Windows 7: Microsoft Windows 7 problem 'could affect millions'

echrada · 01 Dec 2009

Users have been complaining on internet forums about the "black screen of death", which causes the screen of their Windows 7 machine to turn black and the computer to crash when a user logs on.

Microsoft confirmed that it was investigating the possibility that a security update, released on Thursday, could be the root of the problem.

Microsoft Windows 7 problem 'could affect millions' - Telegraph

z3r010 · 01 Dec 2009

Scaremongering press again, I'm sure if this was a problem we would have had lots of post about it by now.

UnderBoac · 01 Dec 2009

Excatly! Still can't find userposts in forums/internets regarding this problem.

Only Prevx seems to know about tons of these cases..........Risky marketing-strategics!

cloud8521 · 01 Dec 2009

i only just heard of the problem a while ago. it could affect a few people XD

AntiSilence · 01 Dec 2009

I read about this earlier. Looking at the update history for my system, there were only 2 updates on the 11th November (not counting MSE).

My system is still running fine and I'd not even heard of this until today.

Scotteq · 01 Dec 2009

Quote: Originally Posted by z3r010

Scaremongering press again...

Indeed. Please refer to the following article for the particular grain of truth they are twisting at the moment:

Windows Black Screen of Death: What You Need to Know - PC World

Quote:

It stems from Microsoft security updates

After the latest Microsoft patch was delivered on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, users began reporting a crippling black screen. The Black Screen of Death causes your PC to seize up and removes everything except, in some cases, a single open My Computer window. So what happened?

Microsoft apparently made changes to the Access Control List (ACL), a list of permissions for a logged-on user. The ACL interacts with registry keys, creating visible desktop features such as a sidebar. However, the latest patches appear to make some changes to those registry keys. The effect is that some installed applications aren't aware of the changes and don't run properly.

It's not Windows 7-specific

Windows 7 haters: step back. The Black Screen of Death isn't relegated to Microsoft's latest OS. Security firm Previx states that the Black Screen of Death can affect Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 without prejudice. So if you're considering uninstalling Windows 7, fearful that it is the source of the problem, don't bother. You won't dodge any bullet.

If you are affected, the UK Security firm Prevx posted some instructions which are supposed to help/solve the issue:

Black Screen woes could affect millions on Windows 7, Vista and XP

For the more advanced, there's also a way to modify the registry settings to fix the issue: Latest Windows security patches trigger black screen

Abhishek Ghosh · 01 Dec 2009

Right. No users of this forum has reported this kind of specific problem even in the beta version. Its a scam. I dont buy these news...

Win7User512 · 01 Dec 2009

Isn't it only being tied to one [obscure] 3rd party program right now? Not very widespread at all.

AntiSilence · 01 Dec 2009

A response from the MSRC:

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) : Reports of Issues with November Security Updates

pparks1 · 01 Dec 2009

Yeah, it COULD effect millions or it "COULD NOT". Guess in this case, it's about 3% chance of could and 97% could not.

Windows 7: Microsoft Windows 7 problem 'could affect millions'

Microsoft Windows 7 problem 'could affect millions' problems?