[RadLink5]

This morning I got an alert about an automatic update that needed to be installed, and I had to go out anyway, so I shut down the computer. A few hours later, I got back and booted it back up. After an unusually long boot up time, I managed to get to my desktop, only to find that my computer couldn't load any of the desktop icons, and was virtually unresponsive to anything I did. Even ctrl-alt-del didn't do anything. So I manually restarted and tried again. Same thing. Eventually I tried booting into safe mode, which works absolutely fine.

I've tried turning off desktop icons, disabling various unnecessary start-up services/processes, running anti-virus software (which came back negative), and finally uninstalling the Windows updates that seemingly caused this. None of it has had any effect. The only updates left from that set of updates are miscellaneous Microsoft Office patches that I can't uninstall in safe mode.

I've spent a couple hours searching online for someone else with a similar problem, and I only found one forum post about a problem like this. That person, however, solved it by uninstalling MSE, which isn't (and has never been, to my knowledge) installed on this computer.

This is a 64x computer, if that helps any. A million thanks to anyone who can figure out how to fix this.

 

[cluberti]

First, what update was just installed, and was it successful? Second, if you revert to a restore point prior to that update, does the PC work again properly?

 

[RadLink5]

Oh right, I knew I forgot to mention something. For whatever reason, there's no restore point from prior to the installation. I know there should be, but I guess I overwrote it by accident when I reinstalled AVG to perform a virus scan, because the only restoration points are from before I installed that. I suppose I messed up there, but having to restore didn't cross my mind at the time.

The updates installed (not including the Microsoft Office patches) were KB2483614, KB2479943, and KB2505438.

 

[cluberti]

Given the first is an mstsc.exe update and the second is for WMP, my money's on the 3rd DirectWrite Update (2505438), as the desktop and anything that interfaces with DWM could be affected by it. See if removing that doesn't help, and if so, you probably have a video driver incompatibility with that update.

 

[RadLink5]

That was my hunch, too, so it was the first update I removed, but that hadn't changed anything. After that, I removed the other two updates one at a time as well, but it's still unresponsive.

I don't think the problem is the desktop. Other than the mouse pointer, the entire computer becomes unresponsive after logging in. Since it works in safe mode, I thought it must have been a startup process causing it, but I don't see anything in msconfig that wasn't there before the Windows Update.

 

[RadLink5]

Sorry to double post; I can't find an edit button. The computer isn't completely unresponsive on a normal boot anymore. However I'm experiencing frequent hanging for minutes at a time.

 

[psedgecomb]

Exact same problem developed on my wife's computer this morning (Dell laptop, running Windows 7, x32, SP0). The desktop background appears; the mouse works fine, some of the keyboard buttons work OK (caps lock, brightness adjust, etc.), but no icons appear and Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't work, and the login screen never appears). I restarted in Safe mode and it booted up just fine. Went to System Restore, which showed that an automatic update had occurred over night, with the following changes:
* Microsoft Outlook 2007 update
* Security update KB 2479943
* Security update KB 2483614
* Google Chrome version 10 installed

After doing system restore from the restore point created just prior to the update, everything's fine now; now it's just a matter of restoring each of the above one-by-one to see which one was the problem.

The thing that's really wierd is: she doesn't use Google Chrome, doesn't recall ever even installing it; furthermore, why would Windows Update be updating it? I can only assume that it ran an update by itself and it's just coincidence. Don't know yet if Chrome caused the problem, just kinda strange.

I'll post an update if I can figure out which of the above was the culprit.

 

[psedgecomb]

Follow-up:
I've gone back and re-installed each of the updates, one at a time, with a re-boot after each one, and can't re-create the problem; everything's fine now.
Hope at least some of this helps.
-- Paul

 

[Rich-M]

Exact same problem developed on my wife's computer this morning (Dell laptop, running Windows 7, x32, SP0). The desktop background appears; the mouse works fine, some of the keyboard buttons work OK (caps lock, brightness adjust, etc.), but no icons appear and Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't work, and the login screen never appears). I restarted in Safe mode and it booted up just fine. Went to System Restore, which showed that an automatic update had occurred over night, with the following changes:
* Microsoft Outlook 2007 update
* Security update KB 2479943
* Security update KB 2483614
* Google Chrome version 10 installed

After doing system restore from the restore point created just prior to the update, everything's fine now; now it's just a matter of restoring each of the above one-by-one to see which one was the problem.

The thing that's really wierd is: she doesn't use Google Chrome, doesn't recall ever even installing it; furthermore, why would Windows Update be updating it? I can only assume that it ran an update by itself and it's just coincidence. Don't know yet if Chrome caused the problem, just kinda strange.

I'll post an update if I can figure out which of the above was the culprit.

I have seen Chrome installed by mfgr on many HP and Dell pc's lately so it probably was there. But I read something into what you said that "auto updates installed over night" and if your wife is leaving laptop on all the time, you are headed for serious problems as laptops are not like desktops. They suffer from heat issues and never should be left on over night or for long unattended periods of time.