MSSE Turns off and on.

[parker.casey]

I have a customer who has said that his system running Windows 7 Home Premium x64 with Microsoft Security Essentials continually turns MSSE off and then shortly after it turns back on. Does anyone have any insights? Microsoft was already contacted and I've been searching a bit.

 

[BDPCR]

I have a customer who has said that his system running Windows 7 Home Premium x64 with Microsoft Security Essentials continually turns MSSE off and then shortly after it turns back on. Does anyone have any insights? Microsoft was already contacted and I've been searching a bit.

Might be certain services associated with MSSE or dependent windows services. Check the pc for malware, run SFC and re-install MSSE.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

This program stops and starts with every update. Sounds like an update is stuck and not completing.

Uninstall it and reinstall it or change to one of the other free antivirus programs.

 

[redsmufc]

i had one doing exactly that. i just uninstalled it, and used another free av!

 

[SynergyCompSys]

We've seen this a few times before and usually an uninstall and reinstall fixed it. As a previous poster said, it will also turn off during updates (red with an X) and then turn back on (green).

 

[parker.casey]

i had one doing exactly that. i just uninstalled it, and used another free av!

That's not a fix, and there'd be no reason for somebody to pay for that sort of thing... otherwise I'd just toss out how people WANT the system to run altogether, and force what's easiest for Me. BS, to that.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

That's not a fix, and there'd be no reason for somebody to pay for that sort of thing... otherwise I'd just toss out how people WANT the system to run altogether, and force what's easiest for Me. BS, to that.

Parker, can you please expand on your ideas. I am not sure I understand your comments?

Are you saying that you should not uninstall and reinstall a failed program? or you just don't like switching to another program? And can you say why?

Does solving the problem in this way seem less professional to you? I'd like to know what steps you would take to fix it?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Xander]

I think he's saying that to uninstall a program that should be working just because there's another alternative isn't a fix, it's jumping to the last resort. I completely agree -- I don't uninstall MS Office and put on LibreOffice just because the former has a problem. They're paying me to be able to fix it.

 

[parker.casey]

Parker, can you please expand on your ideas. I am not sure I understand your comments?

Are you saying that you should not uninstall and reinstall a failed program? or you just don't like switching to another program? And can you say why?

Does solving the problem in this way seem less professional to you? I'd like to know what steps you would take to fix it?

Thank you in advance.

Switching to another program is what I'm opposed to, and it does seem less professional. This is a service industry, and we're supposed to be specialists. This customer wants Microsoft Security Essentials, specifically. The only possible reason it could be not working, is that there's an underlying problem with his system. I'm not okay with just tossing whatever seems to work at it. It will work the way the client wants it to. It's a computer - we own them, not the other way.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

I'd give the customer the choice, either I can spend my billable hours investigating why MSE isn't working properly or I can just get rid of it and install something equally or maybe better but also free instead.

I'm not sure that the Office/Libre is a good example tbh, that's something that'd almost certainly need to be looked into properly rather than change the whole suite.

The AV is a utility, kind of in the same way that a PSU is. It doesn't really matter a huge amount which type you use. As long as it works and it works well.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

More on topic, I read somewhere that MSE can sometimes act up when installed on dubious copies of Windows, I would assume that you've checked that your client's copy is genuine but worth mentioning anyway.

 

[Xander]

More on topic, I read somewhere that MSE can sometimes act up when installed on dubious copies of Windows, I would assume that you've checked that your client's copy is genuine but worth mentioning anyway.

Actually, it won't install at all on a non-genuine version. One of the first things it does is check validity and, if it fails, refuse to install. If, however, Windows became non-genuine...somehow... I guess that might apply.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

Actually, it won't install at all on a non-genuine version. One of the first things it does is check validity and, if it fails, refuse to install. If, however, Windows became non-genuine...somehow... I guess that might apply.

Good point.

One of the cracks may have let MSSE install but a subsequent Windows Update detects and disables the crack.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

Switching to another program is what I'm opposed to, and it does seem less professional. This is a service industry, and we're supposed to be specialists. This customer wants Microsoft Security Essentials, specifically. The only possible reason it could be not working, is that there's an underlying problem with his system. I'm not okay with just tossing whatever seems to work at it. It will work the way the client wants it to. It's a computer - we own them, not the other way.

If you are the customer, I will recommend to you the easiest fix and go from there. You are paying the bill so I will make you happy. I wasn't thinking of forcing something on a customer as they usually could care less, they just want it to work.

I have recommended that customers loose their paid Norton Security and let me install a less CPU hog of a security program. But if they say no, I leave the Norton.

Now I have a client that I delivered a new system to 2 months ago and it has Office 2010 on and she is having all manner of problems with word, and printing and Adobe.

We have uninstalled and reinstalled MS updates, the Printer drivers, office and adobe and most of it went away but not all.

I'm not much of a registry hacker so other than cleaning the registry or using some other tool, next stop for her is a reload.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

If you are the customer, I will recommend to you the easiest fix and go from there. You are paying the bill so I will make you happy. I wasn't thinking of forcing something on a customer as they usually could care less, they just want it to work.

I have recommended that customers loose their paid Norton Security and let me install a less CPU hog of a security program. But if they say no, I leave the Norton.

Now I have a client that I delivered a new system to 2 months ago and it has Office 2010 on and she is having all manner of problems with word, and printing and Adobe.

We have uninstalled and reinstalled MS updates, the Printer drivers, office and adobe and most of it went away but not all.

I'm not much of a registry hacker so other than cleaning the registry or using some other tool, next stop for her is a reload.

I agree

You could potentially spend the rest of your life trying to work out why it's not working.

Or just let it go, do the reload, happy productive customer, get paid and move on to the next.