Full error message: The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142). Click OK to close the application.

A few weeks ago I was trying to fix another problem with my PC (limited internet connection). I was following instructions from searching on google but of course I should have known that I shouldn't be changing things to my PC. And now I've got this problem!

Changes I made to my computer:

http://fixedbyvonnie.com/2013/10/how-to-fix-limite...

I also stopped running Bonjour, but then turned it back on as it didn't seem to make a difference. This might or might not be when the problem started.

So now, every few minutes or so my computer freezes, this message pops up and then it unfreezes once I press OK. Windows Defender can't seem to be able to update, and sometimes I get a message telling me to "Activate Windows".

It's really frustrating and with exams coming up soon, I really need to get this fixed! My computer runs Windows 8. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, but keep in mind that I don't really know much about computers. And lastly, please don't tell me to get a registry cleaner. Apparently those should be avoided and I don't want to have to pay for one, either.

Thanks for reading!

Screenie of the error:

https://docs.google.com/a/student.monash.edu/docum...

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>> Anything specific you tried doing before your computer freezes?

My laptop freezes at frequent intervals no matter what Im doing (eg browsing the internet). It also happens when I try to open Windows Explorer, which is annoying as I need to get to My Documents

>> With regards to Windows prompting you to activate, any specific messages?

The message appears in the bottom right hand corner, it looks like a watermark and says something along the lines of 'Activate Windows, Go to PC settings'