The numbered list is a chronology of things happening
- I noticed several icons missing in the Notification Area of the system task bar. In particular, I noticed the antivirus program (MSE) missing
- From start menu, I "started" MSE and noticed it was already running
- A system file check (sfc /scannow) was run and showed same result--one run a day or two ago was also ok
- The Control Panel Notification Area Icons showed 3 or 4 icons NOT showing up next to program names, although the programs were running
- Following advice from the forum, I tried a System Restore: only three were available, and I chose the one involving an update of Soluto, because it seemed all this started happening a few days ago (including an unwanted startup of Norton Ghost) with a quiet (stealth?) Soluto update
- During the System Restore initialization phase, a BSOD type F4 occurred
- Windows was restarted in safe mode: an attempt was made to restart the System Restore again, and again a BSOD type F4 processor stop occurred
- Windows was restarted normally: now the MSE antivirus app appears strangely, perhaps because I used the Control Panel Notification Area to do a "show no icon" and then did it again to "show icon": this may have run a registry update to fix the problem
My problem is still not knowing whether System Restore is working properly. System File Check with standard filtered output is still showing no problem. My last Ghost backup was 15 days ago, and if I do a restore, my guess there is still a problem with System Restore, which too many claim in forums has never worked properly and still never works properly
The particular set of problems occurred, I believe, with the Soluto update. I run WinPatrol, and suddenly it started reported a whole bunch of changes to programs and I had not been doing any updates of any kind. I told WinPatrol NOT to authorize any changes. Later I figured it was Soluto apparently causing these changes. Perhaps by telling WinPatrol not to do anything, it caused the icons to disappear.
I was going to send a message to Soluto on this matter, particularly about the fact that it shows Norton Ghost not running in the startup, but it is still starting up. The Soluto web site is down though (holidays??). Google searches for people talking about Soluto being down show recent ("past week") results of such discussion.
QUESTIONS
- The more important problem is the BSOD during System Restore. What actions should be taken to fix it and verify that it is fixed? Will the Event Viewer reveal the problem? How should I filter the events?
- Is Soluto the problem? Some do not like it. Should I uninstall it? I am thinking of waiting for Soluto to get back online and get answers.
- Restore from backup? Or do a backup? I don't think a restore to the last backup will fix the problem. I have not run a System Restore in MONTHS, and this problem may have existed---if it does---in the last backup. There is also no previous backup: my backup drive accumulated too many "recovery points" and so a housecleaning was done. Should I restore or do a backup now?
