"Computer needs to restart" popup

[Linda's Peep]

Hello. Every time we restart the computer, a popup appears saying "The computer needs to be restarted. Would you like to restart now?" I have gone ahead but the popup just reappears when the computer restarts. I was told by someone that it was likely related to antivirus software, so I should uninstall and reinstall the program, which I have done with Malwarebytes, but it keeps coming back up. We also have Iolo Antivirus and Firewall as well as System Mechanics.

I know enough about computers to be dangerous, so IT falls into my lap; however, I can't figure this one out. Iolo and System Mechanics were installed by someone other than myself.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Firefox]

Hello and welcome to Malwarebytes....

First off, Malwarebytes is not an Anti-Virus program, it is a malware remover program and is designed to work together with you anti-virus software.

Second, I do not trust software made by Iolo (but that's me) they have been know to have shady practices.

Third, what version of windows are you using? What AV or other security software?

You can try un-installing your Anti-Virus software and then re-installing it. Below are the steps you should follow to re-install Malwarebytes.....

Please try the following to see if it helps:

Windows XP:

• Click on Start and select Control Panel
  
• Open Add/Remove Programs
  
• Uninstall Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  
• Restart your computer very important
  
• Download and run mbam-clean.exe from here
  
• It will ask to restart your computer, please allow it to do so very important
  
• After the computer restarts, temporarily disable your Anti-Virus and install the latest version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from here
  
  • Note: You will need to reactivate the program using the license you were sent via email if using the Pro version
    
  • Launch the program and set the Protection and Registration. Then go to the UPDATE tab if not done during installation and check for updates.
    Restart the computer again and verify that MBAM is in the task tray if using the Pro version. Now setup any file exclusions as may be required in your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security/Firewall applications and restart your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security applications. You may use the guides posted in the FAQ's here or ask me and I'll explain how to do it.
    

Windows Vista and Windows 7:

• Click on the Start button and select Control Panel
  
• Click on Programs and Features
  
• Uninstall Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  
• Restart your computer very important
  
• Download and run mbam-clean.exe from here
  
• It will ask to restart your computer, please allow it to do so very important
  
• After the computer restarts, temporarily disable your Anti-Virus and install the latest version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from here
  
  • Note: You will need to reactivate the program using the license you were sent via email if using the Pro version
    
  • Launch the program and set the Protection and Registration. Then go to the UPDATE tab if not done during installation and check for updates.
    Restart the computer again and verify that MBAM is in the task tray if using the Pro version. Now setup any file exclusions as may be required in your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security/Firewall applications and restart your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security applications. You may use the guides posted in the FAQ's here or ask me and I'll explain how to do it.
    

[Linda's Peep]

Thanks for the welcome! We have Windows XP, and were using Iolo AntiVirus, Iolo Firewall, and System Mechanix, all of which have been removed in attempt to resolve another problem, which I posted under the Broken.open topic in these forums. The problem didn't get resolved and we're still having this annoying popup.

The broken.open problem is gone, but now my boss can't send emails, which is also under the above topic. Because of this, I am reluctant to run anything I don't know. Would you please tell me about this:

mbam-clean.exe

Also, can you tell me how safe the programs that are suggested here are? I've noticed titles under Member names. What do they mean? How can I tell if a member is from Malwarebytes or from somewhere else? Thanks for your help.

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello Linda,

There are a couple of methods that can be a cause for telling you the system needs to reboot.

Please run the following which will not make any changes to the system and post back the results.

Click on START - RUN and copy/paste the following into the run line.

REG QUERY "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" /v PendingFileRenameOperations >C:\PENDING.TXT

Then click on START - RUN and copy/paste the following which will open the file, then select all and copy/paste back here what it says.

notepad C:\PENDING.TXT

[Linda's Peep]

Thanks for your help. We love your picture! My boss has decided we can just live with this goofy popup. Thanks again for the help!