Problems after M/S Update


  1. Posts : 79
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Problems after M/S Update


    I have a Dell XPS 501X with an Intel i7CPU. I completed a M/S update last Friday and, since then, the machine has been a little "funky."

    The first thing I noticed was all computer sounds were gone. I checked all controls and everything was turned on and seems to be okay. I went to Device Manager and updated the drivers . . . no joy. I called a friend who's an IT pro and he said, "Delete the drivers in Device Manager, re-boot and call me if that doesn't work. It worked! All sounds are back but I have no clue where the drivers are now. Anyway, I ran all virus/spyware programs (clean as a pin), rebooted and created a restore point.

    Yesterday, Windows didn't start and I could not get the cursor to open anything. I cut the machine off an restarted. I got a message about Windows not starting and did I want to analyze . . . yes. It did a check of the system and recommended a system restore. I did it and everything this morning is normal. I've done more scans for "bad stuff" and the machine is clean.

    What the heck?!

    Mike
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 10,994
    Win 7 Pro 64-bit
       #2

    Mike, you may get some other suggestions but here's what I would do. If you have a restore point that was created before you did the updates last Friday, I'd restore my machine back to that point in time. (Your machine was apparently working just fine before the updates.) All of the Friday updates should now be gone. If there were less than, say, 5 updates I'd reinstall them but one at a time. Run your computer for a while to make sure everything is OK. If it acts funky again you'll know which update is the culprit. If you have more than 5 updates I'd do them in groups of 3 or 4 depending on how many there are. Again, install one group, run the machine and if there are problems you'll know which group is responsible. Then uninstall all 3 or 4 and reinstall one at a time until you find the funky one.

    If you don't have a restore point prior to the updates, well, all of the above isn't going to help much. :) In that case I'd continue to monitor the machine for any problems. If problems occur you could always uninstall one update at a time to see if the issue(s) go away. Again, you'll know which update is giving you headaches.

    As far as the drivers are concerned, when you delete them from Device Manager and reboot, Windows 7 will realize drivers are missing and try to search and reinstall them. Either from it's own cache of drivers within the operating system itself or from the web. Apparently your friend's advice was spot on.

    And one more comment. Restore points serve a very minimum function in restoring a machine. A much better practice is to create a System Image. You can be up and running in about 30 minutes or less and your machine will be exactly like it was when the System Image was made. All user settings, themes, data, all progam updates, everything is intact.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 79
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Problems after M/S Update


    Wow, thanks for the fast reply! I did the M/S update on Friday morning and Friday afternoon is my computer maintenence time. I didn't realize anything was wrong when I created a new restore point. Dang!

    Today, everything seems back to normal and, from now on, I'll take your good advice and create a system image.

    Many thanks,

    Mike
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 10,994
    Win 7 Pro 64-bit
       #4

    You're very welcome, Mike. If I may, and no disrespect intended, a few words about system images. I use a separate external hard drive to store my images on. The built in Windows 7 imaging tool does a good basic job. If you use all of the default settings it will image your entire hard drive and create a file called WindowsImageBackup. If you want to keep more than one image you need to rename that file or it will just be overwritten with whatever data has changed. I do an image every week so what works for me is, my oldest image is renamed WIB090311. My next image on Sept 10 is still named WindowsImageBackup. If I needed to restore my computer to the first image I'd have to rename it back to WindowsImageBackup.

    A lot of folks here recommend other free imaging programs because they offer more flexibility. The ones recommended are Macrium free, Paragon free, and EaseUS free. For absolute simplicity the Windows 7 tool is fine if you don't mind imaging your entire hard drive each time you make an image. The other products let you choose which partition you want to image. So if you used Macrium (just an an example), and if your hard drive has 3 partitions (a manufacturer's recovery partition, a system reserve partition containing the boot manager, and the main C: partition with your Windows 7, other programs, etc) you could image just the C: partition and not keep imaging the other two since they never change. And since I'm a bit paranoid I make two separate images (one with Macrium and one with Windows 7) and store each on a separate external HD. I figure one image might be bad but not both. Hope this all makes sense. :)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2,578
    Vista 64 bit and 32 bit (SP2)
       #5

    Thanks for your excellent suggestions and info in both posts, marsmimar.
    Rep + to you
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 79
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Solved Problems after M/S Update Reply to Thread


    marsmimar said:
    You're very welcome, Mike. If I may, and no disrespect intended, a few words about system images. I use a separate external hard drive to store my images on. The built in Windows 7 imaging tool does a good basic job. If you use all of the default settings it will image your entire hard drive and create a file called WindowsImageBackup. If you want to keep more than one image you need to rename that file or it will just be overwritten with whatever data has changed. I do an image every week so what works for me is, my oldest image is renamed WIB090311. My next image on Sept 10 is still named WindowsImageBackup. If I needed to restore my computer to the first image I'd have to rename it back to WindowsImageBackup.

    :)

    Great advice, mirsmimar! I really appreciate the advice and the "how to" instructions. I'll get to work on this this evening. Again, thank you.

    Mike
      My Computer


 

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