System not restarting after Windows Updates

After installing Windows Updates my pc does not restart as it says it will.
It needs rebooting, after which it goes into Repair Mode.
This prompts a System Restore and eventually it will boot up again, but often only after several abortive attempts. It seems to need to be left alone for 10-15 mins before a successful reboot.
I have posted thsi problem before and the nearest I got to a useful reply was being told that "it happens", and advice to turn off Automatic Updating which I have done. I only install what look like important updates and I haven't had the problem since, until now.
Any ideas please?

Hello

I know you have probable done this before but the first thing to do is...

Run a full up-dated AV scan with your installed AV...
Run a full scan with malwarebytes, free version.

Malwarebytes

After you know that there is no problem as far as a virus or malware then do a sfc scan, here is the tutorial for doing so.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

When the sfc is done look at the results, if there are any error's then run the sfc 3 more times each time you run it , it repairs more. This is the easy way...

1. Click Start...
2. Type CMD in the search box...
3. When to popup list comes up go to the top and Right Click the cmd.exe and run it as administrator...
4. When the command box appears then type sfc /scannow, notice the is a space between the sfc and the forward slash...

If your sfc won't run in reg mode the run it in safe mode. When you run the first sfc upload it to the forum so we can see what's going on.

If you have questions or need help then post us back and we will help...

Welcome try to uninstall the upadates. If you now work properly. Set update to notify and not install. When you get the upadates again, install one at a time, to find the problem upadate. Then right click on that one and set to hide. It will not install, now.

Uninstall by using system restore, this will put everything back the way it was.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html
Be sure to go back 3 days before the install of the updates.

Hi,
Merely a question of interest.
Once you have resolved the problem with the updates etc., it would be interesting to know if the troublesome Update was Microsoft Update KB2505189 ?
Thank you.

richc46 said:

Welcome try to uninstall the upadates. If you now work properly. Set update to notify and not install. When you get the upadates again, install one at a time, to find the problem upadate. Then right click on that one and set to hide. It will not install, now.

Uninstall by using system restore, this will put everything back the way it was.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html
Be sure to go back 3 days before the install of the updates.

Click to expand...

Thank you for this.
I am currently up and running after eventually managing to boot up.
I shall try your fix when I have time.
Are you suggesting that an update is causing the problem and if so, shouldn't it be prevented from happening rather than the user having to work around the problem?

kesume said:

Hi,
Merely a question of interest.
Once you have resolved the problem with the updates etc., it would be interesting to know if the troublesome Update was Microsoft Update KB2505189 ?
Thank you.

Click to expand...

I shall post the answer when I've tried the fix.
Thanks

kesume said:

Hi,
Merely a question of interest.
Once you have resolved the problem with the updates etc., it would be interesting to know if the troublesome Update was Microsoft Update KB2505189 ?
Thank you.

Click to expand...

Hi. I haven't yet uninstalled the last Windows Update but I can tell you that one of the two Updates applied was the one you mention.
Is this significant?

Jeceris said:

richc46 said:

Welcome try to uninstall the upadates. If you now work properly. Set update to notify and not install. When you get the upadates again, install one at a time, to find the problem upadate. Then right click on that one and set to hide. It will not install, now.

Uninstall by using system restore, this will put everything back the way it was.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html
Be sure to go back 3 days before the install of the updates.

Click to expand...

Thank you for this.
I am currently up and running after eventually managing to boot up.
I shall try your fix when I have time.
Are you suggesting that an update is causing the problem and if so, shouldn't it be prevented from happening rather than the user having to work around the problem?

Click to expand...

OK Rich, I've tried to rewind back to pre the last Windows Update, but it won't do the Restore due to "an error". Files were left unchanged. I'll try installing the next set of Updates one at a time to see if I can isolate the cause of the problem and will post when that has been done. Thnaks for the help meanwhile.

Jeceris said:

kesume said:

Hi,
Merely a question of interest.
Once you have resolved the problem with the updates etc., it would be interesting to know if the troublesome Update was Microsoft Update KB2505189 ?
Thank you.

Click to expand...

Hi. I haven't yet uninstalled the last Windows Update but I can tell you that one of the two Updates applied was the one you mention.
Is this significant?

Click to expand...

As posted elsewhere I can't undo the last set of Updates, but will try and isolate the offending one next time. In the meantime, thanks for your interest.

Hi,
Thank you for posting back re offending Update.
I'm not sure that it is significant re update KB2505189, however, there were a number of complaints/queries relating to this update, in that it had apparently upset a number of programmes.
See the thread in this section that members complained about it.

It could of course all be coincidence, but is worth keeping an eye on!
Oh, the other thing in common was that most, I think, had recently converted to IE9 also.
Thank you for the info.I await the outcome.

Question: Do you by any chance have Norton as your Security/Protection software? If so, the Restore will fail if Norton is running as it blocks the System. You will need to disable it in order to restore.

You may already know this but just in case . . . I always create a manual check point prior to installing or updating any software. If running Norton, disable it first (not uninstall, but disable). Create the check point, then enable Norton when it is done. I found this out painfully.

FYI - McAfee does not interfere with Restore.

NOTE: If Norton was enabled when you created the Check Point, the Restore will also fail, as the moment Norton activates, it blocks the system. Found that out thru trial and error.

Hope it helps.

Meltie

Hi:
Thanks for the tip. I do appreciate your response.
However, the Restore still fails on "an unspecified error", however far back I go, even with Norton disabled.

kesume said:

Hi,
Thank you for posting back re offending Update.
I'm not sure that it is significant re update KB2505189, however, there were a number of complaints/queries relating to this update, in that it had apparently upset a number of programmes.
See the thread in this section that members complained about it.
View attachment 23020
It could of course all be coincidence, but is worth keeping an eye on!
Oh, the other thing in common was that most, I think, had recently converted to IE9 also.
Thank you for the info.I await the outcome.

Click to expand...

I cannot restore, due to "an unspecified error", however far back I go, so can't reapply the updates and isolate the offender.
I will apply one at a time next time round and report my findings.
Thanks to all who have replied.

Hi,
Thank you for keeping us informed of your progress.
I will keep watching in case this particular update becomes a problem.
But there being so many variables, it could be coincidence? Or not?

Thank you.

Jeceris,

That happened to me as well. Sorry, I should of pointed out that you wouldn't be able to use the existing restore points. Reason is that Norton is still active in them, so as soon as it gets to that point, Norton activates and blocks everything else.

Every restore point made going forward with Norton disabled, works like a charm.

Hope everything works out okay.

It's been a while since I posted my problem with Vista not restarting after Windows Update because I haven't seen an Update until last week, when there were no less than 22 showing! Unfortunately I proceeded to shut down without thinking and it installed all 22 and failed to restart.
As Meltie has pointed out, Norton blocks System Restore so I couldn't go back and use Repair, so I left it switched off for 15 mins or so and as before it came up again. The advice to disable Norton before setting a Restore Point sounds good, but how do I make sure Norton is disabled when System Restore Points are made automatically before an Update?
I've also noticed that it automatically starts installing updates on shutdown unless you do them one at a time before shutting down, so today when there were 2 updates I hid the Silverlight one, and installed the IE 9 update. Once again it failed to restart, and once again came up after being left powered off for 15 mins.
Surely we shouldn't have to go through these hoops to keep systems up to date??
Can any one of you most helpful people pick up the thread again?
Thanks.

Hi Jeceris,

Here's how you disable Norton.

Go into Task Manager - control/alt/delete

Go to "services" tab
Hit the "name" column so it sorts them alphabetically
scroll down until you see Norton (may be more than one process but if memory serves, there is only one)
Highlight the program (you'll see the status say "running")
Hit "services" tab in lower right corner *
Vista will ask you to confirm action - say "yes"

*this will take you to a new window. It will leave the original one up so just move that off to the right so you can see the new window. It may bring up the new window behind the task manager window, so just move the window to the side.

In the new window:

Highlight Norton
right click and choose "properties"
In "general" tab, choose "disable"
Then go to "Recovery" tab. Choose "take no action" for 1st, 2nd, and I believe 3rd

NOTE: Get a pad ready so you can write down the original setting (i.e.; automatic, auto delayed, etc.) so you know what to choose when you enable the program later

To ensure Norton is no longer running, check your Task Manager Window - this is the window you moved off to the right. Should say "disabled" next to the Norton program.

Create a Manual Checkpoint: see my note below Enable Norton

To Enable Norton again after making your Check Point, just follow the instructions in reverse. FYI - There will be a box in the "new window" asking you to "restart the service". Once you're done resetting the settings in General and Recover (don't forget recovery), you'll hit "restart the service"

To ensure service is restarted - again, check your Task Manager window. Should show it "running"

Check Points
With regard to Automatic Check Points, we can't stop Vista from doing this and we really don't want to. Soooo, I create Manual Checkpoints every month and before I download any software and after, once I know it is running correctly. I also name the Checkpoints so I know which one I want For example: Last check point I made is called "java 23 and firefox working"

To Create the Manual Checkpoint, you can go into Help and search. I have a shortcut on my desktop so I don't remember where it is. It's called Backup and Restore Center. The system will take you to the Welcome Center and you'll be able to follow it from there. Once there, you'll see a tab on the left hand side asking if you want to create a manual check point. NOTE: Once you hit this, it takes "what seems like forever" before it brings up your drives. Nothing's wrong, just be patient. First several times I did this, I forgot that and thought it wasn't working because it took so long. So I hit it again and it said program is already running. Just be patient.

Hope this helps.

Meltie

Meltie: Thanks for the comprehensive instructions. It seems a long winded process to achieve something that one would think would be straightforward task, but I'm grateful for your advice.

Hello if Norton starts when when you first boot up then in the right lower corner right clik on the norton icon and then just pause it until your done creating your restore point or turn off at the same point...

Hi everyone how are all doing?
Perhaps the information in the link below may be of interest.
Hope it can be helpful.
Enabling or disabling Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall
Cheers.