Malwarebytes Unable to connect to service

[Rockarmy321]

So A bunch of random crap is happening to my laptop. I decided to check my laptop for viruses today with Malwarebytes. After opening the app, i was greeted with an error saying "Unable to connect to Service" or something very similar. After trying the Malwarebytes support tool, and finding out it had the same issue, someone said I should got to services.msc and make sure Malwarebytes Services are on automatic. When i tried setting it to that, i got a message saying access denied.

I decided to check event viewer and saw a bunch of errors occurring nearly each second. One of them had something like MBAM when i tried opening Malwarebytes though, currently i am unable to find it.

   

What do i do? Any more information i need to add in? (I'm very new to these types of troubleshooting websites)

[Porthos]

@Rockarmy321

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool 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

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to the disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

[AdvancedSetup]

Please follow the directions from @Porthos and attach those logs and we'll take a look. The one image does not look good, but we'd need the logs to verify.

Thanks @Rockarmy321

 

[Rockarmy321]

7 hours ago, Porthos said:

@Rockarmy321

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool 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

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to the disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

Addition.txtFRST.txtI am very sorry for the late reply, i dont have constant internet access, so tis will be very difficult for me

[Rockarmy321]

8 hours ago, Porthos said:

@Rockarmy321

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool 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

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to the disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

Sorry for bothering you, i just wanted to list all the issues I've noticed on my laptop

• Window 10 Pro randomly deactivated, has the activate windows appear and disappear during nearly every shutdown, hibernation, or restart, and crashes when i click on the activation tab in settings. I restarted my laptop and saw SVC Trigger was preventing me from restarting i searched up and found out that it verifies windows activation info after this happened, I opened Activation settings while booted in safe mode and it said it could not find my product key.
• While watching a video on VLC, exiting full screen caused the laptop to crash to blue screen, and happened a second time but did not crash to bluescreen but froze instead (audio, video and windows) warranting and emergency shutdown.

[AdvancedSetup]

Let's go ahead and run a couple of scans and get some updated logs from your system. @Rockarmy321

Please make the following changes.

 

• Temporarily disable your antivirus real-time protection or other security software first. Make sure to turn it back on once the scans are completed.
• Temporarily disable Microsoft SmartScreen to download software below only if needed. Make sure to turn it back on once the scans are completed.
• Disable-Fast-Startup
• Show-Hidden-Folders-Files-Extensions

 

Next, run these steps and post back the logs as an attachment when ready.

[ 1 ]

Malwarebytes for Windows

• If you already have Malwarebytes installed then open Malwarebytes and click on the small gear icon, then click on the "Check for updates" button on the General tab.
• After any updates, click the middle Scan button from the main page. It will automatically run a Threat Scan.
• If you don't have Malwarebytes installed yet please download it from here and install it.
• Once installed then open Malwarebytes and select Scan and let it run.
• Once the scan is completed, make sure you have it quarantine any detections it finds.
• If no detections were found click on the Save results drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If there were detections then once the quarantine has completed click on the View report button, Then click the Export drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If the computer restarted to quarantine you can access the logs from the Detection History, then the History tab. Highlight the most recent scan and double-click to open it. Then click the Export drop-down, then the Export to TXT  button, and save the file as a Text file to your desktop or other location you can find and attach that log on your next reply.
• If Malwarebytes won't run then please skip to the next step and let us know in your next reply that the scanner would not run.

[ 2 ]

Malwarebytes AdwCleaner

• Please download Malwarebytes AdwCleaner and save the file to your Desktop or Downloads folder.
• Double-click to run the program - Malwarebytes AdwCleaner guide
• Accept the End User License Agreement.
• Wait until the database is updated.
• Click Scan Now.
• When finished, if items are found please click Quarantine to finish the cleaning process.
• Your PC should reboot now if any items were found.
• After reboot, a log file will be opened. Attach that log to your next reply.
   
• If No Detections are found, Click Skip Basic Repair
  
  WARNING: Do Not click the Run Basic Repair button unless instructed to by a Malwarebytes support agent or authorized helper

 

RESTART THE COMPUTER Before running Step 3

[ 3 ]

Gather MBST Logs

Please do the following so that we may take a closer look at your system for any possible infections.

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

• Download the Malwarebytes Support Tool
• In your Downloads folder, open the mb-support-x.x.x.xxx.exe file
• In the User Account Control pop-up window, click Yes to continue the installation
• Run the MBST Support Tool
• In the left navigation pane of the Malwarebytes Support Tool, click Advanced
• In the Advanced Options, click Gather Logs. A status diagram displays the tool is Getting logs from your machine
• A zip file named mbst-grab-results.zip will be saved to the Public desktop, please upload that file on your next reply
  
  WARNING: Do Not click the Repair System under Advanced unless requested to by a Malwarebytes support agent or authorized helper

 

Thank you

 

[Rockarmy321]

Opening settings to disable virus protection and all the virus whatevers are disabled and i cannot interact with them

Malwarebytes still gave the same error as stated in the title of this post: 

Adware Cleaner found these so thats one up. The other result page just displayed Preinstalled software i needed

[AdvancedSetup]

Pleases complete the AdwCleaner scan.

Then restart the computer and get us the other logs, please.

 

[Rockarmy321]

44 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Pleases complete the AdwCleaner scan.

Then restart the computer and get us the other logs, please.

 

mbst-grab-results.zipSorry i didn't do it sooner, my laptop died and had to charge it before restarting. I have attached the results

[AdvancedSetup]

Please go ahead and run the following. I'll follow up with you later tonight when I get back from Dinner @Rockarmy321

 

 

Microsoft Safety Scanner

Please make sure you Exit out of any other program you might have open so that the sole task is to run the following scan.   
That goes especially for web browsers, make sure all are fully exited out of and messenger programs are exited and closed as well
 

STEP 1

Please set File Explorer to SHOW ALL folders, all files, including hidden ones.  Use OPTION ONE or TWO of this article

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/7078-turn-off-show-all-folders-windows-10-navigation-pane.html

STEP 2

I suggest a new scan for viruses & other malware. This may take several hours, depending on the number of files on the system and the speed of the computer.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free Microsoft stand-alone virus scanner that can be used to scan for & remove malware or potentially unwanted software from a system. 

The download links & the how-to-run-the tool are at this link at Microsoft 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download

 

Look on the Scan Options & select the FULL scan.

Then start the scan. Have lots of patience. It may take several hours.

• Once you see it has started, take a long long break;  walk away.  Do not pay credence if you see some intermediate early flash messages on the screen display.  The only things that count are the End result at the end of the run.
• The scan will take several hours.  Leave it alone. It will remove any other remaining threats as it goes along.  Take a very long break, do your normal personal errands .....just do not use the computer during this scan.

This is likely to run for many hours as previously mentioned  ( depending on the number of files on your machine & the speed of the hardware.)

The log is named MSERT.log  and the log will be at C:\Windows\debug\msert.log

Please attach that log with your next reply.

 

It is normal for the Microsoft Safety Scanner to show detections during the scan process.

It is scanning for basically all bread crumbs or traces of files and registry entries that "might" be or have been part of some infection or previous infection.

That DOES NOT mean the computer is infected. Once the scan has been completed it uploads the log to their Cloud service which then uses Artificial Intelligence to determine if in fact any of the traces are an infection or not.

Then it writes into the log on your computer what it found.

 

Thank you

 

[Rockarmy321]

12 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Please go ahead and run the following. I'll follow up with you later tonight when I get back from Dinner @Rockarmy321

 

 

Microsoft Safety Scanner

Please make sure you Exit out of any other program you might have open so that the sole task is to run the following scan.   
That goes especially for web browsers, make sure all are fully exited out of and messenger programs are exited and closed as well
 

STEP 1

Please set File Explorer to SHOW ALL folders, all files, including hidden ones.  Use OPTION ONE or TWO of this article

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/7078-turn-off-show-all-folders-windows-10-navigation-pane.html

STEP 2

I suggest a new scan for viruses & other malware. This may take several hours, depending on the number of files on the system and the speed of the computer.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free Microsoft stand-alone virus scanner that can be used to scan for & remove malware or potentially unwanted software from a system. 

The download links & the how-to-run-the tool are at this link at Microsoft 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download

 

Look on the Scan Options & select the FULL scan.

Then start the scan. Have lots of patience. It may take several hours.

• Once you see it has started, take a long long break;  walk away.  Do not pay credence if you see some intermediate early flash messages on the screen display.  The only things that count are the End result at the end of the run.
• The scan will take several hours.  Leave it alone. It will remove any other remaining threats as it goes along.  Take a very long break, do your normal personal errands .....just do not use the computer during this scan.

This is likely to run for many hours as previously mentioned  ( depending on the number of files on your machine & the speed of the hardware.)

The log is named MSERT.log  and the log will be at C:\Windows\debug\msert.log

Please attach that log with your next reply.

 

It is normal for the Microsoft Safety Scanner to show detections during the scan process.

It is scanning for basically all bread crumbs or traces of files and registry entries that "might" be or have been part of some infection or previous infection.

That DOES NOT mean the computer is infected. Once the scan has been completed it uploads the log to their Cloud service which then uses Artificial Intelligence to determine if in fact any of the traces are an infection or not.

Then it writes into the log on your computer what it found.

 

Thank you

 

Umm i think this is bad. I have no organization.....

[Rockarmy321]

12 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Please go ahead and run the following. I'll follow up with you later tonight when I get back from Dinner @Rockarmy321

 

 

Microsoft Safety Scanner

Please make sure you Exit out of any other program you might have open so that the sole task is to run the following scan.   
That goes especially for web browsers, make sure all are fully exited out of and messenger programs are exited and closed as well
 

STEP 1

Please set File Explorer to SHOW ALL folders, all files, including hidden ones.  Use OPTION ONE or TWO of this article

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/7078-turn-off-show-all-folders-windows-10-navigation-pane.html

STEP 2

I suggest a new scan for viruses & other malware. This may take several hours, depending on the number of files on the system and the speed of the computer.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free Microsoft stand-alone virus scanner that can be used to scan for & remove malware or potentially unwanted software from a system. 

The download links & the how-to-run-the tool are at this link at Microsoft 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download

 

Look on the Scan Options & select the FULL scan.

Then start the scan. Have lots of patience. It may take several hours.

• Once you see it has started, take a long long break;  walk away.  Do not pay credence if you see some intermediate early flash messages on the screen display.  The only things that count are the End result at the end of the run.
• The scan will take several hours.  Leave it alone. It will remove any other remaining threats as it goes along.  Take a very long break, do your normal personal errands .....just do not use the computer during this scan.

This is likely to run for many hours as previously mentioned  ( depending on the number of files on your machine & the speed of the hardware.)

The log is named MSERT.log  and the log will be at C:\Windows\debug\msert.log

Please attach that log with your next reply.

 

It is normal for the Microsoft Safety Scanner to show detections during the scan process.

It is scanning for basically all bread crumbs or traces of files and registry entries that "might" be or have been part of some infection or previous infection.

That DOES NOT mean the computer is infected. Once the scan has been completed it uploads the log to their Cloud service which then uses Artificial Intelligence to determine if in fact any of the traces are an infection or not.

Then it writes into the log on your computer what it found.

 

Thank you

 

Forgot to post picture 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay, please get me a new set of logs @Rockarmy321

 

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool 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

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

 

 

[Rockarmy321]

23 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Okay, please get me a new set of logs @Rockarmy321

 

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool 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

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you 

Sorry for the extremely late reply. I have attached the scan result 
Addition.txtFRST.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

Please run the following fix @Rockarmy321

 

NOTE: Please read all of the information below before running this fix.

• NOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on this particular machine.
• Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system that cannot be undone.

Once the fix has been completed, please attach the file FIXLOG.TXT to your next reply

Farbar program:   FRSTEnglish.exe

Save the attached file:  FIXLIST.TXT to this folder C:\Users\veras\Downloads\

NOTE. It's important that both files, FRSTEnglish.exe, and fixlist.txt are in the same location or the fix will not work.

Please make sure you disable any real-time antivirus or security software before running this script. Once completed, make sure you re-enable it.

 

 

Run the Farbar program with Admin rights and press the Fix button just once and wait.

The fix may possibly take up to 60 minutes to complete

If the tool needs a restart please make sure you let the system restart normally and let the tool complete its run after restart.
The tool will make a log named Fixlog.txt in the same folder you ran the Farbar program from. Please attach that log on your next reply.

 

1. NOTE:  This fix will run a scan to check that all Microsoft operating system files are valid and not corrupt and attempt to correct any invalid files. It will also run a disk check on the restart to ensure disk integrity.
2. NOTE: As part of this fix all temporary files will be removed. If you have any open web pages that have not been bookmarked please make sure you bookmark them now as all open applications may be automatically closed. Also, make sure you know the passwords for all websites as cookies will also be removed in most, but not all cases.
3. NOTE: As part of this fix, it will also reset the network to default settings including the firewall. If you have custom firewall rules you need to save please export or save them first before running this fix.

The following directories are emptied:

• Windows Temp
• Users Temp folders
• Edge, IE, FF, Chrome, and Opera caches, HTML5 storages, Cookies and History
• Recently opened files cache
• Discord cache
• Java cache
• Steam HTML cache
• Explorer thumbnail and icon cache
• BITS transfer queue (qmgr*.dat files)
• Recycle Bin

Important: items are permanently deleted. They are not moved to quarantine. If you have any questions or concerns please ask before running this fix.

The system will be rebooted after the fix has run.

fixlist.txt

Thanks

 

[Rockarmy321]

Hello, After running FRST,Fixlog.txt

the laptop restarted and did a lot of stuff. Eventually, I returned to desktop and found a Lot of stuff gone like malwarebytes, winrar, some games, and a lot of stuff and other stuff. I tried opening my browser but got this message

Next thing i know, my browser deleted itself, and i noticed antimalware service started using more cpu again:

I also noticed the activation watermark on my system disappeared once again, however this time, i am able to open activation settings without safemode. When did, i saw this:

I know i have a genuine copy of windows because it was active and received updates for like a year (since when I purchased the laptop).
After this i tried troubleshooting and i found this (I had a sneaky suspicion this was why windows deactivated):

Thank you for bearing with me. Do i now reinstall malwarebytes?

[AdvancedSetup]

It looks like you're running a Dell computer.

How old is the computer?

Did you purchase it directly from Dell?

 

[Rockarmy321]

On 7/5/2023 at 10:48 PM, AdvancedSetup said:

Please run the following fix @Rockarmy321

 

NOTE: Please read all of the information below before running this fix.

• NOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on this particular machine.
• Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system that cannot be undone.

Once the fix has been completed, please attach the file FIXLOG.TXT to your next reply

Farbar program:   FRSTEnglish.exe

Save the attached file:  FIXLIST.TXT to this folder C:\Users\veras\Downloads\

NOTE. It's important that both files, FRSTEnglish.exe, and fixlist.txt are in the same location or the fix will not work.

Please make sure you disable any real-time antivirus or security software before running this script. Once completed, make sure you re-enable it.

 

 

Run the Farbar program with Admin rights and press the Fix button just once and wait.

The fix may possibly take up to 60 minutes to complete

If the tool needs a restart please make sure you let the system restart normally and let the tool complete its run after restart.
The tool will make a log named Fixlog.txt in the same folder you ran the Farbar program from. Please attach that log on your next reply.

 

1. NOTE:  This fix will run a scan to check that all Microsoft operating system files are valid and not corrupt and attempt to correct any invalid files. It will also run a disk check on the restart to ensure disk integrity.
2. NOTE: As part of this fix all temporary files will be removed. If you have any open web pages that have not been bookmarked please make sure you bookmark them now as all open applications may be automatically closed. Also, make sure you know the passwords for all websites as cookies will also be removed in most, but not all cases.
3. NOTE: As part of this fix, it will also reset the network to default settings including the firewall. If you have custom firewall rules you need to save please export or save them first before running this fix.

The following directories are emptied:

• Windows Temp
• Users Temp folders
• Edge, IE, FF, Chrome, and Opera caches, HTML5 storages, Cookies and History
• Recently opened files cache
• Discord cache
• Java cache
• Steam HTML cache
• Explorer thumbnail and icon cache
• BITS transfer queue (qmgr*.dat files)
• Recycle Bin

Important: items are permanently deleted. They are not moved to quarantine. If you have any questions or concerns please ask before running this fix.

The system will be rebooted after the fix has run.

fixlist.txt 42.28 kB · 3 downloads

Thanks

 

Hello, On further observation after using the fixlog, i noticed antimalware executable would take a large a amount of cpu on start-ups and restarts. When It's cpu usage reduces to normal levels, all my recently installed applications disappeared, and i noticed no difference in storage. Some of them even claime dto stillbe installed  (this happened around 5 times when i redownloaded apps like Brave browser, Throttlestop, Winrar, Supersmash flash, and other applications i might not have know about). And when i tried to open the deleted applications, i got this message
(this is not the file i attempted to open, i didnt get screenshot evidence, i scrubbed this from the internet)
 After that, the applications said the application could not be found and that i should delete the shortcuts. After searching round the internet, someone suggested i run an sfc /scannow. After running it, it said there were some corruptions it could not fix it and that i should provide this log to a professional: : CBS.log

After the scannnow, nothing got better. So i did some research and someone who had similar issues on a microsoft forum suggested to run a repair upgrade. After running the repair upgrade, nearly all the original issues came back. What do i do? Do i rerun the fixlog?

[AdvancedSetup]

I'm saying you need to do a Factory Restore. Backup your personal data only, no games, no applications, etc. just documents, photos

Then do a Factory Restore - ie. a CLEAN reinstall of Windows

Dell support can assist if the computer is not too old. They have documentation on how to do a Factory Restore that removes ALL DATA and clean install.

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Glad we could help.

If you need this topic reopened, please send a Private Message to any one of the moderating team members. Please include a link to this topic with your request.

This applies only to the originator of this thread. Other members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread.

Please review the following to help you better protect your computer and privacy Tips to help protect from infection

Thank you