us to answer the question.

Have you tried to update your drivers ?

 

Here are my specs per SIW

QuickReport from System Information for Windows

System Vendor
Manufacturer HP Pavilion 061
Serial Number (Omitted for Privacy)
Model 103C_53316J

BIOS Information
Vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Version 3.15
Board Product ID EMERY

Processor Information
Summary 1 Physical Processors / 2 Cores / 2 Logical Processors / 64 bits
Name Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz
Vendor GenuineIntel
Original System Clock 200 MHz

Storage Device Information
Disk 0 300.0 GB WDC WD3000JS-60PDB0 Western Digital
Disk 1 Generic USB SD Reader USB Device Generic
Disk 2 Generic USB CF Reader USB Device Generic
Disk 3 Generic USB SM Reader USB Device Generic
Disk 4 Generic USB MS Reader USB Device Generic
DVD Writer 0 TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H652L (TSSTcorpCD/DVDW TS-H652L) Toshiba
DVD 1 ASUS DVD-E616A (ASUS DVD-E616A)

Memory Information
Slot 1 DDR2 (PC2-4300) 1024 MBytes Hyundai Electronics
Slot 2 DDR2 (PC2-4300) 1024 MBytes Hyundai Electronics

Display Adapter Information
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE 64 MBytes DDR

Sound Adapter Information
Realtek High Definition Audio Realtek

Network Adapter Information
Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection WIRED Connected [100 Mbps]
Wireless LAN PCI 802.11 b/g adapter WN5301A WIRELESS LAN Disconnected [54 Mbps]
1394 Net Adapter WIRED 1395 Connected

Operating System
Type Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3