Malwarebytes/McAfee combination causes computer lock up

[hwedin]

I have recently renewed my McAfee subscription from internet security 2009 to 2010, but when ever use either Malwarebytes (fully paid) or McAfee to do a scan etc. my computer locks up and is only usable in safe mode. The only solution I have found is to use the free version of Malwarebytes. I was wondering if anyone else has found this or has a solution. I want to keep using both as they are exceptional products and have cost me money! (penniless student)

Thanks

[noknojon]

Hi and Welcome -

I will list a fix that should cure the McAfee problem - Please Read This

As we do not work on Malware removal or diagnostics in the general forums please follow these directions -

Please print out, read and follow What do I do now? , skipping any steps you are unable to complete.

The next step is post a New Topic Here.

One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.

After posting your new post make sure under options that you select Track this topic and choose one of the Email options so that

you're alerted when someone has replied to your post - Please allow at least 48 hours for a reply as the experts can get busy at times -

Also add a brief note to the experts as to your problems -

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org or via This Link

Always use the ADD REPLY Tab at the bottom of the page when you reply -

Thank You -

[hwedin]

Hi and Welcome -

I will list a fix that should cure the McAfee problem - Please Read This

As we do not work on Malware removal or diagnostics in the general forums please follow these directions -

Please print out, read and follow What do I do now? , skipping any steps you are unable to complete.

The next step is post a New Topic Here.

One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.

After posting your new post make sure under options that you select Track this topic and choose one of the Email options so that

you're alerted when someone has replied to your post - Please allow at least 48 hours for a reply as the experts can get busy at times -

Also add a brief note to the experts as to your problems -

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org or via This Link

Always use the ADD REPLY Tab at the bottom of the page when you reply -

Thank You -

I tried the solution in your reply but McAfee internet security 2010 doesn't have the same options as in McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.x. I was wondering what

the next step would be for a solution?

Thanks

[daledoc1]

McAfee 2010 totally trashed my expensive PC and necessitated a restoration to a factory image, a process from which I am still recovering. (Head over to their forums for several sordid threads on this debacle.)

I had no problems running bundled 2009 McAfee with MBAM Pro.

But both an in-place upgrade (which McAfee forces on users with their updating process) AND a completely clean install after completely removing their stuff rendered my computer unbootable, except into safe mode. TWICE.

Removing it again restored my computer to almost normal function, but had corrupted the OS. Hence the need to restore to factory image.

Never got to test 2010 McAfee with MBAM, since the first thing I did after restoring the computer from the recovery partition was to permanently delete McAfee.

There is something REALLY BAD buried in the new build of the McAfee software, esp in a Win7/64 environment, though, despite numerous attempts to resolve it with them, they seem unable and/or unwilling to address it.

They treated it as a one-off event, but now that 2010 version updates are trickling out to the millions of Dell and other users with bundled McAfee, it more than likely is a REAL, systemic issue.

(It appears to relate somehow to kernel drivers or network drivers.)

Anyway, in the course of extensive troubleshooting and diagnostics with Dell and Kaspersky, I did pick up a couple of things --

1) When uninstalling McAfee, you need to run their MCPR tool more than once, rebooting each time, to have a chance of completely removing remnants.

2) Before making any attempt to reinstall it cleanly from a fresh download (which I personally wouldn't bother to try, since it trashed my computer TWICE, reproducibly), or to install any other security suite, be sure to completely disable Windows Defender and Windows Firewall BOTH from their user interface, AND from within services.msc. They have a tendency to be running deep in the background, even when you think they are not, and they can/will cause issues...) In fact, you might want to double check on this even now, with McAfee still installed...

3) You may want to run a chkdsk C: /f before attempting any installs.

4) Be sure you have everything backed up to an external HDD or online or somewhere.

5) Be sure your BIOS and all your drivers are UTD (and, of course, Windows and IE).

My personal advice is to run as far and fast away from McAfee as you can.

IMHO, It's highly unlikely that your issues stem from a problem with MBAM.

Good luck -- and sorry you're yet another victim of the big red M,

daledoc1

[noknojon]

Please print out, read and follow What do I do now? , skipping any steps you are unable to complete.

The next step is post a New Topic Here.

One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.

After posting your new post make sure under options that you select Track this topic and choose one of the Email options so that

you're alerted when someone has replied to your post - Please allow at least 48 hours for a reply as the experts can get busy at times -

Also add a brief note to the experts as to your problems -

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org or via This Link

Always use the ADD REPLY Tab at the bottom of the page when you reply -

Thank You -

[hwedin]

McAfee 2010 totally trashed my expensive PC and necessitated a restoration to a factory image, a process from which I am still recovering. (Head over to their forums for several sordid threads on this debacle.)

I had no problems running bundled 2009 McAfee with MBAM Pro.

But both an in-place upgrade (which McAfee forces on users with their updating process) AND a completely clean install after completely removing their stuff rendered my computer unbootable, except into safe mode. TWICE.

Removing it again restored my computer to almost normal function, but had corrupted the OS. Hence the need to restore to factory image.

Never got to test 2010 McAfee with MBAM, since the first thing I did after restoring the computer from the recovery partition was to permanently delete McAfee.

There is something REALLY BAD buried in the new build of the McAfee software, esp in a Win7/64 environment, though, despite numerous attempts to resolve it with them, they seem unable and/or unwilling to address it.

They treated it as a one-off event, but now that 2010 version updates are trickling out to the millions of Dell and other users with bundled McAfee, it more than likely is a REAL, systemic issue.

(It appears to relate somehow to kernel drivers or network drivers.)

Anyway, in the course of extensive troubleshooting and diagnostics with Dell and Kaspersky, I did pick up a couple of things --

1) When uninstalling McAfee, you need to run their MCPR tool more than once, rebooting each time, to have a chance of completely removing remnants.

2) Before making any attempt to reinstall it cleanly from a fresh download (which I personally wouldn't bother to try, since it trashed my computer TWICE, reproducibly), or to install any other security suite, be sure to completely disable Windows Defender and Windows Firewall BOTH from their user interface, AND from within services.msc. They have a tendency to be running deep in the background, even when you think they are not, and they can/will cause issues...) In fact, you might want to double check on this even now, with McAfee still installed...

3) You may want to run a chkdsk C: /f before attempting any installs.

4) Be sure you have everything backed up to an external HDD or online or somewhere.

5) Be sure your BIOS and all your drivers are UTD (and, of course, Windows and IE).

My personal advice is to run as far and fast away from McAfee as you can.

IMHO, It's highly unlikely that your issues stem from a problem with MBAM.

Good luck -- and sorry you're yet another victim of the big red M,

daledoc1

Thanks for the advice,

Deciding if it is McCrapee or Malwarebytes that's causing the problems is difficult to tell as even the advice from the Malwarebytes support isn't working-possibly making it slightly worse! Reinstalled McAfee this morning and everything seemed fine so I risked reinstalling Malwarebytes along with help desk advice but that time the computer was back to freezing, uninstalled Malwarebytes and everything is fine, so I don't know what to do.

[daledoc1]

Hi, hwedin:

That's a bummer.

I assume you ran the MBAM cleaner before reinstalling MBAM, and ran the MCPR tool at least once before reinstalling McAfee?

Even so, you might want to double check to be sure that Windows Def and Windows FW services really are completely disabled.

1) Control Panel (icon view, not category view) > Click on Windows Defender and be sure to turn off all its functions; Do the same for Windows Firewall. Close Control Panel.

2) Start > type "services.msc" in the search box and open it; scroll down and find the entries for Windows Defender and Windows Firewall (they might still say "automatic", even if they are not started); highlight and then Right click on each one and select "disable" (or maybe it's "completely disable", I can't recall). Click OK on each screen on the way out.

I had the "opposite" experience you did, in the sense that uninstalling McAfee 2010 allowed my computer and MBAM to run fine. Reinstalling McAfee caused the computer to be unbootable, except into safe mode.

Personally, I'd rather have MBAM than McAfee, and I need a computer that I can actually boot (!!), so my choice was rather obvious.

Alas, my OS -- which had been perfectly fine before their 2010 version update -- had been corrupted. And so, the factory image....

I'm unlikely to get a refund for my 3-yr subscription from those folks.

But, such is life.

I'll let the real MBAM experts help you troubleshoot your MBAM installation. :-)

It's tempting to generalize, and I'm gonna bet that it's McAfee that's causing the problem somehow, but -- as a computer noob -- I could not say for sure.

I'm looking forward to re-installing MBAM back on the desktop ASAP. (FWIW MBAM Pro runs fine alongside Webroot ISE v. 7 on my Win7/32 laptop.)

Hope you get it sorted out,

daledoc1