Mojave's just another word for BSOD

October 22, 2008 2:52 PM

VistaFilter: Since installing Service Pack 1, I have had multiple crashes, many of which generate the message "Host process for Windows services has stopped working," cause a BlueScreen error, and reboot. When I attempted to uninstall SP1, Stage 1 got to 98% and then I got the message "Service Pack did not uninstall. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer." This stayed up for about 30 minutes; after it rebooted itself, things appear to be OK (for now, anyway). HP Pavilion desktop dual-core system (model a6120n), 2GB memory, Vista Home Premium.

Until SP1, this system was a reliable little gem, but now it crashes a couple times a day. I'd love to know what's keeping SP1 from uninstalling (is it the other service updates that Windows Update pushes? is it a corrupted block somewhere?) and whether I can get it uninstalled at all, or if it is something else that's causing these host process failures. Please, hivemind Vista gurus, help a girl out.

I will defrag again and do some disk cleanup while awaiting assistance from the green. Thanks in advance!

posted by catlet to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Bluescreens usually driver issues. Did you try visiting windows update or support.hp.com and see if there are any driver updates for vista? Also check for a BIOS update while youre there.

What antivirus do you have? Norton seems to mess up SP1. You might need to uninstall it and try again.
posted by damn dirty ape at 4:49 PM on October 22, 2008

It could well be the other updates. My laptop was running XP just fine up until last weekend when the hard drive failed. I threw a fresh copy of Vista Ultimate sans SP1 on a new drive and had all sorts of troubles once I started installing the Windows Updates (much like you described.) In particular, I found KB938971 (which apparently needs to be installed just so you can later install SP1) to be causing all of the problem. It would give me a blue screen immediately on startup after installation. I could do a system restore back to the point where it installed and that would fix things, but then I'd never be able to install that update again. What good is that?

I was able to get my hands on a copy of Vista w/ SP1 and a fresh install of that has done the trick nicely. The system seems quite stable, even after installing the Windows updates afterwards, and I've actually noticed an increase in performance. I feel blasphemous saying such a thing, but I'm actually kinda impressed with Vista (DRM issues aside, which are completely ludicrous.)

I'm not entirely sure how you would fix the issue you're experiencing, other than to try removing 938971, and seeing if that might help. Also, you can try to uninstall SP1 in safe mode, reboot, enter safe mode again and then reinstall it. You might also try looking at what Microsoft has to say on the subject.

Good Luck.
posted by Rewind at 4:52 PM on October 22, 2008

It sounds rather a lot like you had a virus or malware (which very often hide out in generic host processes) and SP1 fixed whatever vulnerability that malware was exploiting. Boom suddenly their process crashes a lot.

Since you already tried to uninstall a service pack (never a good idea) your very best bet at this point is to back up your data and reformat. That machine is never going to run stable until you do.
posted by Riemann at 10:23 PM on October 22, 2008

antivirus software can definitely mess with system restore, so i wouldn't be suprised if it would mess with an sp1 install/uninstall. seconding removing any AV software and trying again.
posted by onya at 5:01 AM on October 23, 2008

Thanks for the good answers. Unfortunately, solving the Vista problem isn't currently on the table, as the complete hard drive failure trumps everything :)

I wondered whether Norton was contributing. It's a messy thing to uninstall; the last time I uninstalled it, there were still ghost files and processes that persisted at reboot. I think I'll switch AV products the next time I get a new Windows system.

Marking resolved. Thanks again!
posted by catlet at 7:49 AM on October 23, 2008