Didn't detect malware anymore - tried to remove, stuck in a restart loo

[Maurice Naggar]

Thank you.  I have the report.  You did well.

Though the run itself still needs re-tweaking.  It did not accomplish what I was looking for.   Windows is very demanding. 

Lets now call an adjournment.   I will re-consult staff on your behalf.

Regards,

[AnglepoiseLamp]

Um, okay. Adjournment?

How long should I wait to check back?

I'm quite frustrated by this all here, especially over this many days, and this many errors, but obviously, I'm sort of at your mercy. 

 

[Maurice Naggar]

I understand your frustration.  I am very sorry that you are going thru all this.

Your system has some sort of folder access rights issue on C:\Windows\system32

I would expect you will get a new reply on Tuesday.

 

[LiquidTension]

Hi @AnglepoiseLamp,

The issue stems from non-default permissions set on the C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder; specifically, the Administrators user group (as well as for the SYSTEM user account) permissions for the parent drivers folder, subfolders and files. This is not a typical occurrence and the Malwarebytes software is not at fault here for the installation issues you're having. Other third-party software has most likely modified the permissions set on the drivers folder, which is causing the issue you're having with installing Malwarebytes.

In a scenario like this where we don't know the full extent of changes made to file system permissions, I'd suggest using a tried and tested tool to reset all file system permissions back to the default/expected state. An example of such a tool is Tweaking.com's Windows Repair: https://www.tweaking.com/content/page/windows_repair_all_in_one.html.

[exile360]

I have instructions on running the tool here if required:

Tweaking.com Windows Repair All-in-One

• Download Tweaking.com Windows Repair from here and install it or if you would prefer, you may instead download and extract the portable version from here
• Once installed or extracted, launch Repair_Windows.exe
• Click on the Repairs - Main tab
• Click on the Open Repairs button
• Once it displays the list of repairs, click the checkbox next to All Repairs so that everything listed is UNCHECKED
• Now, click the checkbox next to Reset Registry Permissions and Reset File Permissions so that they are checked
• Click on the Start Repairs button at the bottom
• Once it completes, allow it to restart your system
  

Once that's done, install Malwarebytes once more over the top of your existing installation to see if the issue is now corrected.

[AnglepoiseLamp]

I will be in transit for most of the day and will not be able to run something this delicate until tomorrow afternoon. I will report back as soon as I'm able to follow these steps. 

[AnglepoiseLamp]

Today, I finally had time to go through the above steps.

The install failed in the exact same place. 

Keep in mind: I've been running this thing untouched for YEARS. It stopped detecting Malware at all *on it's own*. There had been no changes to the computer, and especially no new programs. I don't doubt Windows 7 nearing EOL isn't *some* type of factor, but... yeah. This took way too long to get absolutely nowhere. 

So... is this the point where I ask you for a full refund and a list of alternative software?

 

[Ried]

Hello AnglepoiseLamp,

I see that you have created a ticket on our HelpDesk.  We'll continue via that ticket and I'll close this topic.