PT LE 7.4 no longer works on 3 different PCs

[AlyssaG]

Hello all.
As of last week, I cannot get PT LE 7.4 to start on my computer, a Windows XP. The program will not load at all and the specific error I am getting is:
"The application failed to initialize properly (0x80000003). Click on OK to terminate the application."

I have uninstalled and reinstalled using the clean install from the cd and tech support program available on the site. I have tried rolling back to 7.3 and updating to 7.4cs. I have tried uninstalling all of my plugins, PACE drivers, and any programs installed recently that may be conflicting with it. As well I tried updating drivers for my Mbox2 hardware, ilok, etc. I even tried system restore.

I thought I would have to reformat my drive, but the strange thing is, we did a test and tried installing PT on two different computers, both Vista, and we got the EXACT same error and number string. I am starting to think the problem is a windows update of some sort conflicting with PT.

I have searched elsewhere for this error and there are only a few specifically relating to PT, some mentioned in DUC, but they all suggest things I've done and it doesn't seem anyone's been able to fix it. In my research of the error conflicting with programs other than PT, I found a lot of people just had to update their Microsoft Visual Basic C++ and .NET Framework, and I've tried that too, with no results.

I'm at my wits end, my software was working perfect till a week ago, and there are projects I need to work on. Below I will post my pc specs with SiSoftware's Sandra Lite as requested. I do not have the specs for the other two comps we tested on as they're not mine, but if totally necessary I will try to get them.

I have already sent a message to Digidesign Support, but thought I'd post here as well. Please, any help would be wholly appreciated, thank you.

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+
Speed : 2.5GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Low Power, Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 64kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size

System
System : System manufacturer System Product Name
Platform Compliance : AMD LIVE!
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2A-VM
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS M2A-VM ACPI BIOS Revision 0302
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : ASUS RS690 Host Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 200MHz (200MHz)

Chipset
Model : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 357MHz (714MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Corsair CM2X1024-6400C5DHX 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5.0-5-5-18 3-22-6-3)
Memory Module : Corsair CM2X1024-6400C5DHX 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5.0-5-5-18 3-22-6-3)

Video System
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS (320MB DDR3, 475MHz/1.10GHz/2x792MHz, PCIe 1.00 x16, PS3.0, VS3.0)

Storage Devices
WDC WD2500AAKS-00SBA0 250GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 233GB (Y:)
WDC WD2500AAKS-00SBA0 250GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 233GB (Z:)
ST380013A 80GB (ATA100, 3.5", 8MB Cache) : 75GB (C:)
TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S183L (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)
CC3450J AYV172V (SCSI, SCSI-2, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R, 512kB Cache) : N/A (G:)

Logical Storage Devices
Ashy (Y:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2500AAKS-00SBA0 250GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Ashy_Audio (Z:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2500AAKS-00SBA0 250GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C:) : 75GB (NTFS) @ ST380013A 80GB (ATA100, 3.5", 8MB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S183L (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (G:) : N/A @ CC3450J AYV172V (SCSI, SCSI-2, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R, 512kB Cache)
3.5" 1.44MB (A:) : N/A

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS IXP SB600 SMBUS Controller
LPC Hub Controller 2 : ASUS IXP SB600 PCI to LPC Bridge
Audio Device : ASUS IXP SB600 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor 883 High Definition Audio
Serial Port(s) : 2
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : ASUS IXP SB600 Serial ATA Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS IXP SB600 ATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (OHCI0)
USB Controller 2 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (OHCI1)
USB Controller 3 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (OHCI2)
USB Controller 4 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (OHCI3)
USB Controller 5 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (OHCI4)
USB Controller 6 : ASUS IXP SB600 USB Controller (EHCI)
System SMBus Controller 1 : AMD IXP SMBus
System SMBus Controller 2 : AMD AFS SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : XPrint 4920/4925 PostScript (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Office Document Image Writer Driver (200x200)
Printer : hp psc 1300 series (USB, Colour)

Scanners and Cameras
Camcorder : Logitech QuickCam PTZ #6 (USB)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Network Adapter : NETGEAR WG111v2 54Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 54Mbps)
Wireless Adapter 1 : NETGEAR WG111v2 54Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport (WEP n-bit, 54Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 3)
Platform Compliance : x86

[mykhal c]

I am starting to think the problem is a windows update of some sort conflicting with PT.

good place to start IMHO, especially since you are seein' the problem on multiple computers. backtrack to the day it started on all PC's then look at XP updates that might have installed via 'automatic' updates. if you go into the system restore option, locate day of problem on calendar to see the updates that installed on that day. if you see any new ones then i'd back them off one at a time or all (your call). hope that helps...m

[bblue]

Did the problem start on 12/12? Do you use Panda 2008 anti-virus? If yes to both, Check the logs to see if Panda has suddenly (incorrectly) found some Adware programs or DLL's. Remove Panda 2008, restore the files falsely removed, and update to Panda Pro 2009.

[AlyssaG]

Thanks for the replies.
I already did a system restore to 12/8, the day after the last time I used it (couldn't go farther back) and it didn't work. I don't know what day the problem started honestly, but it was sometime within last week. I can't remember the exact day I first saw it, cause I thought nothing of it at the time and thought it would be a quick fix I could get to later.

Nope, I don't have Panda anti-virus, but I have Avast. Up till now I've just deleted everything potentially harmful (I know, I shouldn't have...), but I'm looking at the logs, and I don't see anything like DLLs within the timeframe of the problem occuring that have been deleted.

I'm going to try looking at the security updates installed within the timeframe as well as see if I'm missing something in the logs.
EDIT: Yeah, I'm looking at my logs some more and I don't see much I've deleted in months. Also wondering if it's okay to uninstall all the security updates from that week. Hmm...

[explorationx]

I run updated windows XP & 7.4cs3 with a digi003 experiencing none of your problems.
(*knocks on wood, crosses fingers)
I remember seeing updates for XP about the time you started having trouble.

[AlyssaG]

Lol, I hope you didn't jinx yourself either. =b
Yeah, I figured it isn't that widespread since I couldn't find much info on it. But who knows? I'm still confused why it came up with three diff comps.
Oh cruel fate... =(