AlienFx error and Microsoft FrameNet error

Hey guys,

A few days ago, everything was working just peachy on my M18x R2, then just out of no where, I noticed upon booting into windows that the wireless connection was not connecting, and alienwarefx along with microsoft security essentials failed to load. From that point, nothing would work and i got two crashes, one for alienFx and another for frameNet. I can't system restore, install, uninstall, pretty much do anything (including opening files).

Only thing that works is google chrome. I'm wondering if this has affected anyone else, as it seems to be related to an ms update. Chime in if you've figured out how to fix it.

thanks.

 

Darn, I hate when stuff like this happens. There is a good chance your system got screwed up royally by Windows Updates. Stuff like this happened to me a number of times in the past couple of years. Around 9 months ago I disabled Windows Updates and haven't had an issue like this one since then. It could be malware other than Microsoft's own, but I suspect it's not unless you have been visiting malicious web sites. If you cannot use System Restore you will likely have to do a clean OS install. That's what I had to do every time. Run checkdisk and try sfc /scannow to rule out data loss or corruption to see if that helps. There is a chance that it may.

 

Mr. Fox, looks like its a widespread issue:

Error on boot: Alienware AlienFX Controller - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

thankfully, I followed these step by step instructions and all is good for now. I thought my ssd had failed. What a headache the past 5 days has been.

from the dell community forums:

"
Boot to safe mode (tap F8 repeatedly during bootup). My computer worked fine from safe mode (including wifi when I booted into safe mode with Internet access). In normal mode everything was slowing done and/or hanging including MSE and Windows uninstaller refused to work (the first thing I tried was uninstalling both Alienware Command Center and Microsoft Security Essentials).
Open Microsoft Security Essentials. Do a program search for it from the start menu if you're not sure where it is.
Open the "Settings" tab. Should be the last one on the right
Click on the excepted file locations. In the left-hand bar ('m on a Japanese OS, so I'm not sure exactly what it's called in English).
Hit the Browse button and select the Alienware Folder. I did a file search from Windows Explorer and found that aside from shortcuts and user preferences most Alienware files were stored in C:\Program Files\Alienware.
Click "Add".
Click "Save changes."
Click the real-time protection. Again, in the left-hand bar... not exactly sure if the English name is the same.
Unclick real-time protection (if it is enabled).
Click "Save changes."
Reboot.
"

Probably best to turn auto win updates off like you've done Fox. Looks like Microsoft security essentials might be the culprit.

 

Good info. Thanks for sharing it. +1 rep. I excluded everything in both Alienware folders.



I am running a clean Windows 7 SP1 installation without any Windows Updates. (Well OK almost none... Windows sneaked in 12 updates without permission before I could disable it.) From reading in the DCF thread it looks like Windows Updates changed something and maybe screwed up MSE in the process, too. Another option might be to ditch MSE if the folder exclusions alone is not enough for some folks. All of the problems I had in the past it seemed were related to .NET framework and C++ getting screwed up by Windows Updates.

 

I don't know if this is related, but on occasion, I get a fast moving warning blurb from Alien Respawn " couldn't blah, blah, blah...referencing C++" then disappearing off the screen....

Edit: I don't run MSE though.....

 

It certainly could be related to the same issue. I don't have Respawn any more, but I know the error you are referring to. I have seen it before.

 

The errors I got were so bad that it rendered the machine worthless. I could not even close a file in windows. It is definitely a windows/mse error though.

 

Was this after the last patch Tuesday?.....I remember reading something about the updates from the last patch Tuesday causing untold grief, and another set of unscheduled patches released to undo the damage from the patch Tuesday....this maybe totally unrelated....there was a suggestion from somewhere to turn off the auto update because of the mayhem that was being caused....forgive me if I haven't got this quite right.....

 

Yeah, I've had MS auto-update off forever. I get notified when I should download and install them, but not having ever really had a virus or serious malware, I think it's not too dangerous to wait a few days before applying any of the newest ones. The chance of you getting something in that small window is really small I think. Especially since no one, I'm assuming is really targeting your home computer behind your home network.

 

Me too, I've always turned them off as soon as I install Windows

 

If you do not randomly open files, emails and attachments from unknown sources and do not indiscriminately visit web sites that push malware there is a relatively low risk. And, a fix is as simple as restoring the volume from an image. If you create an image of your fully loaded and pristine system, you lose nothing but the few minutes it takes to restore the drive image. I have gone for months at a time with no antivirus software and no Microsoft security fixes without issues. For folks that know how to effectively deal with their own OS problems, the emphasis placed on security software and patches is blown way out of proportion. This is especially true of Microsoft's updates, as they proactively address conceptual vulnerabilities and more extreme what-if scenarios that they could have some liability for if not addressed. While the free products are generally more than adequate, antivirus and anti-malware vendors benefit financially from fanning the flames of fear and creating extra drama around security concerns. But, for those folks that do not pay attention, like to visit malicious web sites, and do not know how to effectively deal with the consequences, it is pretty important to have a secure system. The greatest security risk of all is end user ignorance, and security software vendors do a pretty decent job of protecting those people from themselves.

 

Holy crap, you just EXACTLY described the issues I was having down to every single detail... Too bad I didnt notice this thread and reinstalled windows, as I could have otherwise fixed it. Definitely +1 for your work. Thanks!