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Need help getting malwarebytes to start properly on startup


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So malware bytes premium will not start up properly when I start my computer.  I can only get it working if I end the processes and start it again.  Obviously this is strange and not a good or effective way to have malwarebytes run.

 I have even tried a fresh install of windows from recovery mode.  

It makes me worried I’m infected, but who knows.  Can anyone help?

 

im running windows 7 64 bit on a Lenovo x230.

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  • Staff

***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: 

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If you haven’t already done so, please run the Malwarebytes Support Tool 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.

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  • Double-click mb-support-X.X.X.XXXX.exe to run the program
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  • Root Admin

Hello @kkgtyf and :welcome:

 

 

Please provide the following logs and we'll verify what is actually going on with your system or Malwarebytes program.

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.

  • Download Malwarebytes Support Tool
  • Once the file is downloaded, open your Downloads folder/location of the downloaded file
  • Double-click mb-support-X.X.X.XXXX.exe to run the program
    • You may be prompted by User Account Control (UAC) to allow changes to be made to your computer. Click Yes to consent.
  • Place a checkmark next to Accept License Agreement and click Next
  • You will be presented with a page stating, "Welcome to the Malwarebytes Support Tool!"
  • Click the Advanced Options link - do not click Get Started

    mbst-welcome.jpg.2300dd6068ae92db1bdc8f0
     
  • Click the Gather Logs button

    mbst-gather-logs.jpg.1f7715f40c0a46d4b4d
     
  • A progress bar will appear and the program will proceed to gather troubleshooting information from your computer
  • Upon completion, click OK
  • A file named mbst-grab-results.zip will be saved to your Desktop
  • Please attach the file in your next reply.

 

 

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54 minutes ago, dcollins said:

Can you elaborate on what happens when you start your computer? You say it doesn't start, but yet you have to end the task. This would imply it's starting. Just trying to get an understanding of what the actual issue is.

So I log in, but malware bytes never pops up in the tray.  Even though the processes are running, eventually windows action center (after about 4-5 minutes) will pop up saying malware bytes needs to be started.  If you click that and say yes activate and I trust the publisher, OR try starting it from windows start, nothing happens.  In other words, it seems that real time protection is being prevented from starting for some reason on startup.

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Please navigate to C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware and then right-click on each of the following files, one at a time, and select Properties:

  • mbam.exe
  • mbamtray.exe
  • mbamservice.exe

For each, look at the first tab of the Properties pop-up and if it looks like the left half of the below image with the Security: field and the Unblock button, then click the Unblock button then click Apply then OK to close the dialog.  Do this for each of the files which has this field if any.

Unblock.png.943cf36b6312d45f3f0c8209ae57ec89.png

Once that's done, if any of the files had that additional field, restart your system to test and see if Malwarebytes now starts normally on boot.  I don't know if this is the cause of the issue or not, but it could be so I wanted to check.

One other possibility is your security certificates.  If Malwarebytes isn't being recognized as a trusted publisher by Windows, that could be the reason.  A past infection may have damaged or corrupted your security certificate store and that could account for the problem.  If that is the case, then one of our malware removal specialists or Support staff will need to guide you on how to restore your certs to correct the problem as it's something they've dealt with in the past.

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8 hours ago, exile360 said:

Please navigate to C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware and then right-click on each of the following files, one at a time, and select Properties:

 

  • mbam.exe
  • mbamtray.exe
  • mbamservice.exe

 

For each, look at the first tab of the Properties pop-up and if it looks like the left half of the below image with the Security: field and the Unblock button, then click the Unblock button then click Apply then OK to close the dialog.  Do this for each of the files which has this field if any.

Unblock.png.943cf36b6312d45f3f0c8209ae57ec89.png

Once that's done, if any of the files had that additional field, restart your system to test and see if Malwarebytes now starts normally on boot.  I don't know if this is the cause of the issue or not, but it could be so I wanted to check.

One other possibility is your security certificates.  If Malwarebytes isn't being recognized as a trusted publisher by Windows, that could be the reason.  A past infection may have damaged or corrupted your security certificate store and that could account for the problem.  If that is the case, then one of our malware removal specialists or Support staff will need to guide you on how to restore your certs to correct the problem as it's something they've dealt with in the past.

No luck, sadly this option is not there.  I wish it would of been that simple!

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I suspect this is being caused by a recently discovered bug.  Please open Malwarebytes and navigate to Settings>Protection and scroll down to the Startup Options section as before, but this time turn off the Enable self-protection module setting then restart your computer and let us know if it works or not.

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21 minutes ago, exile360 said:

I suspect this is being caused by a recently discovered bug.  Please open Malwarebytes and navigate to Settings>Protection and scroll down to the Startup Options section as before, but this time turn off the Enable self-protection module setting then restart your computer and let us know if it works or not.

Now it is starting up.

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OK, good, that confirms the bug.

If you wouldn't mind doing one last thing for us to aid our Developers in tracking down the root cause and fixing this issue, please do the following as it would be most helpful:

  1. Download and extract CaptureTrace-Logman.zip
  2. Re-enable Self-Protection
  3. Navigate to Settings -> Protection
  4. Scroll down to Startup Options
  5. Disable Start Malwarebytes at Windows startup
  6. Reboot the computer
  7. Once rebooted, find the files from step 1
  8. Right click on Capture.bat and choose Run as Administrator
  9. Once the black window comes up, it will tell you to reproduce the issue
  10. Double click the Malwarebytes desktop icon and wait 30 seconds
  11. After waiting, click on the black window from step 9 and press Enter
  12. Zip up all the files in the folder that opens and attach them in your reply
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  • Root Admin

Please change the MBAMService to Automatic (Delayed Start)

Here are a couple different ways you can change it. You only need to change it once with any one of these methods.

From an elevated Admin command prompt you can copy/paste or type in the following to make the change.
[Note: You need a space after the = sign for the SC method to work properly]


sc config MBAMService start= delayed-auto


You can type on the Start Menu - services.msc

_services.msc.jpg

Then scroll down until you find the Malwarebytes Service and double-click to open it and change the Startup type: to Automatic (Delayed Start)

_services_malwarebytes.jpg
 

automatic_delayed_start.jpg
 

It is possible to change it in the Registry as well, but I would highly recommend doing it via one of the methods above.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MBAMService
DelayedAutostart|1
Start|2

 

C:\>sc qc MBAMService
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: MBAMService
        TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
        START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START  (DELAYED)
        ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
        BINARY_PATH_NAME   : "C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe"
        LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   :
        TAG                : 0
        DISPLAY_NAME       : Malwarebytes Service
        DEPENDENCIES       : RPCSS
                           : WINMGMT
        SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem

Thanks

Ron

 

Edited by AdvancedSetup
Updated information
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50 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Please change the MBAMService to Automatic (Delayed Start)

Here are a couple different ways you can change it. You only need to change it once with any one of these methods.

From an elevated Admin command prompt you can copy/paste or type in the following to make the change.
[Note: You need a space after the = sign for the SC method to work properly]


sc config MBAMService start= delayed-auto


You can type on the Start Menu - services.msc

_services.msc.jpg

Then scroll down until you find the Malwarebytes Service and double-click to open it and change the Startup type: to Automatic (Delayed Start)

_services_malwarebytes.jpg
 

automatic_delayed_start.jpg
 

It is possible to change it in the Registry as well, but I would highly recommend doing it via one of the methods above.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MBAMService
DelayedAutostart|1
Start|2

 


C:\>sc qc MBAMService
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: MBAMService
        TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
        START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START  (DELAYED)
        ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
        BINARY_PATH_NAME   : "C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe"
        LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   :
        TAG                : 0
        DISPLAY_NAME       : Malwarebytes Service
        DEPENDENCIES       : RPCSS
                           : WINMGMT
        SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem

Thanks

Ron

 

Thanks Ron.  This is a temporary measure until the bug is fixed right?  Since delayed start comprises some security for the sake of making it work?

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8 hours ago, exile360 said:

OK, good, that confirms the bug.

If you wouldn't mind doing one last thing for us to aid our Developers in tracking down the root cause and fixing this issue, please do the following as it would be most helpful:

  1. Download and extract CaptureTrace-Logman.zip
  2. Re-enable Self-Protection
  3. Navigate to Settings -> Protection
  4. Scroll down to Startup Options
  5. Disable Start Malwarebytes at Windows startup
  6. Reboot the computer
  7. Once rebooted, find the files from step 1
  8. Right click on Capture.bat and choose Run as Administrator
  9. Once the black window comes up, it will tell you to reproduce the issue
  10. Double click the Malwarebytes desktop icon and wait 30 seconds
  11. After waiting, click on the black window from step 9 and press Enter
  12. Zip up all the files in the folder that opens and attach them in your reply

Here is the zip you asked for!

cap trace logman kkgtyf problem.zip

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