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

2011-11-17T22:47:57+00:00

Same thing just happened to me today. It deleted everything on my C drive. How can this be allowed to happen? Dell M4500 with 375 bluetooth module.
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Anonymous

2011-11-05T23:12:12+00:00

Hi ozzyNOLA,

This is not a Windows issue, its an issue for the manufacturers and developers

such as ASUStek and Widcomm/Broadcomm or any other hardware providers

involved.

Wish we could help more however the real answers have to come from those

responsible as indicated several times in this thread.

Hope this helps.

Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Expert - Consumer : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.
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Anonymous

2011-11-05T21:21:26+00:00

Apparently this is still an issue. Just tried to update Widcomm Bluetooth software on an ASUS G73. Downloaded the software directly from Asus' website. The updater began by attempting to uninstall the old version, which took an excessive amount of time. Then an error, 1935. Rebooted computer to find that it would not boot to Windows anymore (Windows 7 Professional 64b) in regular, safemode or anyother mode. Used another program to inspect the contents of the drive to find that all user data and most everything else from the C: drive had been wiped by this rediculous software. This obviously is a serious issue with Widcomm/Broadcomm and it needs to be addressed and corrected.
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Anonymous

2011-07-28T16:48:12+00:00

Same here- Trying to fix a bluetooth driver issue on a Dell Latitiude E6410, I ran the uninstall and it wiped the drive....not corrupted, but it in fact deleted the majority of files on the computer. I'm a computer technician and have never seen such a thing. I ran a restore and got it working again, but not before checking the disk for deleted files with a file recover utility. Sure enough, half the drive had just been deleted outright, before I shut it down.

Is this some kind of sick joke by a disgruntled employee-? Some joke.
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