I have been running AOL9 for almost three months without any problems. In
fact, if anything, I rate it more stable or more fault tolerant than AOL8.
I have XP home with SP-1 and every critical update. I connect via a 56K
modem.
You might try using AOL9's built-in diagnose and repair feature. It checks
modems and such for obvious problems.
The next thought is to re-install AOL9 in parallel with the current
installation. If the problem is a corrupt file, this may fix it. However,
be sure to do a fresh download of the AOL9 setup.exe files, OR get a free
AOL9 CD from one of the major computer stores (like CompUSA).
Finally, check the connections on the modem. If internal, power off and
re-seat the PCI board.