Backup Warning (important)

Time to backup folks. There is an update for windows 7 going around.
My daughters Dell automatically updated last night and restarted itself. When it came back on windows wouldn't load. All she got was a fatal error message and a c0000034 error, which basically is a part of the update that cannot load. As windows 7 always does an update check whilst loading windows, there is no way past it. I googled the error code and quite a lot of people have suffered this fault. Various fixes are floating around the forums, but the upshot is, unless you are very computer literate, you don't stand a chance of fixing it. Most people have had to reformat and re install windows.
Fortunately in the cmos boot options on my daughters Dell there is an emergency backup and re install facility. After trying everything else I ran it and backed everything up on an external drive and it then re formatted C drive and re installed windows so she is good to go again.
My computer is a packard bell and I checked, there is nothing like that on mine, so I have backed everything up just in case.
Apparently this update doesn't affect every computer in this way. It depends what other updates you have. It's something to do with the SP1. So some will suffer and some won't.

Best to back up just to be on the safe side!

Re: Backup Warning (important)

Chippy, this first occured back in Feb 2011 and has been caused recently, from what I here from Tech guys that it effects windows 7 which are not the genuine thing.

I agree with you about back up,It has always been advised to back up your files weekly, if you have auto backup then the computor will do it automatically.

for people who have problems there used to be a free phone help line from microsoft, 0800 576 2893. Not sure if it is still there.

Re: Backup Warning (important)

My daughters Dell Lappy was brand new this Christmas, and does have genuine windows 7. And as I understand it from the Microsoft forum I was reading, this has cropped up on the update released this week. There may have been something similar last year, I'm not certain about that.

Re: Backup Warning (important)

The benefits of using a Mac!

Re: Backup Warning (important)

I noticed that my laptop was installing about 11 windows updates last week - don't know if that was what you are talking about Chippy, but everything was OK, so maybe I am one of the lucky ones with automatic updates and backup. Fingers crossed anyway. Thank you Chippy for the warning

Re: Backup Warning (important)

I always allow the Microsoft updates and, fingers crossed, everything's been okay.

However, on 5 April last year, I'd just installed that Microsoft wotsit anti-virus thing instead of AVG a few days before, when my computer crashed. It took my friend Lesley ages to find what had caused the problem, and it turned out to be the Microsoft wotsit thing, so I went back to AVG.

Re: Backup Warning (important)

Microsoft have a habit of releasing stuff before it's ready.

Re: Backup Warning (important)

Do you know what I mean, Paul? I can't remember the actual wording of the thing, but I believe we went onto that at work as well, but now we're back with AVG.

It was that same night I had a stroke that's why I remember the date so well, but I don't attribute that to my computer crashing - not in total anyway.

Luckily, my friend is a computer genius who built this system for me a few years ago, so I can trust her implicitly, and she knows how important it is to me.

Luckily, I didn't lose my Crusty stories!

Re: Backup Warning (important)

I remember the one you mean, I had a computer with it on once, soon got rid of it. I use Avast in the main alongside Malwarebytes.

Re: Backup Warning (important)

This what I'm on about only came out about 18 months ago, if that and it was supposed to be all singing and dancing as an anti-virus. However, on the contrary, it buggered up my computer good and proper, so I stick to AVG now and use Superantispyware as well.

AVG does a grand job, but when Gordon had a laptop, it was the divil's own job for me to get rid of the Norton installed on there. I ended up using a removal tool as the little beggar kept re-appearing as different bits. It drove me potty, but I managed to get rid!