Two 20 seconds delays when installing Tweaking.com Windows Repair (All in One)?

[midimusicman79]

Hi all!

I have Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit, Version 21H1, (OS Build 19043.1348), (fully updated).

Recently, I routinely uninstalled, downloaded, and installed a new version, 4.12.0 (11/10/2021), of Tweaking.com Windows Repair (All in One).

As usual, I chose to download the Direct Download Installer from Tweaking.com.

However, upon trying to install it, I noticed that there is a 20 seconds delay between clicking OK at the User Account Control (UAC) and when the install settings dialog box pops up.

And likewise, there is a 20 seconds delay before the last install settings dialog box pops up.

And hence, my question is as follows;

Could you please fix this?

Thank you very much in advance!

Regards,
midimusicman79

[Boggin]

I fully uninstalled my Pro version and used the direct download as you had and there was no delay at all.

It's possible that your Temp folder could be a bit full.

With all programs closed, go Start - type %temp% and press enter.

If it is highly populated then press CTRL and a together to highlight then CTRL and d together to delete and confirm.

Remember to empty your Recycle Bin.

Try the uninstall/reinstall again and let me know how you get on.

Which antivirus program are you using ?

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

I tried deleting all the Temporary Files and Folders but received several error messages from Windows 10 that some files and folders were in use and/or needed Administrator Rights to be deleted.

As such, I was forced to only delete all other Temporary Files and Folders that I could delete but upon uninstalling and reinstalling Tweaking.com Windows Repair (All in One)...,

...There are still the said 20 seconds delays at the start of the install, and the end of the install, so deleting Temporary Files and Folders did not resolve the issue.

The antivirus program I am using is Emsisoft Anti-Malware Home which is both an antivirus and antimalware program which I started using in 2015, and this issue is limited to WR.

I also emptied my Recycle Bin.

Could you please make some more recommendations?

[Boggin]

Sometimes an antivirus program can hang on to files after checking them.

Can you try the uninstall/reinstall in Safe Mode with Networking.

In this mode all 3rd party programs are isolated.

You don't need to uninstall WR to update it so try just reinstalling it after the uninstall/reinstall in normal mode but let me know if there is any improvement in Safe Mode with Networking.

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

I upgraded Windows 10 to Version 21H2 today and now have (OS Build 19044.1348).

I restarted Windows 10 in Safe Mode, tried uninstalling Tweaking.com Windows Repair (All in One), and tried reinstalling it, and there was no delay at all, neither at the start nor the end of the install and it went well and fast.

And then, I uninstalled WR and restarted Windows 10 in Normal Mode, and tried reinstalling it which again caused the said two 20 seconds delays.

So consequently, one of my several various antivirus and antimalware software is likely interfering with the install/reinstall of WR, and as such, I decided to temporarily deactivate their protections but that did not make any difference either.

As I am a security enthusiast, the antivirus and antimalware, etc. software I use, is as follows:

Emsisoft Anti-Malware Home
Malwarebytes 4 Premium
NoVirusThanks OSArmor Free
CryptoPrevent Free Edition
WinPatrol PLUS
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office Essential
Unchecky
SpywareBlaster Free

I have, of course, already added the necessary exclusions in the respective security software so they do not conflict with each other.

In my opinion, they all perform different tasks as it relates to comprehensive and maximum antivirus and antimalware, etc. security and I am also practicing safe computing and downloading.

Do you think adding the WR install executable to all their available respective exclusion lists could resolve my issue?

[Boggin]

Having more than one active antivirus program can cause problems.

It may be worth Googling to check if any conflict with any of the others.

You could try putting www.tweaking.com into their exclusions lists to see if it helps

It could be also because of something you have installed.

Right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager then under Startup disable all items then restart and try again.

If that resolves then you will need to enable one item at a time until the delay returns.

If there is still a delay, then go Start - type msconfig and press enter.

Under Services check the box to Hide all Microsoft Services and disable all - Apply - OK and restart to see if there's any improvement.

If there is then you will need to go back into Services and enable two or three at a time - Apply - OK - Restart.

If disabling all non-MS services makes no difference then go back into msconfig and check the button for normal start up.

Hopefully one of those suggestions will resolve.

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

Well, with all due respect, as I said, Emsisoft Anti-Malware Home is an antivirus and antimalware software, whereas Malwarebytes 4 Premium is an antimalware software, so I am consequently not having more than one active antivirus program.

Emsisoft uses the Bitdefender antivirus engine and Emsisoft's own antimalware engine, and the only well-known software conflict between Emsisoft and Malwarebytes is the Web Protection.

But, that is easily fixed by setting mutual exclusions between Emsisoft and Malwarebytes, which I have already done.

And, with all the mutual exclusions being set between all my various antivirus and antimalware, etc. software, essentially none of them are monitoring each other.

All the other antimalware etc. software is designed to work well with antivirus and antimalware software.

I have now added the WR install executable file as an exception in all the software that features an exception list, which are Emsisoft, Malwarebytes, NoVirusThanks OSArmor, Acronis, and Unchecky, but that did not make any difference either.

A while ago, I downloaded the Sysinternals Suite as a ZIP file which contains a lot of small programs that can be run on demand but decided that I should delete it anyway, to reduce the total amount of software that I have on my computer, more specifically reducing it from approximately 150 to 75.

It is also worth noting that the Tweaking.com Technician's Toolbox install executable on the contrary does not have any delays at the start and end of the install but works well and fast in Windows 10 Normal Mode.

That is as far as I got today but will continue with the rest of the troubleshooting methods tomorrow, and possibly even the day thereafter, and report back once upon finding the culprit if I manage to find it, but if not, I am willing to live with the said issue, if that is okay with you.

[Boggin]

Well it shouldn't be happening and the fact that it doesn't occur in Safe Mode does suggest that it could be something in your start up menu if none of your security programs are to blame.

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

First, I deactivated all the Startup Items and rebooted my computer but there were still the said two delays, so I reactivated essentially everything and rebooted my computer.

Then, I deactivated all the 3rd-party Startup Services and rebooted my computer again but there was no improvement, so I reactivated everything and rebooted my computer.

And, I even manually exited all the few remaining 3rd-party SysTray Software Icons but that made no difference either, so I rebooted my computer.

Also, with all due respect, while I was troubleshooting, I did notice that deactivating the Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office Essential Startup Item did not completely stop the Acronis software from running...,

...So, do you think it would be worth the hassle to temporarily uninstall it to see if that could resolve the issue, as it is a big software in terms of functions and that its installer executable file is nearly 1GB, or not?

But anyway, does all of this mean that I eventually have to live with the said issue, because it likely just is a trifle, or do you maybe have any more recommendation(s) that I can try to fix it?

[Boggin]

You could try uninstalling Acronis as it's starting to point to your security software, but you only need to install WR once apart from updates, so it may be a trivial inconvenience - but it shouldn't be happening.

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

I decided to uninstall the following antivirus and antimalware, etc. software:

Emsisoft Anti-Malware Home
Malwarebytes 4 Premium
NoVirusThanks OSArmor Free
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office Essential
Unchecky
SpywareBlaster Free

However, I decided to not uninstall the following antimalware, etc. software:

CryptoPrevent Free Edition
WinPatrol PLUS

The reason why is that those two software are abandonware and while I do know that it is unreasonable to be using any such software, I still want to use them for what they are worth.

And, I did all of this, but all is to no avail and as such, the issue seems to be insurmountable.

And now, I have decided to live with the said issue because it just is a trifle and anyway, the point is that WR in itself is working properly, and while I in the past used it for repairs, nowadays, I mostly only use it for backups.

But, one last thing; Do you think it would be worth it to download and run the Sysinternals Process Monitor to see exactly what is happening on my computer during the 20 seconds delay at the start of running the WR install executable file, or not?

[Boggin]

I'm not sure what the process monitor would show you but as you have installed WR, then you could just forget about the delay.

You need to reinstall your antivirus program.

Are you saying that CryptoPrevent and WinPatrol PLUS can no longer be reinstalled if you uninstall those ?

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

CONGRATULATIONS on 10,000 posts on the Tweaking.com Support Forums!

With that said, personally, I am now a BC Advisor and Staff Member on the Bleeping Computer Technical Support Forums and currently have more than 2,500 posts.

Well, I pay for Emsisoft, Malwarebytes, and Acronis and use them as my main antivirus/antimalware, antimalware, and disk imaging/antiransomware software.

Whereas, I use NoVirusThanks OSArmor Free, CryptoPrevent Free, WinPatrol PLUS, Unchecky, and SpywareBlaster Free as my secondary antimalware, etc. software.

However, the point of NoVirusThanks OSArmor and CryptoPrevent is that they were freeware for many years but eventually, their respective developers decided to publish a new edition of them and made them paid-only software, and the free edition became abandonware and I do not want to pay for secondary antimalware software.

The point of WinPatrol is that I luckily happened to only pay a one-time fee for the PLUS edition, and since then, its latest developer who acquired the software from the first developer has eventually gone bankrupt and made the software abandonware, and while I could uninstall it and reinstall it, I would as such, of course, lose the PLUS functions and I do not think it is worth it.

I downloaded and ran Sysinternals Process Monitor and started a live capture while subsequently starting the WR install executable file, clicked OK on the User Account Control, and waited during the said 20 seconds delay until the install settings dialog box popped up and stopped the install.

Then, I stopped the live capture, applied a filter for Process Name tweaking.com_windows_repair_aio.exe, and examined the log file which, as you indicated, did not contain any clues as to what the culprit is, and saved the capture which resulted in a 17.7Mb capture file.

And, at this point, I think we should conclude that the said issue just is a trifle and consequently that any further troubleshooting is unnecessary, if that is okay with you.

I will reinstall Emsisoft Anti-Malware Home, etc.

Thank you very much for the help!

[Boggin]

Thanks for the congrats and the same to you for your position on the Bleeping Computer forum.

I used to have CryptoPrevent but had also dumped that - can't remember now why though.

I also used to have the free version of Malwarebytes but that started causing problems so that went as well.

I had been a long time user or Norton but when I tried to open it, I was starting to just get a black square instead of its UI - I now use Kaspersky Total Security which keeps me safe.

As you only notice the delay on an install, then perhaps you could forget about it, but come back if you get the same problem on an update.

[midimusicman79]

You are welcome and Thank you.

Today, I downloaded the new version, 4.12.1, of WR and installed it without uninstalling the previous version and unlike before, I noticed that I no longer needed to change any settings because all are being left intact, which is convenient.

However, unfortunately, the said 20 seconds delays at the start and end of the install persist.

I have also noticed that whenever I start the WR install and do not complete the install and start the install and do complete the install...,

...The install logs its commands and results to a WR install log file in the TEMP folder, but it does not contain any clues as to what the culprit is.

It is even worth noting that WinPatrol PLUS is not the culprit because I can deactivate its protection and exit the said software but that does not make any difference either.

And hence, my questions are as follows;

Do you maybe have any more recommendations that I can try to fix this issue?

And, if it already exists, is there any diagnostic switch in the install that can be enabled that can diagnose the 20 seconds delays issue, or could a new Speecy report of my system help diagnose the said issue?

[Boggin]

I've just updated to 4.12.1 and while I had to wait for the files to download. it didn't take 20 secs.

At which point are you experiencing this 20 sec delay ?

Between WinPatrol and CryptoPrevent, I would have suspected CryptoPrevent as the cause.

Can you right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager then disable all items under Startup and try the install again.

[midimusicman79]

Thank you.

I am experiencing the said 20 second delays between when clicking OK at the User Account Control and when the install settings dialog box is popping up.

I deactivated all the Startup items at once, rebooted my computer, started installing WR and the issue is resolved because there are no longer any delays at all.

Then, I gradually activated all the Startup items, one by one, and rebooted my computer in between each of them (a total of 15-17), and the issue remains being resolved.

However, it remains just as much a mystery what the culprit was, as what the resolution was but anyway, the point is that the issue is resolved.

Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that on November 17, I upgraded to Windows 10 Version 21H2, and the other day, I installed an optional Windows 10 update, and as I said, yesterday, I installed a minor, new update of WR...,

...And today, as I also said, I deactivated all the Startup items and reactivated 15 of the 17 Startup items and the issue is resolved, so something, whatever that may be, has resolved the issue.

I do know that I am repeating the fact that the issue is resolved, but I am very glad that it is.

So again, thank you very much for the help!

[Boggin]

That's great news but I'm puzzled that it remained resolved after enabling all of the items in the start up menu.

That should have identified the culprit - but as it's resolved I guess that will have to remain a mystery as I can't think of an explanation for that.