Boots, then freezes.

[microsvc]

A few days ago, MOZY.com online backup installed an update on my extremely
stable Vista Home Premium. It asked me to reboot and when I clicked reboot,
the system froze up. Every time I boot, it will freeze within seconds of
loading the desktop.

I would seriously love to get this fixed as I have reinstalled Vista 4x, the
last being 18-months ago (Thanks to SP1).

How may I resolve OR troubleshoot this issue? I have done a restore point
back 2 weeks, but thats as far as I can go without getting an error. ANY
help would be greatly appreciated, as I have grown to like my stable Vista!

Thanks in advance for all your tips and ideas.
~Bob

 

[David B.]

What does Mozy support say about the cause of the problem?

 

[microsvc]

Mozy support has not responded to my support request emails. They have
always responded promptly in the past. This tells me that it may be
happening to many people. I've gotten very impatient with them at this point.

 

[Tae Song]

Mozy support has not responded to my support request emails. They have
always responded promptly in the past. This tells me that it may be
happening to many people. I've gotten very impatient with them at this
point.

Have tried booting with last known good configuration option. It's on the
same screen during boot as safe-mode options.

 

[microsvc]

Last known good config did not resolve this issue!

Suggestions?

~Bob

 

[Tae Song]

Last known good config did not resolve this issue!

Suggestions?

~Bob

Are you sure it is Mozy? If you did a restore to a point before Mozy was
installed/upgraded then it is unlikely the source of your problem.

If you still think it is the source of the problem, then boot into Safe-mode
and uninstall it or prevent it from starting at boot up.

If you still have the problem after Mozy is uninstalled then your problem
lies else where.

If you can't boot up using Safe-mode then you should run diagnostics on
memory and hard drive.

Boot up using the Windows Vista DVD and use the built in memory tester
overnight. If you don't have a Windows Vista DVD, Google Memtest 86,
download an ISO burn it to a CD. Boot up with the CD and it will start a
memory tester.

As for the hard drive, boot up with the Windows Vista DVD and navigate your
way to the Command Prompt and do a CHKDSK on it.

CHKDSK C: /R /X /V

/R - Surface scan for defects and check for file record consistency and fix
any problems found
/X - Take the volume offline for scanning
/V - Verbose - display more information as to what CHKDSK is doing

/F - same as /R but doesn't do surface scan, faster but not as thorough


If you don't have a Windows Vista DVD then Google Ultimate Boot CD for
Windows and download an ISO and burn it to a CD and boot up with it.

 

[microsvc]

I actually placed the uninstall link in the startup group, but it froze up
before it completed (the HDD light was blinking still after freeze, so I let
it go). There is still MOZYFILTER in the the registry and the system will
not let me delete it (all in safe mode). How may I remove this?

Is there anyway I can see whats hooked into my NIC and Video???

I cannot uninstall anything in safe mode as I get a message the uninstaller
will not run in safe mode.

I have a raid system for c:, but I will attempt the disk & memory test and
report the results

 

[Tae Song]

I actually placed the uninstall link in the startup group, but it froze up
before it completed (the HDD light was blinking still after freeze, so I
let
it go). There is still MOZYFILTER in the the registry and the system will
not let me delete it (all in safe mode). How may I remove this?

Focus on getting Windows to boot normally first. You just need to disable
Mozy or whatever program that is causing the problem so you can boot to
normal Windows.

If you can boot up into safe-mode, then that means some software in the
startup is causing the problem.

You should be disabling third party software that start up during boot not
adding to it.

You assumption is that it's Mozy, so start MSConfig, go to the Startup tab
and disable it.

If Windows still locks up reboot, then rethink your assumption and disable
the other software in the Startup tab.

Is there anyway I can see whats hooked into my NIC and Video???

I cannot uninstall anything in safe mode as I get a message the
uninstaller
will not run in safe mode.

It just means Mozy uses Windows Installer services, which is disabled in
safe-mode. Packages with it's own install programs should still be able to
uninstall in safe-mode.

I have a raid system for c:, but I will attempt the disk & memory test and
report the results

If you can into safe mode you might not need to do this yet.

 

[microsvc]

Thanks for that info, which I will do later. I'm familiar with msconfig as I
routinely disable things from running at startup. Windows does boot
normally, I can login, but within 15 seconds, it freezes (the HDD light keeps
doing its thing).

I ran the memory test from the DVD, and it says the results will be
displayed when I login after reboot, but it freezes so I cannot get the
results. Is it saved in a file I can view in safe mode?

The chkdsk wont work with the options specified as I get a message that the
drive is NTFS and is locked. Even /x wont do it. I have a raid system for
c:, could that be causing these options not to work? I ran chkdsk by itself
and no errors were found.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

~bOb

 

[Tae Song]

Thanks for that info, which I will do later. I'm familiar with msconfig
as I
routinely disable things from running at startup. Windows does boot
normally, I can login, but within 15 seconds, it freezes (the HDD light
keeps
doing its thing).

Let me reiterate, if you can get into safe-mode OK but having problems under
normal boot then you should be looking for software or services that is not
active under safe-mode as your list of suspects.

I ran the memory test from the DVD, and it says the results will be
displayed when I login after reboot, but it freezes so I cannot get the
results. Is it saved in a file I can view in safe mode?

It goes to the Event Log, use Event Viewer.

The chkdsk wont work with the options specified as I get a message that
the
drive is NTFS and is locked. Even /x wont do it. I have a raid system
for
c:, could that be causing these options not to work? I ran chkdsk by
itself
and no errors were found.

That only checks for file consistency, but information you provided seems to
strongly suggest that software at start up as being the source of the
problem.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

~bOb

Always welcome.

 

[microsvc]

Tae, I have unchecked everything in Startup (a few in services) and it still
freezes. I am still experimenting with services. Anyway, it still freezes
when I start in low-resolution (640x480), and Im wondering what the choice
"Debugging Mode" is and if there's something that goes further into whats
starting/running outside of ntbtlog.txt. There has to be a way to find out
exactly whats causing this outside of trial-and-error. Thanks! ~Bob

 

[Tae Song]

Tae, I have unchecked everything in Startup (a few in services) and it still
freezes. I am still experimenting with services. Anyway, it still freezes
when I start in low-resolution (640x480), and Im wondering what the choice
"Debugging Mode" is and if there's something that goes further into whats
starting/running outside of ntbtlog.txt. There has to be a way to find out
exactly whats causing this outside of trial-and-error. Thanks! ~Bob

By "start in low-resolution" do you mean you are using the standard SVGA video driver?

Changing video resolution doesn't necessarily mean you stopped using the video card specific driver.

You could check event viewer in safe mode for further leads.

Debugging Mode:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791527.aspx

Never got around to messing with that.

There's also drivers... audio, network, webcam, scanners, TV tuner, virtual drive (Daemon tools) device drivers, etc.

Does Mozy install a virtual drive device driver?

You might want to disconnect any extraneous hardware you are not using while you troubleshoot.

Other things you could try, disable page file for troubleshooting purposes.

Rename DfrgNtfs.exe, my system locks up if my computer is idle and starts defrag.. I doubt this is it in your case, but I am thowing it out there for any possible source to the problem.

Do you have anything on the desktop? Media files maybe? Malformed media or incorrect codec settings can cause problems for Windows Explorer when it does automatic thumbnail extraction. Usually causes Explorer to shutdown and restart... in a loop... if it's on the Desktop. I'm just throwing everything and anything I can think of...