Windows wants me to restart evey time I log in

[johnburn]

Well not every time, but every time AFTER the first login. I start up my computer and log in, no problem. Then I log out, and log back in again. As soon as Windows finishes loading the desktop, the following pop-up message appears:

You must restart your computer to apply these changes.
Before restarting, save any open files and close all programs.
[Restart Now] [Restart Later]​

Needless to say, I click on "Restart Later". A bit of background info:

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit) from Windows XP Professional. Win 7 was a clean install (obviously) but I did use the "Windows Easy Transfer Wizard for Windows 7" utility to transfer my files and settings from XP to 7. So I believe that this may be due to some setting or parameter that was transferred from XP.

The second point of note is that this only occurs when I completely disable "User Account Control" (which is always). As a power user who follows common-sense computing practices, I find UAC extremely intrusive and annoying, so I refuse to use it. Besides, I still use "old" programs that won't easily run otherwise because they are unsigned.

I even tried disabling all non-M$ services and all start-up programs with "msconfig" and the message still appears on the second and subsequent logins. Any ideas?

Thanks,
John

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello johnburn, welcome to Seven Forums!


The first thing to do is to download and install the free version of MBAM from the link below after that do a full / complete scan with Malwarebytes to see if it finds any malware and post back with the results.


Malwarebytes Free Virus Scanner

 

[whs]

Disabling the UAC is very risky and really not recommended. I suggest you read this article that explains the logic. And especially in Win7 it is really only a minor intrusion.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Disabling the UAC is very risky and really not recommended. I suggest you read this article that explains the logic. And especially in Win7 it is really only a minor intrusion.

.+1

 

[johnburn]

Hello johnburn, welcome to Seven Forums!

The first thing to do is to download and install the free version of MBAM from the link below after that do a full / complete scan with Malwarebytes to see if it finds any malware and post back with the results.

Thanks for the welcome @BFK. I have found this site to be extremely useful so far, especially in making my version of 7 more XP-like. Welcome back Quick Launch Bar, good to see you again!

I have installed MBAM and run a full scan (see attachment). No problems found...

John

 

[johnburn]

Disabling the UAC is very risky and really not recommended. I suggest you read this article that explains the logic. And especially in Win7 it is really only a minor intrusion.

Hi @whs.

I know that disabling UAC is risky. I read the suggested article and didn't learn anything that I didn't already know. To me, UAC does what it is supposed to do, but it isn't the "be all and end all". It's really just Microsoft's way of trying to "fix" a bad (albeit not bad at the time Windows was first created) OS design. It's really a band-aid.

That being said, I would agree that most users, especially those that take risks such as going to websites like Pirate Bay or file sharing, definitely should use it. However, I use my PC primarily for work, which is tech support. 90% of my computer use is logging into Linux based systems via VPNs and other secure connections. The other 10% is using older (unsigned) applications that have been safely used for years. In this very specific scenario, UAC is an annoyance, pure and simple. I have one application that is unsigned that I open probably a 100 times a day. That "beep" and having to click the ack screen very soon wears you down. Therefore I will not use UAC for this particular PC.

I also do a full backup every night. If in the highly unlikely event I do get hit by a worm or other malware, I would simply restore from backup. Problem solved while I go for coffee...

John

 

[Lomai]

Hi john

Any hardware you have running under compatibility mode?

 

[johnburn]

Hi john

Any hardware you have running under compatibility mode?

Not that I am aware of @Lomai. I certainly didn't configure any hardware manually and all my drivers are Win7 signed drivers. Is there an easy way to find out without going through every device one by one?

John

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello again johnburn.



If this issue only occurs while UAC is disabled, maybe a re-think is in order as there are ways to run trusted programs / apps without a UAC prompt, have a look at the tutorial at the link below.


How to Create a Elevated Program Shortcut without a UAC Prompt

 

[electrotune1200]

Have you tried creating a new user account? Test the new user account for a few days and see if the problem is resolved. If it is, just delete the account that was giving you problems.

 

[electrotune1200]

Also... Have you ever just clicked "Restart Now" ?

 

[johnburn]

Have you tried creating a new user account? Test the new user account for a few days and see if the problem is resolved. If it is, just delete the account that was giving you problems.

A very good suggestion @electrotune1200! I tried this and unfortunately the new account was similarly affected on the second and subsequent logins after a restart. Didn't seem to matter whether the account was set up as a "Standard User" or an "Administrator". Even the "Guest" account is affected...

John

 

[johnburn]

Also... Have you ever just clicked "Restart Now" ?

I have, and the same thing still happens on the second and subsequent logins after a restart.

John

 

[johnburn]

Hello again johnburn.

If this issue only occurs while UAC is disabled, maybe a re-think is in order as there are ways to run trusted programs / apps without a UAC prompt, have a look at the tutorial at the link below.

How to Create a Elevated Program Shortcut without a UAC Prompt

Hi @BFK. I had a look at the article in the link and created a couple of shortcuts for the unsigned programs I need to use and it works very nicely thank you very much! So I have enabled UAC which isn't a bad thing to do these days! So I think this ended up being a "win win" for all...

Thanks for the help and suggestions everyone!

John

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello again John.



I'm glad we were able to help you find a solution; thanks for the update.