Topic: Messy Windows morning

[Rik]

My main machine wouldn't fire up this morning, reaching the 'loading personal settings' screen then re-booting.

I tried a 'last known good' boot, with no success, then tried safe mode which also failed - a BSOD I didn't get a chance to read, and off it went again.

So, I pulled out the trusty Acronis backup, restored and all is well again. The only thing I did yesterday was to install some Windows security updates, but the machine had re-booted successfully after that and powered down normally, so I'm left puzzling. The fact that it could boot from the Acronis Unix disc suggests it was a Windows issue, but what?

Thoughts, anyone?

[Simon]

Maybe an update wasn't installed properly?  Corrupted download, perhaps?  Or could NOD have something to do with it?

[Rik]

All possibilities, yet it had re-booted after doing the updates. 

[Simon]

I'm sure I read somewhere that sometimes it needs a complete power cycle, not just a reboot, for updates to be fully installed.  The power cycle might have been the thing that tripped it up.

[Rik]

 

Now you know what I am going to have to do tonight, don't you.

[Simon]

Christ, don't take my word for anything!   

[Rik]

OK... I'll wait for Sandra.

[Clive]

Is it not possible to do a system restore Rik?  This has happened to me several times, once after Windows Updates, and twice after AVG updates.  System Restore saved the day every time.

[Rik]

It didn't get that far, Clive, even in safe mode. Acronis did the job, and just left me a little tidying to do - luckily, all my data is on a different drive, as are my apps, so I just had the OS to recover.

[Clive]

Phew!  I like stories with good endings!  But this is why I'm paraniod about Windows updates and the like.  Sadly I now have those very updates sat on my computer waiting to be installed! 

[Simon]

For what it's worth, Clive, I have all the latest updates, and my PC is fine. 

[Clive]

Thanks Simon.  I usually wait 2 months before taking the risk.   

[Simon]

My own personal opinion is that there's more risk in not applying security updates (from unpatched vulnerabilities, etc), than there is in doing so, but, occasionally, an update can disagree with something else already on the PC.

[Sandra]

Do you not untick the box for automatically restart Rik ?
That way you would be able to read the error code.
Cant think why it should have done what it did though.
Usually BSOD is a driver issue, so security updates alone shouldnt have done that, are you sure it didnt update some hardware drivers at the same time ?

[Rik]

Remind me where the tick box is, Sandra, would you?

No, no changes except security updates and they were manually installed and the system had been re-booted. Having re-applied all the same updates yesterday, it started fine today.