Malwarebytes 3 will not start

[balbados]

Have been running a registered version under Windows 7 on a virtual machine but it now reports "Unable to connect the Service" whenever I try to start it.  The same problem occurs in Safe Mode.  Have downloaded and installed a fresh copy after uninstalling the old program.  The same error message appears.  A virus scan reports no infections.  Also tried running Chameleon but the fresh install via Chamelion showed the same error message.  I have also run Tweaking.com Windows Repair 2018 several times but the error message persists.  The First.exe and mb-check files are attached.  Windows also reports that "Windows could not start the Security Center service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start."  This may or may not be related to the problem with Malwarebytes.

Addition.txt

mb-check-results.zip

[Malwarebytes]

***This is an automated reply***

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the Malwarebytes 3 Help forum.

 

If you are having technical issues with our Windows product, please do the following: 

Spoiler

If you haven't done so already, please run these two tools and then attach the logs in your next reply:

NOTE: The tools and the information obtained is safe and not harmful to your privacy or your computer, please allow the programs to run if blocked by your system.

• Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST)
  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
     • Leave the log files in the current location, they will be automatically collected by mb-check once you complete the next set of instructions
• MB-Check
  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, press "Enter" to accept the EULA then click "OK" 
  3. This will produce one log file on your desktop: mb-check-results.zip
     • This file will include the FRST logs generated from the previous set of instructions
     • 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

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[exile360]

Greetings and welcome

To start, please do the following:

System File Checker (SFC):

• Click on Start and select Run
• In the Run box type or copy and paste the following exactly as written in the Code box:

  sfc /scannow

  Then press Enter or click on OK
• Note: you will need to have your Windows installation disc handy for this.  If you do not, then please refer to this information to learn how to use sfc without a Windows disc.
  

Once that's completed, assuming you were able to complete the process, please let us know if the issue is resolved.  If not, we'll provide you with additional steps to try.

[exile360]

By the way, does Windows Update work within your VM?  What I mean by that is, are you able to successfully check for updates and if any are available, download/install them?

[dcollins]

It looks like your WMI is not running, which is causing the issue you're seeing. Please try the following

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the run dialog
2. In the box that  comes up, type services.msc and click OK
3. In the list, find Windows Management Instrumentation, and double click it
4. Change startup type to Automatic
5. Reboot
6. See if you can open Malwarebytes

[balbados]

Thank you for the replies and suggestions.

Windows Update works fine on the VM and the updates are up to date.

I have run services.msc.  The WMI startup type was already set to Automatic.  When I try to start WMI it reports "Windows could not start the Windows Management Instrumentation Service on Local Computer.  Error 1083: The executable program that this service is configured to run in does not implement the service."

I ran sfc /scannow from the command prompt as administrator.  It reported corrupt files but was unable to fix.  See message below:

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

The log file is 419 KB and is attached.

I want to avoid reinstalling Windows operating system as I have some old programs that only run under Windows 7 32 bit.  They are difficult to install and complicated to get running.

I have had this problem before on the VM and it was fixed with help from the MB Support team.  Foolishly, I deleted the emails and cannot repeat the repair process that worked last time.

Any further assistance is appreciated..

CBS.log

[exile360]

The only thing I can think of that might fix it, besides exporting the service key for the WMI service and perhaps replacing its executable from another Windows system running the same version of the OS or extracting a copy of the file from a Windows installation disc or ISO would be a repair install of Windows which would no doubt fix it and should leave all of your files and at least most of your installed software intact (though it isn't guaranteed), however I did locate something else which might work.  I leave it up to you to decide, but I personally believe it's worth a shot.  I have personally used this tool for other repairs in the past and have found it to be quite handy.

Run Tweaking.com Windows Repair All-In-One (WMI Repair):

• Download and extract Tweaking.com Windows Repair from here
• Once extracted, open the Tweaking.com - Windows Repair folder and locate Repair_Windows.exe and double-click on it to run it and click Yes to the User Account Control prompt
• Read and accept the EULA by clicking I Agree
• Click on Open Repairs
• Click the checkbox at the top left where it says All Repairs so that none of the checkboxes are selected
• Click the box next to Repair WMI to check it and click Start Repairs
• Once it is completed, restart the system and see if the WMI service now runs

Edited March 3, 2018 by exile360

[balbados]

Thank you again for the reply.

I have the latest version of the Tweaking.com Windows Repair 2018 (Pro Version) and have run it several times to no avail.  I tried it again (with All Repairs selected as suggested), but the problem persists.  I have decided to do an In-Place Installation (repair installation) of Windows 7 from the original installation DVD and then run Windows Update to bring Windows 7 up to date. Fingers crossed!

I'll let you know how it goes.

[balbados]

Success!  The Windows In-Place Installation resolved the problem and MB3 is working once again.  Thank you all for your help and guidance.

[exile360]

Yep, I figured that would do it.  Hopefully all your installed software is still functional.  Let us know if it's not and if there's anything we can do to help, we'll do our best