Sorting out possible bad advice regarding Win 7 drivers vs Services

norte · 06 Feb 2013

My System Mechanic Pro has been misbehaving. An Iolo support technician did a remote access on my laptop. After about 33 minutes he said the problem was corrupted Microsoft drivers, and that an Iolo Microsoft Certified technician would have to take control of my laptop for an hour through remote access and go into the registry to fix the corrupted drivers. I asked him what drivers were corrupted. He took me to the Services tab on the System Configuration window via msconfig. He said every Microsoft service with a "stopped" status was in fact a corrupted driver. He said I could take it to the Geek Squad, but that Iolo could do it for $50 cheaper. He wants $199.00. I don't believe anything he said, but I could be wrong. Or should I just uninstall System Mechanic and be done with it?

TwoCables · 06 Feb 2013

Just because a service is Stopped, it does not mean it's corrupted.

If it were me, I would uninstall System Mechanic Pro and then see how your system behaves after that. If System Mechanic Pro is the only thing that's acting up, then it should be uninstalled and never installed again. If your system continues to have problems after that, then I believe that we here at SevenForums can help you fix it for free.

Dwarf · 06 Feb 2013

What a lot of bull from the Iolo tech. I agree about uninstalling System Mechanic Pro (programs of that ilk often cause more problems than they claim to solve), and see how you go from there.

As regards Services not running, well a Service will only run if and when it is required. Some Services are required to be running at all times, but others may only run at system startup and then stop. Others still will run on demand, but will automatically stop when the routine requiring the Service stops running itself.

Layback Bear · 06 Feb 2013

I do agree with the previous post by Dwarf and TwoCables that System Mechanic Pro and program like it are snake oil or worse. You just might have a Windows 7 Services problems NOW after the Technician spent all that time with remote access to your computer. Their is really no way of knowing what SM Pro and the Technician did to your system. After removing SM Pro I would start with this. It's built into Windows 7 it might help and won't hurt.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

Please read first and then follow the instruction and let us know the results and we can advise from there.

Britton30 · 06 Feb 2013

Iolo, AVG, and other so-called super run faster and better programs will destroy a good system. w7 needs none of them but provide a way for those underhanded companies' "techs" to make your wallet lighter.

Layback Bear · 06 Feb 2013

Why pay for such services when a person can come here. Thousands of techs from all over the world with various degrees of knowledge from expert to beginner and get the help needed for free. Plus the person gets to learn at the same time. Learning is also free.