Defender locks up xp on startup

[Guest]

I have a problem with windows xp starting up. The task bar loads but is not
accessable, startbutton will not work either, the desktop has loaded but
shortcuts will not load. Taskmanager can be activated (luckily). After a lot
of testing i have found that I can start some new tasks but not explorer.exe.
I have found the only way to unfreeze the PC is to kill the process
msmpeng.exe, then explorer starts (task bar , start button PC works
normally). I am uninstalling windows defender (I have been running windows
defender now for a couple of weeks now and it appears that this is the cause
of my problem, as this strange behaviour started after installing defender. I
have scanned for virus's trojans and PC is clean. I am up to date with all
service packs and security patches.

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

Nasty. I'm glad you were able to figure out how to recover from it.

If you are a glutton for punishment, it'd be interesting to know whether
removing and then reinstalling Windows Defender, ideally from a download
made after April 12th--works any better.

I take it this didn't happen every day since loading Windows Defender?

 

[Guest]

dirtbike:
Do you have Norton AV 2005 installed ?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the response Bill and Efrain

It looks like it may not be related to defender , I did unistall it, and the
problem still exists. Efrain, I run Vet by computer associates, and have been
for over a year, so i don't beleive this is the problem.

So what is it, maybe it is a windows issue, maybe a repair from cd maybe in
order, although this is my last option.

I have found the way to get xp to "unfreeze" is to; bring up taskmanager,
sort to the largest memory usage to the top, stop the first couple of
processes, then thru new task, run c:\windows\explorer.exe. Bingo everything
starts (unfreezes) and I can get to work.

On my pc the first couple of processes are svchost.exe, inetinfo.exe, and
explorer.exe. (svchost.exe and inetinfo.exe restart themselves after manually
"killing them")

I am a software developer by profession so it is heavily loaded with
services running.

I have had spyware infection through the kids using other pc's in the house
(networked). I succesfully removed the spyware with spybot search and
destroy, and then thought i would try defender. i would be happy to try
defender again but i think I had better find a solution to my "little problem
"

So if you think of anything let me know, I will let you know what I find as
a solution.

The PC is a toshiba satellite, I have have for a couple of years now, so it
has been a reliable up till now. Possible it is a hardware issue (memory)?
This is it's spec

http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au/71/li...nu_1=Satellite&ProductMenu_2=295636&x=19&y=14

Thanks and Regards

 

[Guest]

dirtbike: I had the same problem and waited 15+ minutes for Windows to
unfreeze,
then after installing Windows OneCare it stop completely. Give OneCare a
try. The
installation instructions requires the removal of antivirus and firewall.
Also because
it makes backups, the Windows System Restore is not required (useless
anyway).
OneCare is free for 90 days.

 

[Guest]

Hello Efrain

I have just installed onecare, it fixed the freezing. I rebooted and works
fine, and pc no longer freezes, thanks.
However, onecare suggested that I should install defender, which i did (I
had previously unistalled) , I used the MSI that i had previously (first)
downloaded, did a scan and then rebooted to check everything was still ok,
guess what, PC now freezes.
So unistalled defender and reboooted, no more freezes.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this, and me being a glutton for
punishement, and curious, I remembered Bill Sanderson's suggestion to get a
later version from the site. I downloaded the new MSI, reinstalled from that,
rebooted, and it now longer freezes (hooray!).

I will try onecare for a while and if I can put up with it's constant
nagging (I don't really need another wife), i will keep it (onecare and
defender, don't have a choice with the wife, too expensive to uninstall).

Thank you both for your help

Regards