After running for a while (minutes) my application crashes with an Application Error: The instruction at "0x00000000" referenced memory at "0x00000000". The memory could not be "read".
Not if you don't give some more information to work with. It looks like a null-pointer exception of some kind. If you are calling any external code using the CIN and related functions, most likely the problem is there.
It would be best if you post a small example program that exhibits this behaviour so that we can have a look. (Trimming down your program and keeping the problem in it will also help you yourself to find out where the problem is)
I encountered the same error message when launching MAX on a W2K machine.
The system administator gave me more rights and the problem was solved.
Although the error message is the same, I really don't know if the cause is the same. But if you are running W2K and have only limited rights you can at least give it a try...