Unable to boot - Safe Mode stops after crcdisk.sys

Thank you for your reply. I was just about to run the MRT. I checked the date. It is indeed the August 2011 tool, timestamp 2011-07-30 10:40:34 am, Digital Signature is 12:44:15 pm. I have also noticed something that may be the reason that the Windows Updates refuse to run--despite the fact that the Action Center reports nothing amiss/no action needs to be taken; AND the C:\HOTFIX folder contains files with dates no later than April---which means that although my list of installed updates in Control Panel shows 70 updates installed since 9/1, NONE of them have actually taken effect for some reason---most likely due to the certificate validation/timestamping error mentioned in a previous posting. Please pardon the runon sentences and circuitous thought processes, but what I have noticed is that .NET and Visual Studio are completely screwed up in several ways; chiefly among them are timestamping issues and "Compatability" and "Compatability Data". I had an error message in Event Viewer (I had to go scrounging for it; it was hard to find!) that "the 'flavor' or version of Microsoft Visual Studio did not match". When I looked closer, I discovered that I have Visual Studio 2005 and 2008, but data from Visual Studio 2010; with product versions 10.0.30319 and 10.0.30319.1. (Both numbers are product versions; not a product version and a file version) Each is the same for 32-bit and 64-bit. For all this mess, Permissions granted are  'Read' and 'Execute' to IIS_IUSRS (Anonymous Web users)  Granting the Anonymous web user Read and Execute privileges to .Net and Visual Basic applications and data on a machinecan't possibly be a good idea! Correct me if I'm wrong...

(I have no web server enabled on this machine, no remote access applications; it's a standalone system with no home network; built specifically without a wireless card) There is a very long list of such privileges having been granted (not by me!) by the time I received the machine. I noticed something on the new 9/1 HD that wasn't on the OEM Dell HD from 8/16: SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition, which I have read in the bulletin boards as having conflicts with .NET,Visual Studio...I have seen so many conflicts ---including numerous I/O and Memory Resource Conflicts between key system devices that my teeth hurt from all the jaw-clenching!  :-( 

There are also cryptographic applications running that I did not configure; which could indicate to me that I may be 'locked out' of portions/partitions?) of my own hard drive? I have 409 GB free of 452 available GB, on a 500 GB HD--brand new; with basically no data on it yet. I know I'm not going to get every single kb of storage out of this 500GB HD, but how much space can an OS take up?? Certainly not close to 100 GB--there are no on-board backups, and only the Dell diagnostics, etc--which I wonder would even be effective. Kaspersky and TrendMicro Housecall report nothing unusual going on. It's only due to prior experience with oddly-dated timestamps/DigSigs that I even had reason to go snooping aroung. In the earlier case, I had a Vista machine with RunDll32, Consent.exe, et. al with 1969 dates, and MS Visual Basic with a 1904 date. FSUtil.exe had a date of AD 1601. There were other examples on that machine of JDLR--Just Doesn't Look Right---and that machine NEVER went online...Keeping it offline was the only way to prove to the mfr and to the retailer that these "hacks" (for want of a better word) were not the result of "Stupid Human Tricks". Kaspersky picked up 4 critical vulnerabilities on that machine; including a "suspicious' svchost.exe; with 16 month old virus definitions and signatures. I'm not a programmer, but I'm not so much of a neophyte that I can turn a blind eye to these anomalies. I'm a statistician by training, and all of these add up to much more than coincidence!

I'm going to try the Dell Diagnostics and the MRT-- in that order. It may be time to once again ask Dell to 'pretty-please-stop-fannying-about' and provide some of their stellar customer service... I really do appreciate your input. You've given me something to go on---and some hope!

The 1969 dates are really strange ....

Those files should be located under System32 folder.

Mine have 2009-07-14 03:39 as time-stamp which looks reasonable for me. If a rundll32.exe, svchost.exe etc. is found outside System32 folder it is imho a ad-ware, virus or some other usefulness stuff.

If it was a real clean installation without internet access than only the source (DVD) is infected which would be a shame for DELL ...

No updates: You may run a registry clean-up ... Something is really strange on your machine.

Try:

1. Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MRT.exe - Aug 2011 - timestamp: 2011-07-30 10:40)
2. Install MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) and run a full scan

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I do have a warranty, It's a 3 year PRO warranty that thus far has been neither PROfessional nor PROactive!

The reason I mentioned the security certificates is that the system came with 139 trusted root certification authorities preinstalled; with perhaps a dozen or more of the certificates' intended purpose (when viewed) to be used for technologies that weren't even in existence back when the certificate was issued; as far as I know; e.g. 1997 and 1999 Bitlocker and  EFS/Encrypted File System Key Recovery Agent and other functions associated with EFS. There are others as well, including certificates for timestamping make it seem that 'the fox is guarding the henhouse,' if you know what I'm saying. This may be why I'm getting bounced back and forth between Dell and Microsoft; with each denying ownership of any issues--which don't even exist; as far as they're concerned!

A Dell agent guided me through a :Clean: install that turned out not to be so clean after all...After that reinstall, I insisted that they replace my hard disk, (which came with only 9 trusted root certification authorities, BTW) but it also came with the same non-updated Windows, Java, and Adobe vulnerabilities...When I received the system, new; BITS was stopped, and it's required for Windows Updates(Plug and Play, Security Center, and Event Viewer were also disabled. Tablet PC and Terminal Server were both enabled. This is a standalone system--no network, nada. )

Now the system won't run any updates, and I noticed something else that is peculiar IMHO: All windows updates had a Sept. 1 install date, the date that the tech installed the new HD. .NET 4 had updates Sept 3, then suddenly some updates showed install dates of Feb 2011 and Nov 2010. Is this normal?  I also have files on here from HP--driver files under DiFxApi that are unsigned, and others that are dated December 31, 1969--my favorite issue--I have also seen this on a Vista machine that was never hooked up to the Internet, my Kaspersky picked up svchost.exe, rundll32.exe, consent.exe, and several other important processes with the 1969 date--and no internet access-ever!!

Back to this Windows 7 machine: the lsass has a digital signature 16 months after its creation date! Something is rotten in Denmark....doyathink?

Oh, and thank you very much for the suggestion of the Dell Diagnostics. Sorry about the boldface. (I just looked up.) I'm not shouting!! :-)

Since your system is brand new it has to be supported by DELL? (depending on your contract; usually you have 2-year-pick-up service or something similar)

What you should do before: Run the DELL diagnostic tools (you should have the DELL CD-ROM).

If it is a hardware related problem, DELL (or the retailer where you bought it) has to care about it and fix it without of any charge.

I had a similar problem (no hardware problem) but in my case only a clean installation did it. My DELL laptop is three years old so no support by DELL etc.

Again, it is a brand new device and has to be supported!

Quote: "Security certificates issues et.al. are 'not their problem" ... IMHO Security certificates have nothing to do with the problem described here.

Good luck!

Hi Y'all

I'm almost hesitant to post this, but here goes:

I have a brand new Windows 7 64 bit system that has given me nothing but trouble. I am still digging into a good OS manual and online resources but sometimes I have questions for which answers are not readily available. I am being consistently rebuffed by Dell, who says that my security certificates issues et.al. are 'not their problem,' and that the many device conflicts among System Devices that I see in the Device Manager are not their purview. Digging deeper into the System Information Summary, I see that the Crcdisk Filter Driver's state is 'Stopped', and its start mode is 'Disabled'. I remember from before I migrated to Hackintosh, (I just returned to Windows 1 month ago) that crc stands for 'cyclic redundancy check' and that it is a very important process. It concerns me that this is stopped/disabled. Do y'all have any suggestions for me (be kind, please!) about this?

Any ideas on resources where I can go to get the real down-and- dirty details about Windows 7--the things my excellent OS manual won't tell me--such as the default settings for services, which of these system drivers should be running, and what to do when I see timestamp anomalies; e.g. a file's timestamp is several hours and minutes after its creation date? This is in several critical files such as svchost.exe., sc.exe., the several task scheduler modules, print spooler, client/server runtime process, and local security authority process---here the timestamp is a year and 4 months off...but my AV (Kaspersky) has reported nothing amiss....Is it possible malware is shutting down system functions necessary for safe operation? I DO have DEP enabled on everything.

I appreciate any advice you can give me. If you feel this is more appropriate for a different board, please let me know.