Application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)

[Beadmaster]

I have Thunderbird installed on an old laptop computer. It's been working fine, pretty much, other than "(Not Responding)" errors, which have been occurring on that computer for a very long time and not just with Thunderbird.

But as of today I'm unable to start Thunderbird at all. The complete error message is:
"The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click OK to terminate the application."

Is Thunderbird salvageable? Is there a fix?

Thanks in advance!

[DanRaisch]

What operating system are you running on that old laptop?

[Beadmaster]

Windows Vista, 32 bit.

[Beadmaster]

Also, the version of Thunderbird would have been the very latest release for Vista. I've always updated it faithfully, downloading a new version when necessary or allowing for the automatic update if that was offered.

[Beadmaster]

Strangely enough, I did nothing, but Thunderbird is now running. I did run virus & malware scans. Everything was fine. So I'm guessing this is an intermittent problem.