KB938828 (probably) start-up headache

Hi there,

The latest batch of updates really left me in a mess a couple of days ago.
Upon rebooting, explorer.exe would not run, leaving me with just the
wallpaper and the ability to use Task Manager. If I tried to run explorer.exe
from Task Manager, I was told it could not be found or I didn't have the
permissions. System Restore would not work and I had the same trouble in safe
mode (System Restore eventually worked in safe mode, but did not solve the
problem in normal mode).

After uninstalling the various updates one-by-one, I finally uninstalled the
last two together as I'd lost hope this was going to work. They were KB938828
and KB936021, and to my surprise that actually did the trick. I then
re-installed the known harmless updates, plus KB936021, and rebooted.
Everything was as it should be, so I thought I'd see what happened if I
re-installed KB938828. It failed to install, crashing Windows Update and
leaving me pretty sure this was the culprit.

I post this more as a slice of info for Microsoft and other users out there
who may have found themselves in similar trouble and wondered what was going
on. And I would also be interested to know if other people have experienced
the same problem. Maybe there was a software conflict involved?

> Maybe there was a software conflict involved?

Which antivirus software is installed ? Perhaps said AV is 'guarding'
explorer.exe from any 'unwanted' changes and that's where the issue
lies. AntiVir ?
Or, perhaps there is other security software 'guarding' explorer.exe and
that's where the issue stems from.
It's either one or the other.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============


krisbke wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> The latest batch of updates really left me in a mess a couple of days ago.
> Upon rebooting, explorer.exe would not run, leaving me with just the
> wallpaper and the ability to use Task Manager. If I tried to run explorer.exe
> from Task Manager, I was told it could not be found or I didn't have the
> permissions. System Restore would not work and I had the same trouble in safe
> mode (System Restore eventually worked in safe mode, but did not solve the
> problem in normal mode).
>
> After uninstalling the various updates one-by-one, I finally uninstalled the
> last two together as I'd lost hope this was going to work. They were KB938828
> and KB936021, and to my surprise that actually did the trick. I then
> re-installed the known harmless updates, plus KB936021, and rebooted.
> Everything was as it should be, so I thought I'd see what happened if I
> re-installed KB938828. It failed to install, crashing Windows Update and
> leaving me pretty sure this was the culprit.
>
> I post this more as a slice of info for Microsoft and other users out there
> who may have found themselves in similar trouble and wondered what was going
> on. And I would also be interested to know if other people have experienced
> the same problem. Maybe there was a software conflict involved?

Similar problem here. Windows would not start this morning after
installation of this week's batch of updates. Eventually started after
reset. Then would not switch between accounts. System Restore to
configuration before updates. AOK. Reinstalled all the updates, and account
switching problem reappeared. Another system restore and then started
installing the updates one-by-one. Culprit immediately identified as
KB938828. All other updates installed with no apparent problem.

AV software is ZoneAlarm AV.

"MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:

> > Maybe there was a software conflict involved?
>
> Which antivirus software is installed ? Perhaps said AV is 'guarding'
> explorer.exe from any 'unwanted' changes and that's where the issue
> lies. AntiVir ?
> Or, perhaps there is other security software 'guarding' explorer.exe and
> that's where the issue stems from.
> It's either one or the other.
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
> krisbke wrote:
>
> > Hi there,
> >
> > The latest batch of updates really left me in a mess a couple of days ago.
> > Upon rebooting, explorer.exe would not run, leaving me with just the
> > wallpaper and the ability to use Task Manager. If I tried to run explorer.exe
> > from Task Manager, I was told it could not be found or I didn't have the
> > permissions. System Restore would not work and I had the same trouble in safe
> > mode (System Restore eventually worked in safe mode, but did not solve the
> > problem in normal mode).
> >
> > After uninstalling the various updates one-by-one, I finally uninstalled the
> > last two together as I'd lost hope this was going to work. They were KB938828
> > and KB936021, and to my surprise that actually did the trick. I then
> > re-installed the known harmless updates, plus KB936021, and rebooted.
> > Everything was as it should be, so I thought I'd see what happened if I
> > re-installed KB938828. It failed to install, crashing Windows Update and
> > leaving me pretty sure this was the culprit.
> >
> > I post this more as a slice of info for Microsoft and other users out there
> > who may have found themselves in similar trouble and wondered what was going
> > on. And I would also be interested to know if other people have experienced
> > the same problem. Maybe there was a software conflict involved?
>

Thanks for your response.

It might be the AV, I suppose. I do have Antivir, but when I examined the
processes in Task Manager after boot-up, it was not running. A lesser-known
HIPS program called ProSecurity had started up successfully, but I'd put it
in 'installing mode' before downloading the updates to hopefully avoid any
issues.

I finally got KB938828 to install and it provoked the same scenario again,
so I uninstalled it in safe mode (it would not uninstall in normal mode).
Seeing as it is an update aimed at improving XP's stability, which I wasn't
having issues with before, I think I'll just leave it uninstalled. Were it a
security update, I'd be a little more concerned.

Thanks again for your input.

"MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:

> > Maybe there was a software conflict involved?
>
> Which antivirus software is installed ? Perhaps said AV is 'guarding'
> explorer.exe from any 'unwanted' changes and that's where the issue
> lies. AntiVir ?
> Or, perhaps there is other security software 'guarding' explorer.exe and
> that's where the issue stems from.
> It's either one or the other.
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
> krisbke wrote:
>
> > Hi there,
> >
> > The latest batch of updates really left me in a mess a couple of days ago.
> > Upon rebooting, explorer.exe would not run, leaving me with just the
> > wallpaper and the ability to use Task Manager. If I tried to run explorer.exe
> > from Task Manager, I was told it could not be found or I didn't have the
> > permissions. System Restore would not work and I had the same trouble in safe
> > mode (System Restore eventually worked in safe mode, but did not solve the
> > problem in normal mode).
> >
> > After uninstalling the various updates one-by-one, I finally uninstalled the
> > last two together as I'd lost hope this was going to work. They were KB938828
> > and KB936021, and to my surprise that actually did the trick. I then
> > re-installed the known harmless updates, plus KB936021, and rebooted.
> > Everything was as it should be, so I thought I'd see what happened if I
> > re-installed KB938828. It failed to install, crashing Windows Update and
> > leaving me pretty sure this was the culprit.
> >
> > I post this more as a slice of info for Microsoft and other users out there
> > who may have found themselves in similar trouble and wondered what was going
> > on. And I would also be interested to know if other people have experienced
> > the same problem. Maybe there was a software conflict involved?
>

Ok,

I just had a look at the ProSecurity forum
(http://www.proactive-hips.com/forum/) and that would appear to be where the
problem began for me. Someone in the relevant thread points to a thread on
Wilders suggesting Online Armor is producing similar results, so I guess it's
the HIPS. KB938828 replaces explorer.exe, apparently.

The solution is to disable the HIPS entirely and install the update (and as
someone in the thread says, to then reboot in learning mode).

Thanks again and good luck.

You're mowst welcome and *thank you* for taking the time to post
which software, ProSecurity, was causing the issue.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============

krisbke wrote:

> Ok,
>
> I just had a look at the ProSecurity forum
> (http://www.proactive-hips.com/forum/) and that would appear to be where the
> problem began for me. Someone in the relevant thread points to a thread on
> Wilders suggesting Online Armor is producing similar results, so I guess it's
> the HIPS. KB938828 replaces explorer.exe, apparently.
>
> The solution is to disable the HIPS entirely and install the update (and as
> someone in the thread says, to then reboot in learning mode).
>
> Thanks again and good luck.

Not just ProSecurity... I had exactly the same issue with Trend Micro PC
Cillin. Windows update asked me to install 8 updates. I installed them,
then any time I tried to run a program, a dialogue box told me...

'Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have
the appropriate permissions to access the item'

....of course, I tried logging in as the administrator and the result was the
same. Somehow the update has denied access to any program. I tried
selecting 'start', 'programs', windows explorer... No dice, same error.

Instead, if I try the 'windows key'+E, I get windows explorer to open fine.

So I drill down through the folders and try opening programs direct from the
directory, still no good.

So, I roll the PC back to the last time it ran properly.

I try installing the updates one at a time and find that it's the KB938828
update that's the issue. All other updates install without issue.

I've deselected the update so it doesn't bother me further. No doubt
plenty of people will struggle with this update issue. I should expect that
the windows boffins at MS could make updates that are compatible with the
virus softwares being used by their customers...

Brad

"MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:

> You're mowst welcome and *thank you* for taking the time to post
> which software, ProSecurity, was causing the issue.
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
> krisbke wrote:
>
> > Ok,
> >
> > I just had a look at the ProSecurity forum
> > (http://www.proactive-hips.com/forum/) and that would appear to be where the
> > problem began for me. Someone in the relevant thread points to a thread on
> > Wilders suggesting Online Armor is producing similar results, so I guess it's
> > the HIPS. KB938828 replaces explorer.exe, apparently.
> >
> > The solution is to disable the HIPS entirely and install the update (and as
> > someone in the thread says, to then reboot in learning mode).
> >
> > Thanks again and good luck.
>

My wife's computer had the same problem with KB938828.

I had to boot into safe mode and restore to a prior restore point.

To find the culprit update I installed each update one by one and made a restore point after each one that was ok. When I installed KB938828 the computer would not execute any program including those in Control Panel and a message popped up each tie "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

Also, the culprit update is now sitting in the system tray wanting to be installed. How do you get rid of an update that you don't want installed?



EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

Change your windows update setting from 'automatically install updates' and
make it automatically download them but prompt you to install.

Then, when you click the balloon to install, select 'custom' and deselect
the dodgey download, then click close. It will come up with a dialogue box
asking if you never want to be notified for that update...

You can reselect the update later if MS fixes the update by going to windows
update and running the update wizard online, on the left there is a link for
refreshing deselected updates.

"Al Garraway" wrote:

> My wife's computer had the same problem with KB938828.
>
> I had to boot into safe mode and restore to a prior restore point.
>
> To find the culprit update I installed each update one by one and made a restore point after each one that was ok. When I installed KB938828 the computer would not execute any program including those in Control Panel and a message popped up each tie "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."
>
> Also, the culprit update is now sitting in the system tray wanting to be installed. How do you get rid of an update that you don't want installed?
>
>
>
> EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
> http://www.eggheadcafe.com
>

On 17 aug, 20:28, "MowGreen [MVP]" <mowgr...@nowandzen.com> wrote:
> You're mowst welcome and *thank you* for taking the time to post
> which software, ProSecurity, was causing the issue.
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2007]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
>
> krisbke wrote:
> > Ok,
>
> > I just had a look at the ProSecurity forum
> > (http://www.proactive-hips.com/forum/) and that would appear to be where the
> > problem began for me. Someone in the relevant thread points to a thread on
> > Wilders suggesting Online Armor is producing similar results, so I guess it's
> > the HIPS. KB938828 replaces explorer.exe, apparently.
>
> > The solution is to disable the HIPS entirely and install the update (and as
> > someone in the thread says, to then reboot in learning mode).
>
> > Thanks again and good luck.- Tekst uit oorspronkelijk bericht niet weergeven -
>
> - Tekst uit oorspronkelijk bericht weergeven -



Hello, (I'am a dutch so my english is not very wel)

I've similar problems.
I can not start any application after instal kb93888.
If I shutdown my AntiVirus (TrendMicro IS 2007) al applications work
well.
After recovery system, i exclude kb938828 from the august downloads
from windows.
And i send TrencMicro a mail.

Gerard Wissing