Audio Extension failing to load

Question

Occassionaly on starting up, I get a "System Error Warning", explaining an 'Audio Extension - Address Error'. Although this is happily rectifiable with a paper clip restart in the side of my iMac, how do I put things right, before things gets worse?
I know I really ought to understand how to do this by now, but the whole Extensions malarky never made much sense to me. In my defence I have tried reading up about it, but alas, to no avail... :o\
*hangs head in mournful deep shame*

Answer 1

You probably have some sort of "audio" extension conflict.
Except for the keyboard & the mouse-disconnect all devices from your computer.
Restart your computer while holding down the shift key.
This will shut off your extensions.
If you make it to your desktop w/o the error, this means you have an extension conflict and/or USB conflict.
The following further explains the "Address Error" in a little more detail.
Address (Type 2) Errors
Probable Causes: Address errors occur when a segment of memory is inaccessible -- either because it is reserved for another use or it doesn't exist. Likely caused by an extension conflict, insufficient memory, or corruption in an application or an application's support file (e.g., a preferences file).
Other causes could include faulty application code, a defective SCSI connection, or a bad logic board. Because these causes are less likely causes, you should for them only after troubleshooting for the most common causes.
Possible Solutions: When this error occurs in only one application, try running the application with extensions disabled. If the error does not recur, troubleshoot for extension conflicts.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=30929 Mac OS: Extension Conflict Troubleshooting/Extensions Manager Features.
If the error occurs in only one application and while extensions are disabled, try trashing the application's preferences file so the application creates a new one. If the error does not recur, a damaged preferences file was the cause.
Preference files are located inside the Preferences Folder which is inside the System Folder.
You should also try allocating more memory (RAM) to the application.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=18278 Mac OS: Assigning More Memory to an Application Program. The same directions are also in the OS Mac Help Menu.
If the error occurs in more than one application, the cause may be a problem with either the system software or, perhaps, the hardware. Reinstalling your system software will likely resolve errors caused by damaged system software. If the error is caused by hardware, SCSI devices attached to your Macintosh may be the cause and you should troubleshoot the SCSI chain.