Windows update pulled after causing blue screen of death
It took Microsoft 17 years to discover and patch a security loophole which first debuted in Windows 3.1. Unfortunately that patch has now had to be withdrawn after it caused some computers to display another vintage classic: the blue screen of death.
The patch, part of this month’s update and listed under MS10-015, dealt with a problem caused by the switchover from 16-bit to 32-bit systems back in 1993. A 16-bit emulator introduced with Windows 3.1 and present ever since turns out to run the risk of running a bogus application which allows access to the system’s kernel.
The update has now been blamed for problems on Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003, though it could theoretically affect other systems. The problem means that after restarting following the update, the user encounters the blue screen of death error message no matter which form of update they encounter.
The simple solution would be to simply uninstall the specific update, which has been identified as KB977165. Unfortunately if you’re able to do that through Windows’ Add or Remove Programs, the chances are you haven’t been affected.
For those stuck with the problem, a Microsoft staffer posting on a company help forum says users need to:
- Boot from a Windows CD or DVD and start the Recovery Console;
- Enter the repair mode
- Type this command: CHDIR $NtUninstallKB977165$\spuninst
- Type this command: BATCH spuninst.txt
- When complete, type this command: exit
The update itself is still available on Microsoft’s site but has been reclassified so that it won’t automatically be downloaded and installed for users with Automatic Updates switched on.
For users who experience the problem after installation, Microsoft recommends they take alternative steps to cover themselves against the original loophole. The easiest way to do this is through an automated fix which can be downloaded at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979682
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February 12th, 2010
This hasn’t solved the issue for everyone, unfortunately. Browsing the social.answers.microsoft.com, I encountered several others that were not able to access the necessary files via the recovery console:
When I attempted to access the recovery console by using a Windows Recovery Console boot disc (note, not a WinXP bootdisc, as my copy of WinXP Media Center Edition came preinstalled), I encountered the following:
When attempting to type in the following command,
CHDIR $NtUninstallKB977165$\spuninst
I was given the following information: path or file specified is not valid (This is as far as everyone else I encountered got with this step)
Then, I tried running the following command DIR
I was given the following information: An error occurred during directory enumeration.
Upon attempting a CHKDSK (and a subsequent CHKDSK /P/R), I received the following information:
The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.
Prior to this, I had not encountered any issues with restarting. I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials for quite some time now, and have never had an issue with spyware (as some have suggested on the internet) that in any way debilitated my computer’s ability to restart. Additionally, my hardware has not been faulty in any shape or form. I am able to access my hard drive via a Linux bootdisk without any difficulty.
Something of note: When I glanced at the partition table (though I cannot remember how I did so through the recovery console, I noticed only one partition listed. Perhaps the unbootable issue is related to some sort of partitioning issue? I am under the impression there should have been two partitions, C:\, for my regular use and D:\, as a recovery partition.
Any advice?
February 12th, 2010
mine just blue screened then rebooted.
wonder if it is related?
February 13th, 2010
Wahahahahahahaha…how ironic, and appropriate for MS. ;P
February 18th, 2010
I had the continues reboot today as well after some automatic updates. I started safe mode with dos prompt and uninstalled the patch. Unfortunately I still have the continues reboot problem.
February 22nd, 2010
Having the same problem as Temujin124 above. Cannot find any solution to this with simple internet searches. This update has been a nightmare…
June 2nd, 2010
Reebooted and went to last known good configuration it came back into windows, my heart resumed its normal pace and I marked the update ignore.