Norton Utilities 14.5 crashes Windows 7 after Registry defrag...please help?

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Hi there. Any and all help would be appreciated. I am running Windows 7 on my HP dv5 laptop. Today I installed Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton Utilities 14.5. Everything was working fine until I defragmented the Registry after cleaning the Registry. When I re-booted the computer as was requested by Norton, it would not start up. I am seeing the BSOD. I have tried re-booting with the Windows 7 disk as well but I'm getting nowhere. My problem is that I have photos on my computer that I don't want to lose by doing a complete re-install. Yes, I stupidly have not backed up my files. :-( I cannot get into Safe Start mode, and System Recovery is not working for me either.

 

I contacted Norton and chatted online with someone but they were not able to resolve the problem. The 'engineering department' is supposed to call me within the next 48 hours.

 

I am bereft without my computer. If anyone has any suggestions while I am waiting, I would be very grateful.

 

Thank you! Jaylene

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Hi Jaylene,

 

Welcome to the forum and sorry that you are having such problems. Please let us know which version of WIndows 7 you have and 32 or 64 bit.

 

You should be able to boot from the Windows 7 DVD and do a repair install, also referred to as an in place upgrade. This may or may not be able to resolve your registry depending on how severe the problem is and exactly what part of the registry has become damaged.

 

Do you have an imaging backup program like Ghost 15? If not I would highly suggest that you purchase Ghost 15 here so that you can do a full backup of your system drive. Ghost 15 does have a trial version but it does not unfortunately allow you to do a backup from the Recovery CD. If you have some other imaging program to use instead of Ghost you can do that as well.

 

Essentially what you need to do is boot to a Recovery CD and do an image backup of your system drive on to some other drive so that you have a backup of your critical files. If you decide to use Ghost 15 for this, you should do the backup to a USB external drive since the default recovery CD you will create includes support for USB; e.g., it does not require custom drivers.

 

After you have made a backup image of your system drive you should try the repair option from the Windows 7 DVD. If that does not work you may have to do a clean install. If you install into the same directory it should not wipe out your personal files but the key is that as a precaution you should do the aforementioned image backup first. That way if the Windows 7 reinstall does cause a problem you will still be able to recover your personal files.

 

Allen

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Jaylene,

 

Just a few questions about the startup issue. What do you see on the monitor when the computer starts? Any error messages? What does the BSOD look like? Text or no text? How long does it take before you see the blue screen?

 

When you boot from the Win7 DVD, do you see a Repair menu? You often have to boot from the DVD a second time before you get to a large menu with Startup Repair as an option.

 

By pressing F8 can you get to an "Advanced Boot Options" screen?  If so, choose "Last Known Good Configuration".

 

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Good point, I forgot that sometimes you had to boot twice to get the advanced menu. I wonder why that is anyway.

 

Jaylene, another option if you still have problems bringing this back up. You should have 90 days free support from Microsoft which starts from the time you place your first support call to them. At least this is what they have always offered in the past.

 

Please see: https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=14019&st=1

 

Ths should allow you to get further help from Microsoft if you are not able to restore your system using the "Last Known Good Configuration".

 

Edit: Whatever happens with this, please make sure and purchase a good imaging backup program if you do not already have one. Ultimately this gives you the best protection against all types of disasters.

 

Allen

Message Edited by AllenM on 12-02-2009 09:54 PM
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Hi Allen and Brian: 

 

Thank you both for your replies.  I have Windows 7 Home Premium, the 64 bit version.  I am going to try some of your suggestions now and see if I get anywhere.  I will let you know how that goes.  Very glad I have a 2nd computer to use to search for solutions!  It feels better already knowing that there are people out there to help.  I am not very computer savvy.

 

I will try to answer some of your other questions as I go along.  No, I do not have Ghost 15, but I will look into that also.  How big of an external USB stick sill I likely need?  It's really only my photos and a couple of documents, as I have my music stored elsewhere.  I have an 8 gb available.

 

Thanks,  Jaylene

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Hi Brian:  I have tried 'last known good configuration,' but am unsuccessful.  It is telling me something like

 

 

I see hp invent, then...Starting Windows for about 20 seconds, then...BSOD, which reads:

 

A problems has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

 

A process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.

 

If this is the first time you`ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer.  If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

 

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed.  If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

 

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software.  Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.  If you need to use Safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced startup options, and then select Safe mode.

 

Technical information:

 

***STOP: 0x000000F4 (0x0000000000000003, 0xFFFFFA8008180060, 0xFFFFFA8008180340, 0xFFFFF800031D0Z40)

 

Collecting data for crash dump...

Initializing disk for crash dump...

Beginning dump of physical memory.

Dumping physical memory to disk: 100

Physical memory dump complete.

Contact your system admin or technical support group for further assistance.

 

That is all on the BSOD.

 

I will check the other items now and repost.

Thanks, Jaylene

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Hi Jaylene,

 

Unless something really bad happened with your system besides just your system registry becoming corrupted, the "Last Known Good Configuration" option should work. If it does not, then the repair option should take care of anything the former does not.

 

You should seriously consider using the Microsoft support option as well since it should be free. Unless Microsoft has changed something you should be entitled to 90 days free support for Windows 7 and that starts from the time you place your first support call to them, not when you purchased Windows 7.

 

As far as Ghost 15 goes. In order to have the ability to restore your system drive (OS + applications) to their current working state following a disaster such as a hard drive crash, you need to do image backups of it. This is different than file backups which can restore personal documents, etc but cannot restore your OS. Unless you you want to face the prospect of having to reinstall your OS and all applications if something really goes wrong, you should have an imaging backup program (such as Ghost or many others out there). And they also back up your important personal documents at the same time.

 

We can go into more detail on this a bit later if you desire after you get your computer working again.

 

Allen

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When I boot from the Windows 7 dvd, I do get the Startup repair option, but it says that `Windows cannot repair this computer automatically.` Then I have the option of sending information or not to Microsoft.  It doesn`t seem to matter which I choose.  When I view problem details it says:

 

Problem Event Name:  StartupRepairOffline (and when I push my network button, the network does not come on)

Problem Signature 01:  6.1.7600.16385

Problem Signature 02:  6.1.7600.16385

Problem Signature 03:  unknown

Problem Signature 04:  21215624

Problem Signature 05:  AutoFailover

Problem Signature 06:  15

Problem Signature 07:  0xf4

OS Version:                   6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1

Locale ID:                      1033

 

When I view Advanced Options for System Recovery and Support, I have 5 options:  Startup Repair, System Restore, System Image Recovery, Windows Memory Diagnostic and Command Prompt.

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Hi Jaylene,

 

Have you tried booting into SAFE mode as well? If this also does not work and "Last Known Good Configuration" does not work, then the only viable option left would be a repair install as mentioned previously.

 

It sounds like other bad things happened besides just the registry becoming corrupted, something which has corrupted or removed some critical system files.

 

After doing the repair install, you might need to try the "Last Known Good Configuration" option again also. This may be failing because of file system corruption so once the file system corruption is resolved through the repair install, then "Last Known Good Configuration" should be able to successfully restore your registry. Only choose this option again if you still have problems after the repair  install.

 

Allen

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Hi Allen:  When I attempt to do a System Restore, it tells me that ``You must enable System Protection on this drive`` and won`t let me proceed.

 

I also want to apologize if I`m getting my Restores and Recoveries mixed up as my head is swimming with confusion right now.  I really thank you for all of your time with this!!!

 

Jaylene

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veggiegrrll wrote:

When I boot from the Windows 7 dvd, I do get the Startup repair option, but it says that `Windows cannot repair this computer automatically.` Then I have the option of sending information or not to Microsoft.  It doesn`t seem to matter which I choose.  When I view problem details it says:

 

Problem Event Name:  StartupRepairOffline (and when I push my network button, the network does not come on)

Problem Signature 01:  6.1.7600.16385

Problem Signature 02:  6.1.7600.16385

Problem Signature 03:  unknown

Problem Signature 04:  21215624

Problem Signature 05:  AutoFailover

Problem Signature 06:  15

Problem Signature 07:  0xf4

OS Version:                   6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1

Locale ID:                      1033

 

When I view Advanced Options for System Recovery and Support, I have 5 options:  Startup Repair, System Restore, System Image Recovery, Windows Memory Diagnostic and Command Prompt.

 

Have you tried both System Restore and Startup Repair options? And neither one works? Here is a helpful link regarding these startup options.

 

System Image Recovery won't work because that uses a system image you created earlier (backup essentially) which you did not do.

 

Startup repair should be able to correct potentially any problem, very strange if that is not working for you.

 

I think you should put in a call to Microsoft starting with the link I provided earlier. It will ask for which Windows you have, product key and so forth. At the end of all that it will give you your support options and should provide a phone number to call. If Startup Repair is somehow not working for you, I think Microsoft should be involved. I have rarely seen that option fail as it pretty much rewrites all of your critical system files.

 

It is possible there might be problems with the hard drive also, which ckdsk /r could repair but at this point Microsoft is probably your speediest option and they will stay on the phone with you while you are trying things.

 

Allen

Message Edited by AllenM on 12-03-2009 06:45 AM
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Hi Allen: 

 

Thank you for all of your assistance...I will try calling Microsoft, as yes, neither the Startup repair or the System Restore options are working.

 

Hopefully I will have good news to report back at some point.

 

Regards, Jaylene

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Hi Jaylene,

 

Yes, please let us know how it goes and I wish you the best. This Microsoft support option is pretty good, I have had to use it a time or two. And it allows you to work in "real time" with them on the phone which I think will give you the speediest results.

 

We'll look forward to further updates.

 

Allen

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Hi Allen and Brian:

 

Microsoft took me through the same steps you did and was unable to help me with my Windows 7 Home Premium 'upgrade' disk.  I wound up taking my laptop into a local computer place (who has done work for me before quite reasonably) and he has removed the hard drive and is extracting my information that way.  He will then do a total new install.  He thinks that possibly the PC Tools Spyware Doctor Antivirus (is it okay to mention other products by name?) didn't uninstall properly (I did have problems with that) before Norton was loaded.  He said some other things, too, that I didn't really understand.  Sorry...that computer naivety of mine, again!

 

At any rate, I thank you for your time and efforts in helping me attempt to solve this problem.  You guys have been very helpful, and I will be sticking around with this community for my Norton advice.

 

Cheers,

 

Jaylene

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Basically Norton Utilities has messed up being Windows 7 compatitible, I had to re-install Wondows 7 all over again after this incident because Defrag Registery on Windows 7 will currupt windows start up making it impossible to work.

 

 

IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS 7 - DO NOT DEFRAG YOUR REGISTRY!!!!

 

The reason people cant restore is because WIndows 7 has an in-built Administrator which wont allow you to restore until you

de-activate it which was the first thing I've done. ONLY solution is either going into command and redo your registry via DOS mode (Near impossible for the normal people) or Re-install by going into your BIOS startup and make it boot from your DVD ROM and re-install Wondows 7.

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What are the proper channels for reporting a compatability issue to Norton so that a ‘fix’ can be released (if that’s possible)?   As Windows 7 gains momentum, there will be many more people running into this same difficulty with the registry defrag.

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Hi Folks,

 

Please post follow on to this defrag issue to the thread here. If there is a bug here I suspect it has more to do with whether the OS is 32 bit or 64 bit.

 

Jaylene and shyen1, please post these same responses on to the other thread.

 

Thanks

Allen

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I ran into this same problem. You guys (Norton) need to disable this feature until you fix this bug in Windows 7.  I would like a bootable fix for this, this is a complete nightmare, I was enjoying Windows 7 till this.

 

Anyway, hey bud anyway you could give me instructions on how you went in and fixed this? I am in IT so I will probably know what your talking about.

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TSP1980 wrote:

I ran into this same problem. You guys (Norton) need to disable this feature until you fix this bug in Windows 7.  I would like a bootable fix for this, this is a complete nightmare, I was enjoying Windows 7 till this.

 

Anyway, hey bud anyway you could give me instructions on how you went in and fixed this? I am in IT so I will probably know what your talking about.

 

Hi TSP1980,

 

Welcome to the forum. For some reason Jaylene was not able to successfully restore her system using either the "Last Known Good Configuration" nor the Windows 7 repair install. She took her computer back to where she purchased it to get it restored.

 

Again, I need for everyone who has had problems with NU registry defrag to post responses in the other thread I linked to above. This is very important for me to track this issue and work with Symantec if there is a bug and get it resolved.

 

Please do not use this thread to track this issue. I fear that if we do it will get lost in the shuffle. There needs to be a dedicated thread to track this, and this post + another report I saw on the forum is the exact reason I started the other thread.

 

Again please use this thread to track this issue.

 

Thanks much

Allen

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Actually you could go one better with Ghost 15.  You could create a cold image, format and reinstall and then restore the data from the cold image.  That would allow you to keep the data that you wanted. 

 

Do you know your hardware specs?

How many admin users you have on yrou system?

What were you doing right before you performed the registry tasks? 

How often have you cleaned up the system?