"Attempted to read or write protected memory" error

At my current workplace we have actual desktop computers, but are issued laptops in case we have to work remotely. If we want to access any of our installed programs etc we RDP into our desktop. This works out fairly well as my connection is quick enough for me to be able to do most everyday tasks when working remotely.

Then I got to thinking...

What happens if my workplace becomes a smoking hole? What if I'm unable to RDP to my desktop? I have SQL set up with my registered servers, RDCMan set up with all of the SQL instances I may need to connect to, all of my miscellaneous text files and screenshots that I haven't gotten around to archiving on the network...basically I'd be hurting.

So I decided to knuckle down and install all of my tools onto my laptop and then use a dock to connect to my monitors when I'm in the office, a fairly straight-forward process.

Until I installed SQL 2014 and tried to import my registered servers.

BAM


"Attempted to read or write protected memory" error. SQL crashes and restarts. Repeatedly. Whenever I try to log into an instance. When I try to add a registered server. Basically when I try to do anything.

What fresh hell is this??

So I did what any other good DBA would do and Googled the error. I found all sorts of links telling me to do everything from reboot my computer to replace my disk drives to give up and go home (I liked that one best!). I tried a few fixes and got a whole lot of nowhere.

Then I decided to look at what was different between my two computers. I looked at what was recently updated and saw that on my laptop that .NET had been updated to 4.5.1, Hmm I thought...I remember seeing something about this. I started digging through my emails and found one mentioning that this update 'breaks things' (yeah, real specific) and to run this to see if it helps:

netsh winsock reset

Well I ran it and BINGO, everything is running smoothly again, I'm able to log into instances using SSMS, can add my registered servers, and everything is as peachy as it can be when you're stuck in an office on a beautiful summer day.

I'm sure there are other reasons the protected memory error comes up, but this seems to be rather obscure and I wasn't able to find a fix easily so hopefully this post can help someone else!