Antivirus not working anymore after Tweaking repair

[bambinou]

Hello,

I am really stuck with this issue, I have asked the Microsoft live support to help me but none of them can.

I have scanned my computer windows 10 pro 64 bit with your Tweaking software and Malwarebyte + windows defender stopped working + the computer is not running as smooth as before it feels like it is pausing and then running again every 5 or 10 seconds.
I will try to be as precise a possible.

My machine details:
Windows 10 pro 64 bit
Intel core 2 quad cpu Q9550
6 gigs of ram
Version 1803
OS Build 17134.407


Issue:
When trying to start the windows antivirus from the bottom right icon, I get this message:
"Unexpected error. Sorry, we ran into a problem. Please try again.

When clicking on the icon and try to run the scan I get this message:
"Your IT administrator has limited access to some of the areas of this app and the item you tried to access is not available. Contact IT helpdesk for more information."


What the Windows support tried to do:
1)They looked into the GPO to see if the antivirus was turned off
2)Looked into the registry and checked the if the antivirus and spyware key were set to 0
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/all/windows-10-windows-defender-not-turning-on-no/6944db1d-35ec-4294-87fb-f9853fdcd30f
3)They forced removed Malwarebyte with a geek uninstall tool as the manual removal did not work.


They then asked me to burn a usb with the media tool and they have tried to repair the pc but it failed on version 1809, I have to revert windows back to 1803 as it seems that my bios is not compatible with the 1809.


From what I understand, your tweaking software has changed many permissions in my machine folders and it seems that now it cannot access certain areas of the system.
I am really stuck because I have been trying to fix this for 4 days, it is my home work computer and cannot continue working as the computer is not as smooth as before. Also a reset is not an option as I have hundreds of coding and music programming plugins installed and it took me 10 years to get everything working fine.

How to fix this please? Or have your software looking deeper into the permission issues? All was done in safe mode by the way.

Thank you.

[Boggin]

You are the second one to report this today.

The latest version 4.4.0 was supposed to have fixed this and Shane has posted this thread to explain why it was happening and with an alternative workaround should the latest version stil do it.

https://www.tweaking.com/forums/index.php/topic,5960.0.html

The reason is because the machine is still in a partial safe mode which isolates a lot of services.

These are the steps to follow for method 2 in that thread -

To get to that file, open Windows Explorer - click on Windows C: - double click on Program Files (x86) and scroll down to and double click on the following - Tweaking.com - Windows Repairs (All in one) - Files - regfiles - remove_stuck_safemode.reg

I'll pass on your complaint as well.

What was the reason why you ran the program.

If your machine isn't compatible with 1809 how are you going to progress with Win 10 - have you checked your computer support site for a BIOS update ?

[bambinou]

Thank you for the reply.

The reason I used your software was that I always used Iobit to cleanup my pc and thought perhaps yours would do a better job and wanted to give it a try.
By the way, I ended up reinstalling the whole computer(still in the process of reinstalling due to the large amount of software I had) as the registry backup did not fix the issue and things were starting to get worse and I realised I could not access the MMC console anymore and save things in certain folders. There was soo many permission issues that it was just impossible for me to continue working and reinstalled everything :-(

I have managed to install the version 1809 but only with old nvidia drivers, as soon as I update them, I get a blue screen so for now I will stay as I am.

Thanks again.

[Boggin]

The Windows Repair program isn't a tune up program but what it says.

Are you using Advanced System Care from IObit ?

If you are, then what that may have done to your system could have been at odds with the repair program.

It's interesting that you say you were having a problem with the MMC console.

4.3.0 and 4.3.1 produced an error on mine that the mmc.exe had been blocked by an Admin but I later found that running the program a second time cleared that error.

That error pane would pop up if I tried to access Services.

I no longer get that error with 4.4.0 but I still create a Macrium system image before test running any new version of the program.

I don't know what it is about Nvidia graphics drivers but there was a problem with them when Win 10 first came out because MS had produced their own drivers for them which they had to get together with Nvidia to sort out.

One other thing you need to be wary of in updating Nvidia graphics is if you are using an OEM branded machine, then those drivers may have been OEM modified, so if you then update directly from Nvidia you would normally get a BSOD.

[bambinou]

Thank you for the reply

4.3.0 and 4.3.1 produced an error on mine that the mmc.exe had been blocked by an Admin but I later found that running the program a second time cleared that error.""
Yes this is exactly what I was having when trying to access difference services in windows.

I now understand that this software is not like iobit but of a different kind.

Oh well we learn everyday!

All good, reinstalled and fully working..

[Boggin]

It has been found that Shane's proposed fixes for it remaining in Safe Mode hasn't worked and which I've emailed him about.

I've just run the repair program again on one of my 1803 machines to confirm Norton Security works normally after the reboot and it does - so those files had been undone normally for me.

Anyway, I'm glad that you are back up and running.

[helloworld]

I'm having literally this exact same issue and the above solutions did not work for me, I also went specifically to Win Defender in Group Priority and played with some settings to make sure I have full access but with no luck.

I would much rather figure this out instead of reset entirely since it's clearly a case of registry permissions that were changed when I ran your program, which didn't fix my initial issue either. Currently using a third party anti-virus while I give you a chance to fix this and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. I did make a backup before running the repairs so hopefully that alone will fix it but I'm open to trying other suggestions...

[helloworld]

Screenshot of my restore point that shows where things were changed

[Boggin]

I'm having literally this exact same issue and the above solutions did not work for me, I also went specifically to Win Defender in Group Priority and played with some settings to make sure I have full access but with no luck.

I would much rather figure this out instead of reset entirely since it's clearly a case of registry permissions that were changed when I ran your program, which didn't fix my initial issue either. Currently using a third party anti-virus while I give you a chance to fix this and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. I did make a backup before running the repairs so hopefully that alone will fix it but I'm open to trying other suggestions...

There doesn't appear to be any other suggestions at the moment and I've made Shane aware of this problem.

I would suggest that you use your back up to revert any changes the repair program has made.

I assume you are using Win 10 but are you using 1803 or 1809 ?

While you haven't said what your original problems are, where it involves system files, you can perform a repair install which won't affect your personal stuff or installed programs.

For this you would need to create install media which you can after reading the instructions at https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

This will give you an ISO for 1809.

To perform a repair install, open Windows Explorer - This PC - insert the install media and double click on its drive.

This will start the process when using a DVD but will open to its files when using an USB, where you would then double click on setup Application.

This takes 3 - 4 hrs on my Win 10 laptops

[helloworld]

My initial issue was an occasional robotic audio/video stutter I'd get I'm troubleshooting on another forum, I'm fairly certain it's driver related but while looking for answers in Google I came across this and had heard of it somewhere in the past so gave it a shot

[Boggin]

Did this start after a particular Windows Update or is it just something that has developed ?

You could start by reinstalling the driver or check for an update.

To reinstall it, open Device Manager/Sound, video and game controllers then right click on your audio adapter and select uninstall.

You can either reboot or click on Action/Scan for hardware changes to reinstate it where it will be reinstalled from the driver store.

[helloworld]

It started after a hardware change and I've tried many things, including a lot tonight. It's been good for awhile so we'll see, however I would like to continue with Defender...

[Boggin]

I think I may have misunderstood what you meant by back up - I assumed you had created a system image and not just the auto registry backup which doesn't resolve this problem.

Because Windows still thinks it is in Safe Mode, other services may not also work, so it's something that your audio is still working.

Shane will be working on this problem which I assume will result in another version of Windows Repair, so if your system is working okay otherwise, then you could wait for the next program release or try the repair install, although I'm not sure if you can perform a repair install in an indeterminate state of being half in/out of Safe Mode.

During the repair install you have the option for it to auto download the updates, but as Windows Updates doesn't work in Safe Mode, it may be prudent to uncheck that option and then let them download/install after the install has completed.

[helloworld]

So yeah I restored the registry and it's working just fine again. Not sure what could have caused it but at least now you're aware of the issue. Seems like some kind of permission change in the registry, good luck

[Boggin]

Hopefully Shane will be able to find the cause but as it doesn't affect everyone, that may add to the difficulty.

[helloworld]

While it may not be the #1 most reported problem I'm seeing quite a few posts around here that do report this going back almost a month, and that's assuming nobody chimed in on those like I did. Maybe not enough to prioritize it immediately but it does appear to be a problem for several others that shouldn't be ignored just because not every person is having it. If I didn't backup I would have lost a vital feature I use regularly via a repair tool. Also with some dev knowledge it seems like a pretty easy fix, just have to look at which permissions are being changed that relate to Win Defender and figure out which ones are (or aren't) being properly set

[Boggin]

I had reported the earlier instances and Shane looked into it to produce 4.4.0 with the additional file to double click on as a back stop.

Unfortunately, they haven't worked.

He takes any problem caused by the program seriously and will work to rectify it.

For all that have reported this problem, there will be many more who haven't experienced it, including myself - that was the point I was trying to make.

From what Shane has explained, the program is not fully releasing the system from Safe Mode and because of that, some services will not work which includes those for Windows Defender.