Troubleshoot Shadow Defender crashing Windows 10? Reboot loop

[CaptnAmerca]

Briefly explain your current issue(s)

System stuck in the startup procedure. Screen displays "Please Wait...", and the spinning processing icon thingy.

Steps taken to resolve, but have been unsuccessful

None at the moment. I had to leave for work.

There must be some conflict between Shadow Defender and either Windows 10, or some other program.

Other security software I have installed and running at the time of the problem:

- Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro
- Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Pro
- Avira AV
- Sandboxied Firefox browser with ublock origins, disconnect
- UAC set to maximum
- SmartScreen enabled (had to authorize installation of Shadow Defender setup.exe)

 

[jamescv7]

Seems SD may suffer some serious problem considering that virtualization is a side story that an actual OS may affect on the behavior especially when the program didn't manage the issue very well.

For the meantime, try to access Safe Mode by tapping Shift key if you can manage in order to remove the faulty possible software.

 

[hjlbx]

SD can have corrupted installation.

It happens.

If desktop, unplug then replug and try to restart.

If laptop, remove battery, wait a few minutes, use AC adapter and then try to restart.

If does not fix, you can enter Safe Mode and uninstall SD.

A standard thing to do is to run sfc /scannow from an Admin command line console to verify the OS file integrity.

If that doesn't work you might have to clean install Windows from recovery media or backup image.

NOTE: I, as well as many others use SD on W10 without issue. I am not saying you're not experiencing a problem - I am just pointing out that there are many of us that use SD on W10. So I am not diminishing what you are reporting and I personally think it is unfortunate mess.

Somehow the installation went awry or the reboot didn't rebuild the system properly after Shadow Mode.

It is rare, but it does happen.

Fixing such things is almost always a trial-and-error process.

 

[CaptnAmerca]

Based on the great reviews on this, and other forums, I have no doubt that SD works on Windows 10. There is definitely something going on on my end. I have no idea how to figure it out though.

I'm not sure it's the installation file. This might be the second time this has happened. I downloaded the trail version of SD about three weeks ago. Played around Shadow Mode, but didn't reboot the computer for several days. The same problem of never getting past the loading screen happened, but at the time, I thought the problem was a Windows Update that crashed me. It didn't occur to me that it might have been SD. I had to do a clean install of Windows 10 and start from scratch.

Now I'm at the same point. I think it's unlikely that I stumbled upon two instances of a corrupt installation file, but not impossible.

I tend to believe your second theory, that it didn't rebuild the system properly after the reboot. Even if I have to do another clean install, and recover my files, how do I prevent this from happening again? I still have the lifetime license for SD, and I want it to work.

 

[russ0408]

I had problems with Shadow Defender to. I went to reboot to come out of Shadow mode and a notice came up I had a disk error. Then it finally started to reboot then the BSOD came up. So finally it rebooted and when I got everything back to normal I uninstalled Shadow Defender. Never had a problem since.

 

[frogboy]

There is no problems with Shadow defender here on Windows 10.

 

[CaptnAmerca]

Three day weekend. Time to fix. Since I don't have any better options, I've started a reinstall of Windows 10. Frustratingly, the system restore points have disappeared. It says no restore points can be found, when I know that I've made two restore points since the last crash three weeks ago. Luckily I have a backup usb drive.

Once it finishes reinstalling Windows, how should I go about testing Shadow Defender? I don't want to give up on it. It works fine for other Win 10 users. What steps should I take from a clean install starting point?

 

[hjlbx]

I wish I had the answer on how to go about preventing it from happening again.

Since it could be a thousand things, it is difficult to provide any steps that would completely resolve the matter.

I would do a clean install of OS.

Before installing any other softs I would install SD and try it.

If there are any problems - at least this way you eliminate conflicts caused by any other soft - except between Windows and SD.

What you are experiencing is rare for SD, but like all things IT, SD has had various quirks on specific systems in the past.

If it keeps happening, then I would submit a bug report or support ticket to Tony at ShadowDefender.com.

 

[CaptnAmerca]

Thanks. At this early stage, I feel like there's at least a 50 percent chance of user error going on. I'm reinstalling Win 10 right now. First thing I'll do is install SD. I want to document properly in case it goes wrong again. Any suggestions on what I should be looking for?

 

[hjlbx]

Thanks. At this early stage, I feel like there's at least a 50 percent chance of user error going on. I'm reinstalling Win 10 right now. First thing I'll do is install SD. I want to document properly in case it goes wrong again. Any suggestions on what I should be looking for?

I would test by entering Shadow Mode, surf a while and then exit Shadow Mode.

While testing I would just use SD default settings.

Take your time. Don't make it too complicated.

 

[CaptnAmerca]

I really appreciate the replies. When you enter Shadow Mode, do you "shadow" all drives? Last install, my options were C:, D: (the image drive), and E: (a USB storage drive). I selected them all.

 

[hjlbx]

I really appreciate the replies. When you enter Shadow Mode, do you "shadow" all drives? Last install, my options were C:, D: (the image drive), and E: (a USB storage drive). I selected them all.

I would just Shadow your image drives and leave the flash drive out.

Then, if that works out OK, add the flash drive.

Process of elimination...

 

[CaptnAmerca]

Holy crap, what a mess this has turned into!

Update. Been trying all day to reset and reinstall Windows. It got about 45 percent through the reinstall process, then stopped. Got an error said something occurred during install. Can't complete.

I don't know how much was wiped out. Right now, upon restart, the automatic repair tool takes over, but doesn't fix anything. I tried downloading a c clean install of Windows 10 on a USB and selecting "boot from USB" on the troubleshooting options, but Automatic Repair takes over, and it doesn't boot. Frustration setting in. Not sure how to reboot any other way. Can get to a command prompt, but don't know what I can do from there. X: on the command line

 

[hjlbx]

Holy crap, what a mess this has turned into!

Update. Been trying all day to reset and reinstall Windows. It got about 45 percent through the reinstall process, then stopped. Got an error said something occurred during install. Can't complete.

I don't know how much was wiped out. Right now, upon restart, the automatic repair tool takes over, but doesn't fix anything. I tried downloading a c clean install of Windows 10 on a USB and selecting "boot from USB" on the troubleshooting options, but Automatic Repair takes over, and it doesn't boot. Frustration setting in. Not sure how to reboot any other way. Can get to a command prompt, but don't know what I can do from there. X: on the command line

Automatic repair is taking over because something is damaged.

If you can get to command line run sfc /scannow.

Clean installing Windows from USB doesn't always work. It is very possible that at this point you need recovery media.

See Hiren's - search for "repair"; will find various options: Hiren's BootCD 15.2 - All in one Bootable CD » www.hiren.info

Actually, there are good tutorials on how to rebuild Windows. Search for repair\rebuild Windows online.

It's worth a shot at this point...

 

[CaptnAmerca]

I'll take a crack at it tomorrow with some coffee and bacon. Thanks for the help all day