Two days ago my main Compaq laptop suddenly went into conniptions with the blue screen "Windows has encountered a problem and is closing" screen. It closed and restarted only to do the same thing again... and again. The message said something about a "continuous loop".
I started it in Safe Mode and quickly saved my Quicken data and new files onto a thumb drive. Phew! Now I feel a little better. I loaded the Quicken file onto my Asus netbook which has a screen that is too small to properly use Quicken but it was better than nothing. I am so used to using Quicken, I seriously doubt I could do without it for five months.
Well, back to the Compaq. It has a restore partition which I have never used which I believe returns it to the "as it came" condition. This would be a last resort as I do not have my program disks with me and could not reload my programs (read "Quicken").
I thought I would try the Windows Restore function that takes me back in time. I picked the most recent Windows Update date and hit "Enter". It whirred for a while and then opened. All was well. I did several restarts just to make sure but it was fine. The next day it did the Windows Update with no problems. I seem to be fine but I hate it when this happens. I guess something went wrong with the Windows Update download but I will never know for sure. I am at the mercy of Microsoft.
It's a good thing Igor broke down!
11 minutes ago
Windows can be very frustrating, but glad you seem to have everything under control now.
ReplyDeleteGood troubleshooting analysis and decisions, Croft. The Windows Update 'Continuous Loop' issue has arisen periodically with the auto Windows Update program. It could be due to a number of things including the type of anti-virus program you may be running, other software conflicts or simply a bad Microsoft update patch.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you were able to successfully update after restoring your computer to an earlier date should mean you are probably o.k. now.
The Restore feature is a handy feature to have and is quite useful in situations like this.
Thanks Rick, more good luck than good management. I am using MSE for my virus protection so it should play nicely with Windows Update. I am now thinking that Skype might have something to do with it as well as it is now pestering me uo update where it was not before.
DeleteSkype is a pain in the A$$. No matter how many ways I tell it not to open on startup, it always seems to beat me and open, sitting there like an anxious puppy with it's leash in it's mouth.
We're off MS heading towards Apple. Been there, done that,will sacrifice the "learning curve" for what we hope will be saftey. Not saying a PC is better it just seems better for us to have an Apple and less of what you just had.
ReplyDeleteThank the gods for Apple. Never owned a PC, never had any of these problems.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a check for your blood pressure. Good to hear you resolved it, for now. FYI, switch to Magic Jack.
ReplyDelete