Widcomm Uninstalltion wipes out the computer. New Virus or Windows Voulnerability.

Anonymous

VERY SERIOUS BUG/VULNERABILITY WIDCOMM BLUETOOTH SOFTWARE

Uninstalling Widcomm bluetooth software from control panel wipes out all data, programs and the boot sector on the computer.

I have tried to report this to microsoft but can't find out how. Please report this to the appropirate department.

I have windows 7 home premium. I tried to update my widcomm bluetooth software by downloading and installing the upgrade. The installation fails giving error 1935. After that the existing widcomm software becomes nonoperational. I tried to uninstall the widcomm bluetooth software from control panel the message "please wait while windows configures Bluetooth software". As it works all files from the hard drive are deleted, the desktop becomes empty, all open programs are deleted, all app data is deleted, the start menu becomes empty and finally it asks to reboot. After reboot the computer gives boot error message and does not boot up.

I had to install windows again to get the computer working. All data was lost. The anti virus was up to date and recent scans were all good. Windows was up to date. It appears that the error is from windows uninstaller some how going haywire when trying to remove widcomm bluetooth software. After restoring my computer I installed widcomm bluetooth software, copied the hard drive and tried to uninstall widcomm again. Results were exactly the same and I got screen shots from the beginning to the end. I have tried it on multiple computers with the same results (cloned the disk before)

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Anonymous

Hi widcommbug,

yes, things are getting wild here...I don´t know why.

Maybe I can help you, here is what I did- and it worked:

I´ve deinstalled all versions of widcomm bluetooth software with the windows program deinstallation in the system tools.
I´ve restarted the PC
I´ve cleaned up the registry with a tool (I do not rely on any, I´ve used registry mechanic, which is the same as Norton Utillities 14- but it works more or less)
I´ve downloaded the latest version of widcomm bluethooth software here:

http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f237/widcomm-bluetooth-driver-6-4-0-670-a-1197332/

click on "deposit files", and you´ll get version 6.3.0.7000 of Lenovo widcomm bluetooth software which is the same

as original widcomm bluetooth.

Download it.
Extract it to a folder
Only use the file Broadcom_Bluetooth_6.4.0.670.exe out of the zip archive. Drop the rest.
If you´ll click on this .exe file you´ll only get some weird screen all filled up with ????, so you´ll have to use a different way:
Exctract Broadcom_Bluetooth_6.4.0.670.exe once again to a folder and then click on the file setup.exe

Then, the software will install correctly.

Well, this is weird, agreed. I found it out only a few trials. Remember, this software is leaked from Lenovo, but

it is the latest version I found, it is 100% Widcomm Bluetooth Software.

Here you have prove of what Widcomm is doing:

It does not provide the latest widcomm bluetooth software for free, but only for notebook manufacturers.

Widcomm doesn´t give a single hint on this policy on their homepage- private customers seem to be

unimportant for Widcomm- and still no amendment with the update bug in this software- really poor.

But no way to kid me.

Andy

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97 additional answers

Anonymous

2010-10-24T08:40:51+00:00

Let's face it - as harmful as it is the issue doesn't seem to occur that often. There doesn't seem to be much response from other users (on this forum or anywhere else).

It might just happen when certain conditions are met: for example you install Widcomm Bluetooth Software 6.2.0.9000 (or earlier), then you upgrade to 6.2.1.0100 then you upgrade to 6.2.1.1500 and then you attempt to upgrade to 6.2.1.2600. The Windows Installer error 1935 comes up, so you attempt to uninstall the software and your files from system drive are gone. However, should you upgrade to 6.2.1.2600 from version 6.2.1.0100 (or later) directly then the upgrade works fine (at least on my laptop).

It's also possible that it was silently fixed in the latest version (6.3.0.6800). So it just might be safe to use (of course back your data up, just in case).
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Anonymous

2010-10-23T21:49:11+00:00

The issue is not with updating or upgrading. It happens if you try to remove the damn thing from your computer by uninstalling it through the control panel. I am not updating or doing any changes to my BT software until this issue is resolved.
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Anonymous

2010-10-23T19:40:13+00:00

I update Widcomm/Broadcom Bluetooth software using this page. You can download an installer that will check if your Bluetooth adapter is indeed supported (be sure to switch it on). If it is it will download and install the drivers/software.

Edit: It seems that the latest version of Bluetooth Stack from Broadcom's installer is 6.3.0.6800. The upgrade from 6.2.1.2600 went smoothly inmy case.
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Anonymous

2010-10-23T19:29:01+00:00
Hi all,

I don´t really know what´s going on here,

but it´s the same story as before.

I found Wicomm Bluetooth Software release 6.4 here:

http://www.uploadcity.com/?q=widcomm+bluetooth+software+6.4.0.

I can not download it because I´m not a meber of this community.

I think it´s out of question that something weird is going on here.

Some questions I have to which I could not find the answers:
1. Why is nobody giving support on Widcomm Bluetooth software ?
2. Where comes this mess with the version numbers come from ?
3. Why does the official software update site from Broadcomm not work ?
Too much questions, too much bugs and not the right answers.

Anyway, this is a case of very poor support, not user-friendly and

even somehow case of malicious software.

How can that be ?
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