back to article Microsoft RE-BORKS Windows 7 patch after reboot loop horror

Reports are emerging that a twice-issued Microsoft Windows 7 patch is still causing pain for users, with some claiming the fix is triggering continuous reboots. The patch was first issued as KB2949927 and withdrawn in October due to system faults, before being re-released this week as KB3033929. Sporadic reports across …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thanks

    for the heads up. Afflicted patch put on installation hold...

  2. Mikel

    Windows is such an adventure

    Why have something boring when you can get exciting monthly updates?

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: Windows is such an adventure

      I'm missing out on the excitement, it installed without problems the first time round on our machines (Wortmann TERRA).

    2. BobChip
      Happy

      Re: Windows is such an adventure

      You could enjoy even more update boredom by going Linux, where updates just happen - quietly and without drama. How boring!

      1. big_D Silver badge

        Re: Windows is such an adventure

        I don't know, I've had my problems with Linux over the years as well.

        Especially with a recalcitrant mobile Radeon X700 chipset, after every Kernel update the laptop refused to boot into graphics mode, until you manually reloaded the ATi drivers...

      2. RobHib

        @BobChip -- Re: Windows is such an adventure

        Far easier just to turn Windows automatic updates off altogether, this way I get to keep 100% compatibility without drama. Don't even have to think about Wine.

        Better still, I uninstall the Windows automatic updates service, this way other sneaky MS programs can't silently turn it back on, as they're so often wont to do.

        I've learned the hard way many years ago never to turn on Windows (or even Linux) automatic updates, as things change, often strangely and without notice. And in Windows' case, the all-to-regular BSODs were somewhat distracting.

        BTW, I do use Linux regularly for many purposes but not as my default desktop machine. For some reason, Linux is missing a key component, Win32/64 API compatibility! Quick, quick, Linux devotees, reach for the down-vote.

        1. RobHib
          Pint

          Re: @BobChip -- Windows is such an adventure

          Ha! A fisherman I ought to be. Mention Win APIs and Linux together and, even with an obvious lure, there's always a guaranteed catch!

        2. Number6

          Re: @BobChip -- Windows is such an adventure

          I just consider it a shame that more vendors don't produce Linux versions of their software. That way I wouldn't need a Win32 API on my machine.

          As for the update in the article, it appears to be installed on the machine here (a Dell) which has successfully rebooted at least twice since the update was installed, so Im clearly missing out on the fun and excitement too.

  3. TheProf

    Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

    'twice-issued Microsoft Windows 7 patch is still causing pain for <SOME> users' FIFY

    It hasn't caused me any problem.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      agreed, I've tested on various boxes, w2k8r2, win7, win7x64 and not had any issues.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      Me too, but a patch should not cause trouble to *any* user - but it wold be interesting to understand why a patch designed to add a new hash is able to create boot troubles.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "It hasn't caused me any problem."

      That's all right then. Don't worry, be happy.

      And please don't feel left out. In the months to come, your turn will likely follow.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "It hasn't caused me any problem."

        And please don't feel left out. In the months to come, your turn will likely follow.

        If it happens to me, I'll just boot 8.1 and restore last night's back-up. However, given how none of the other duff patches have affected me and how I've had zero problems with it since it was in beta, beyond the inadvisability of chancing Sod's Law I feel confident that I never will.

        Come to think of it, of the many operating systems I've run over the years, I think Windows 7 is the only one that's been trouble-free. I suppose, in the context of this thread, it would be tactless to suggest the OS deserves a testimonial dinner or something...

    4. Caveman 2.0
      Coat

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      Well, yesterday my dentist was gnashing HIS teeth... After patch Tuesday, his win7/32-bit went BSOD and looping. I don't know his config, but multiboot is probably not involved. Luckily he still could patch my teeth without it. He's back to paper records for a while.

    5. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      It hasn't (yet) cause any problems on my Dell Win7/64 machines. But then thanks to El Reg, I did install all the other updates first and then did a separate update run just for this update.

      Mind you the update isn't small at 43.8MB...

      Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out the cause of the problems are due this update upsetting some unknown rootkit, just like the update to NTFS.SYS a few years back caused some systems to unexpectedly BSOD...

    6. Adam 1

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      >It hasn't caused me any problem.

      Oh thank God. El Reg had me worried sick.

    7. big_D Silver badge

      Re: Wailing and gnashing of some teeth

      Yep, we have it rolled out on over 50 machines (since the original patch) and no reports of problems with it.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just experienced it here

    KB3035131 - hanging an HP workstation before CTRL ALT DEL. No dual booting, only one HD but uninstalling the patch from safe mode has sorted things.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just experienced it here

      I'm not sure how "dual booting" is affecting this. It article states that "especially PCs that boot into two or more operating systems." Are these 2 operating systems Windows based, and must both be Windows based?

      1. Gordon 11

        Re: Just experienced it here

        I'm not sure how "dual booting" is affecting this.
        One suggestion I've seen is that it tries to work out something based on the boot partition - which if you are dual-booting may well not be anything to do with MS Windows.

    2. Gordon 11

      Re: Just experienced it here

      KB3035131 - hanging an HP workstation...
      That must be something else then, as the patch in question here is KB3033929, which fails for me on a dual-boot Win7/Linux system with an 80004005 error.

      The system does recover, after a few reboots to remove the failing patch - which then shows up in Windows Update as needing to be installed. Fortunately I have the system set to do updates when I request - so I've hidden it (as I had to hide the previous one).

  5. Tezfair
    Unhappy

    Office issues this week

    Shortcuts failing, Access giving library errors. Having to do office repairs all over the places

    1. Hairless Biker

      Re: Office issues this week

      Ditto to that, Tezfair. Seems to affect our Access 2003 installs (required for legacy app, natch). Also got 'desktop.ini' shortcut randomly appearing.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Office issues this week

      Interesting, I had exactly the same thing on a copy of Access 2007 - msain.dll errors which required an office repair. Problem happened 2 days ago which would, of course, be straight after Patch Tuesday.

  6. Eddy Ito
    Facepalm

    There is something to be said for consistency. In this case it seems to be "FFS, not again?!?!?"

  7. adnim
    FAIL

    Oops!

    The page you are looking for may have a new location, or is no longer available.

    http://support2.microsoft.com/en/kb/3033929

    "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them."

    Is the sensible way to configure windows update.

    Is in my list and is now unticked, thanks for the heads up Reg

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oops!

      ""Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them."

      Is the sensible way to configure windows update."

      Well yes, and I could have sworn that my various 3 Win7 boxes (mix of Win7/.32 and Win7/64, Home Premium and Pro, at least one multiboot) were configured that way.

      Somehow by this Tuesday, they weren't configured that way any more, they'd downgraded to the MS-recommended setttings of "please test our patches for us".

      Consequently the patches were auto installed.

      One system failed and auto-recovered. Two survived with no visible damage so far.

      I guess I'm supposed to consider myself lucky.

      Not ideal.

      1. Remy Redert

        Re: Oops!

        I have my system similarly configured, but for some reason some updates get auto-installed anyways. I've now added the relevant update servers to my hosts file and the router's blacklist. There will be no more updating or getting update information without my actions.

  8. M Room

    PATCH PROBLEM

    Not for the first time, I actually had a problem with this latest group of updates. Windows 7 Pro 32bit.

    Downloaded and installed then asked to agree a re-boot. Clicked the OK - the system closed down but did not re-boot.

    Tried a re-start, nothing. Unplugged everything and started to look for my back up boot CD. Switched everything back on and thankfully it all booted up OK and installed the updates.

    In the end, a minor glitch which gave me a virtual heart attack - Reminder = must retain my sense of humour!

  9. Rick Giles
    Linux

    No issues here...

    Oh, wait... This isn't Windohs...

    1. Zimmer
      Flame

      Re: No issues here...

      Ah, yes, but maybe (unlike me) you do not dual boot using GRUB.

      It has tried to update three times since Thursday... failed, but after further restarts has at least recovered to boot pre-update.. (vital, as I am only using Win7 to play Elite:Dangerous ).

      I have deselected the offending update in Windows Update so as not to disturb my gaming.... (never a happy chappie as far as Microsoft are concerned...)

      1. Fatman
        FAIL

        Re: No issues here... you do not dual boot using GRUB.

        I wonder.....

        if this patch, like many other things Microsoft, assumes that Windows WindblowZE is the ONLY installed operating system. This would not be the first time a MS update borked GRUB.

        1. smithwr101

          Re: No issues here... you do not dual boot using GRUB.

          Grub is working fine. It's Windows that detects a problem and reverts. I could understand if MS had modified their bootloader and it caused grub to fail.

          1. phil dude
            Coat

            Re: No issues here... you do not dual boot using GRUB.

            I take no chances with M$ overwriting boot things. If Windoze has to boot it is in a $VIRTUAL machine and does not see a real disk (got to love fast SSDs!!!!).

            I do get nostalgic for "blue screens of death". In Linux we typically get the "consoles of chaos" or the "titanic hits the iceberg of keyboard input loss" which leaves a much prettier Xorg display.....

            All of course the followed by the "button of power..."

            P.

            1. Number6

              Re: No issues here... you do not dual boot using GRUB.

              If you have sshd running on the afflicted machine then you do stand a sporting chance of being able at least reboot cleanly without the button of power.

      2. Rick Giles
        Linux

        Re: No issues here...

        No, I don't dual boot. Why would I want to torture myself like that?

        IF I need Windows, I use the work laptop and then, I swap out the HDD with a plain Jane install of 'dows on it because of all the restrictions those tw@'s put on tier implementation.

        Otherwise, it's ran virtual.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    HMS Titanic

    Is the Microsoft ship in the picture sinking, or soaring up into the cloud(s)?

  11. Mad Chaz

    Caused me a very weird issue. The timer vanished on Grub after this patch was installed. Re-installing grub fixed it, but that was weird ...

    1. Sureo

      Re. grub

      Whuddya need a timer for? Can't you type fast enough?

      1. present_arms

        Re: Re. grub

        Because if you set Grub to no time out and you have Windows as a default and Windows inevitability borks an update, it will just loop, like in the dentist comment, with a timer you have time to choose linux to fix the bloody thing.

    2. Gordon 11

      The timer vanished on Grub after this patch was installed. Re-installing grub fixed it, but that was weird ...
      Hmmm...my grub timer disappeared a few weeks back. It confused the hell out of my wife, as in my case it just sat there displaying the grub options with no time-out at all. I hadn't considered the possibility of MS fiddling with it. But if they did fiddle with booting in some way I'd have expected more of a difference than the grub time-out changing.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nixed my VPN

    I removed each patch in the list from this Tuesday's patch until it worked again. This was the offending patch. The VPN software in question was Junos Pulse which is the worst POS of a VPN that I've ever come upon.

  13. swampdog

    Not only KB3033929 (w7u) but also KB3033395 (w3k).

    The former keeps "reverting" whilst the latter keeps reinstalling.

    Thank $DEITY that I binned 75% of my 2003 server VM's last month!

    1. Tubs

      Upvote for the $DEITY parm!

  14. Alan W. Rateliff, II
    Paris Hilton

    Coincidentally, the AES updates to upgrade Windows XP and Server 2003 from RC4 cause problems, too, and so far as I know those have not been fixed. Nor do I suspect they will be considering the past and looming expiration dates.

  15. E 2

    My gaming box... Win7 & Ubuntu 14.10 dual boot. Windows updated: reboot: failed to apply patch: reboot: failed to apply patch: etc etc etc

  16. Col_Panek

    Thank you Mr. Nadella

    I'm one step closer to getting my wife's machine off Windows.

    1. JCitizen
      Alert

      Re: Thank you Mr. Nadella

      That's what I say - I've lost count of the borked updates in the last three patch cycles!

  17. smithwr101
    FAIL

    Yup. Same problem here. Two Windows 7 machines reboot several times and then revert.

    KB3033929 is the problem.

    It's a minor weakness in security if you don't install it but an MS DoS if you do!

    1. present_arms

      "It's a minor weakness in security if you don't install it but an MS DoS if you do!"

      That's so you don't complain about the lack of Windows security if you do

  18. khjohansen

    Whatever it takes

    To make Win 8 look good?

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    KB3033929 has certainly borked our system. The problem is that having reverted it off the system, MS Update insists on trying to reapply it even though I have set it manual update installation only. Obviously Uncle Bill still knows what's best for you!

  20. Sloppy Crapmonster
    Joke

    "Borked systems include a variety of machine models from the likes of HP and Dell, which appear to throw up the error code 80004005"

    That looks like the code my hacked PSP puts up when I try to play my paid-for Japanese games on my American account.

  21. Mega Matt

    HP Pavilion

    Ditto, KB3033929 also messed up my Mum's HP Pavilion (hangs on start-up with a black screen and flashing cursor in top left). Luckily was in the right half of the country to be able to visit, start the laptop in safe mode, and remove this update. Also had to go back on win update once fixed, and set it to hide the update forever more . . .

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If only there was an alternative.....

    Hmmmmm

  23. atlatl265

    No problems so far

    Installed both KB2949927 and KB3033929 with No problems on a Dell Vostro with Win 7 Pro.

    After further reading on both KB's I uninstalled KB2949927, again No problems so far.

    I thought that KB3033929 superseded KB2949927 and would have removed it when installing the newer update but, it didn't.

  24. tony72
    FAIL

    It's still there!

    So, five days later and the problem patch is still there. My gaming rig is doing the "Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes." thing if KB3033929 is selected. I've just hidden the update for now, I'll take my chances. I can't believe Microsoft haven't pulled this update yet, given the number of reports. WTF, Microsoft!

  25. krzanalyst

    My Win 7 machine is BORKED

    IE will not start, and the shortcut is gone. Some might find this a feature. Many, many error messages with reports the following missing files.

    api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll

    api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll

    System Restore works until the patch is re-installed and then

    reports the following missing files.

    api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll

    api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll

    over and over and over again.

    Looks like a re-image is the only solution I have.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like