Could Malwarebytes premium cause computer to lock up at startup?

[Malacath]

I have a really annoying problem with my laptop.

 

Sometimes it totally locks up when Windows has just started. The screen freezes and the cursor and keyboard stops functioning. I have to hold the power button down to switch off which forces a disk check next time I switch on.

 

I have already tried doing a full reset of Windows which I thought fixed it but it's doing it again now. And the only thing I can think of that causes it is Malwarebytes Premium.

 

I notice it always seems to happen before the Malwarebytes or the windows defender icon is displayed in the Systray.

 

So could Malwarebytes premium be the cause?

[Porthos]

We will need more info. Please follow the below instructions to get us that info.

• Create and obtain an mb-check log
  1. Download MB-Check and save to your desktop
  2. Double-click to run MB-Check and within a few second the command window will open, then click "OK" 
  3. This will produce one log file on your desktop: mb-check-results.zip
     • Attach this file to your forum post by clicking on the "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." or simply drag the file to the attachment area
• Create and obtain Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST) logs
  1. Download FRST and save it to your desktop
     Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit
  2. Double-click to run FRST and when the tool opens click "Yes" to the disclaimer
  3. Press the "Scan" button
  4. This will produce two files in the same location (directory) as FRST: FRST.txt and Addition.txt
     • Attach both of these logs to your forum post by clicking on the "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." or simply drag the files to the attachment area

 

Please consider selecting the "Follow/Following" button, near the upper-right corner of your topic, to receive timely email notifications about updates to your topic.

[Malacath]

Thanks. 

 

I have attached the logs

mb-check-results.zip

FRST.txt

Addition.txt

[Porthos]

Lets check HD health.

Download gsmarcontrol.

Installer (recommended): gsmartcontrol-0.9.0.exe
SHA1 sum: c1b052f0b095b6e92307f2050b27fdd5bbb9a188
MD5 sum: a2d04079a490817ba9d6b7fa0a63dfa7

Open program and test drive. Here are some screenshots of the program.

http://gsmartcontrol.sourceforge.net/home/index.php/Screenshots

[Malacath]

Thanks

 

I ran the HD health check and it passed.

 

 

[Porthos]

31 minutes ago, Malacath said:

Thanks

 

I ran the HD health check and it passed.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Just wanted to rule that out.

Was this MB install a Clean install using the MB clean tool? If not follow the below instructions to preform the clean install.

** Download MB-Clean Here **

How to use it?

1. Download the latest version of MB-Clean by clicking the link above
2. Close all open applications
3. Double-click and run mb-clean.exe 
4. A prompt with an option to clean up the system will appear:
   • Yes - will proceed with backing up the license key (Malwarebytes 3.x only) and initiating the cleanup process
   • No - will exit the utility
5. Once the cleanup process is completed, a prompt will appear:
   • Yes – will proceed and post reboot you will be prompted to continue with the downloading, installation and activation of latest version of Malwarebytes 3.x
   • No – will exit the utility and you will not be prompted (post reboot) to download, reinstall and re-activate (not recommended)
     • We recommend rebooting immediately. Additionally, stopping at this step is not recommended and will most likely not resolve your issue(s).
6. Upon reboot, a prompt will appear:
   • Yes - will download, install and activate the latest version of Malwarebytes 3.x
   • No - will exit the utility and the cleanup process is complete
     • Choose this option if you do not want to download, install and activate the latest version of Malwarebytes 3.x
   • A log file ("mb-clean-results.txt") will be on your desktop 

[Malacath]

Yes it was a clean install. After doing a factory reset of Windows 10. It was because of these random freezes that I done the reset.

 

No other anti malware apart from Windows Defender has been installed on the system.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Malacath

[Porthos]

I am looking at your logs again. Did this computer come with 10 from the factory?

I also recommend the Defender exclusions from the link in my signature.

Next, How often does this freeze happen?

[Malacath]

Yes Windows 10 came with the laptop. It was a signature edition so it had no crapware bundled like mcafee or Norton.

 

The freezes usually happen every couple of days although sometime I may have it freeze after boot a couple of times in a row.

 

It's always just after boot. Sometimes while still on the log in screen but most of the time it's after logging in but before the Malwarebytes icon shows in the systray.

 

I'll try the exclusions in your signature.

 

[Porthos]

Make sure there is NOT a check in this box in your scheduled scans

[Malacath]

Just checked there is no tick in the 'recover missed task' box

[Porthos]

8 minutes ago, Malacath said:

Just checked there is no tick in the 'recover missed task' box

I am running out of suggestions. I install MB in setups like yours several times a week and do not experience any of these issues.

Have you visited Windows Update since this Windows recovery and received every update available?

 

Edited May 27, 2017 by Porthos

[Malacath]

Yes. My computer is fully up to date.

 

I fully set up all the exclusions you mentioned so now i'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope it is fixed.

 

I'm currently seeing only two possibilities of the cause.

 

Either my computer has some sort of hardware fault or the problem is Malwarebytes.

I'm hoping that the exclusions fix the problem. If they don't I will try disabling Malwarebytes pro. If that doesn't work i'll try contacting HP to get it repaired under warranty

[Malacath]

What about the scan for rootkits option?

 

I noticed that is disabled by default. Is it disabled for a reason?

Could that be causing the freezes because I have ticked that option?

[Porthos]

5 minutes ago, Malacath said:

I noticed that is disabled by default. Is it disabled for a reason?

Yes, it can cause issues for some. Please uncheck and reboot.

[Malacath]

Thanks for all your help.

 

I have the rootkit option disabled and have all the exclusions set up. Now I've just got to hope the problem is fixed.

[Porthos]

If it still persists I will get a staff member involved.

[John A]

Have you tried disabling Fast Startup in Windows?

Right click start > Power Options
Click on Choose what the Power buttons do
Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable
Scroll down to Shutdown settings and Uncheck the box Turn on Fast Start-up
Click Save Changes

 

[Porthos]

11 minutes ago, John A said:

Have you tried disabling Fast Startup in Windows?

Not a bad idea BUT it should not be needed on a computer that came with 10 from the factory. 

 

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

Have you visited Windows Update since this Windows recovery and received every update available?

Did you do the above?

 

There is also a delay setting you could try within Malwarebytes

 

[John A]

7 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Not a bad idea BUT it should not be needed on a computer that came with 10 from the factory. 

I agree that it shouldn't be needed, yet I have seen a few cases on factory 10s that have startup issues that have been resolved by disabling Fast Startup, including an ASUS netbook of mine. Certainly worth trying.

[dseferlis]

Did you try to wait for some minutes?

Check my-unsolved yet-problem here:

 

[Malacath]

Thanks for the replies.

 

@John A

No I haven't disabled fast start up and I don't think I should have to considering the freezes only started recently. If I can rule out Malwarebytes causing it I will try that though.

@Porthos

Yes, I have downloaded and installed all updates since the factory reset. I have even took the unusual step of rolling back drivers in case the problem is caused by an automatic driver update.

I will try the delayed startup option you mentioned if it happens again. Right now i'm hoping the exclusions have fixed it but sometimes it can takes a couple of days before it freezes again.

 

@dseferlis

 

I think I have waited a few minutes which is something I always do if one of my computers freezes. But I find that only usually works if there is hard drive activity during a freeze.

When this problem happens it's a total lock up with no hard drive activity at all

 

 

The thing is when I first put malwarebytes on this computer there were no lock ups. I'm not 100% sure but I think I may have manually upgraded to Malwarebytes 3.1.2 before the freezes started. So maybe there is a problem with that?

My other computer which is Windows 8.1 still has Malwarebytes 3.0.6 installed and that has no problems. I think i'll upgrade Malwarebytes on that to 3.1.2 to see if that starts locking up.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by Malacath

[Malacath]

Just done it again. Even with all the exclusions set up it still froze. I've now disabled Malwarebytes real time protection and unticked the setting to start Malwarebytes when windows starts.

 

If it happens again with Malwarebytes disabled then i'll know it's not Malwarebytes causing it and will contact HP to get my laptop repaired

[MikeAustin]

You have been very patient, jumping through all the hoops that have been suggested to you. And still there is a boot up delay. I am not convinced that they know how to fix this problem yet. I have not seen anyone report the delay problem permanently fixed - certainly not on Windows 7.

I can wait for a solution, as long as it doesn't take too long, but I wish they would come clean about there being a problem rather than put people through the same tiresome exercise.

[dcollins]

@MikeAustin if there is a problem, we are usually pretty quick to admit it, jump on the solution, and get a fix out. The issue is identifying what the actual problem is. In this situation, we can't definitively say it's Malwarebytes because we haven't narrowed that down yet. We have yet to reproduce this error internally, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to happen very often which makes diagnosing the issue extremely complex. This is why we keep asking for logs from users. Rest assured though, if we are causing issues on your computer, we certainly want to fix it

@Malacath can you please upload your system and application event viewer logs so we can take a look at what services/processes are possibly causing this issue? Also, if you have a rough idea of the last date and time this issue happened, that can help us focus on these logs.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749339(v=ws.11).aspx