What is this runtime error?

My wife gets this message frequently and wants to know what to do. Everything freezes at that point.
runtime error -2147418113(8000fff)
automation error catastrophic failure

please help

if its on the computer or cell phone, you may need to contact customer support...

can you post more details...

The error pops up randomly on her pc and pretty much freezes up every thing. Apparently everything stops until she closes that window. Most often with the internet explorer usage but still other times,

if it is a popping error it could be a virus doing the halting.

Hit cntrl+alt+del while the pc is still unhung and look at the processes you are running in the task manager. If there is a suspicious one, you might be infected. Consider running a virus scan or call your service executive. You might in the worst case need to format your devices and reinstall your operating system.

It could also be a hardware problem. Typically the RAM. The nuances of these are as follows: upon bootup (which is normally slow) the computer runs pretty normally but a bit slower than usual. As you keep running some applications, the mouse moves to move in a jerky fashion. This would mean that your RAM needs a ramp up.

What you could do in this case is..pull out the RAM module from its slot. Blow the dust accumulated on the RAM and also wipe off / dust out the RAM slot and the motherboard area near the RAM. Fix the RAM back in and your pc should work as normal.

There could also be other problems like a corrupt registry (in which case download registry mechanic software from the internet and repair your registry).

However I guess that it might that you are facing the first problem.