New prevx free version kills my keyboard (3.0.5.104 & 106)

[tcyca]

I can't type anything after installing prevx free version 3.0.5.104 today; the keyboard is not working at all. i suspect it is the new module pxkbf.sys, prevx keyboard security, that caused this. I have removed my keyboard device driver and update the latest driver from microsoft. I have changed new battery to eliminate that possibility. The device driver shows that the keyboard is working properly and has good battery level and strong wireless signal. My mouse and keyboard is from the same microsoft wireless desktop set, and the mouse has no problem operating. I have removed prevx 3.0.5.104 and update to the latest version 3.0.5.106; uninstall both versions; and even using official prevx remover; still couldn't get my keyboard back again. Either prevx messd up with keyboard device driver and/or incompatible with KAV as i notice that the pdm askes for approval of driver/pxkbf.sys intercepting keyboard stroke which i did allow, but the strange thing is that the pdm pop up occur only right after uninstalling prevx, but not during or after prevx install or while its real time protection is running. Prevx is the only software i installed recently.

If no one can resolve this issue, i am afraid i have to reinstall windows which is time consuming and i hate that. i probably would not touch in the cloud av again, especially prevx.

windows xp sp3 32 bits
kav 2010 9.0.0.736(a)
online armor premium firewall 4.0.0.15
microsoft wireless comfort keyboard 1.0a
microsoft wireless optical mouse 2.0

[tcyca]

Sorry for posting this; I should have done more research before posting the problem. I found the solution from microsoft support website, but I don't know if Prevx is really causing this; may be not. Method 1: Resynchronize your device with the receiver does solve my problem. This may be informative for those who may encounter the same problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838398

[Cudni]

-{ Quote: "This may be informative for those who may encounter the same problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838398" }-
always useful to have a solution to a problem posted. Thanks.

[lol_84]

I had the same problem.

Yesterday, I installed the new version of prevx 3.0.5.106. After that, prevx would to reboot the pc to enable the monitor. I rebooted but my mouse and my keyboard (with PS/2 interfaces) stopped to work. I tried to visit this link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838398, but nothing. Then I tried to disinstall prevx. Nothing again.

I reformatted my pc and now all it is ok. Any solutions before installing prevx again?
Thanks for your attention. Best regards.

[lol_84]

-{ Quote: "I had the same problem.

Yesterday, I installed the new version of prevx 3.0.5.106. After that, prevx would to reboot the pc to enable the monitor. I rebooted but my mouse and my keyboard (with PS/2 interfaces) stopped to work. I tried to visit this link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838398, but nothing. Then I tried to disinstall prevx. Nothing again.

I reformatted my pc and now all it is ok. Any solutions before installing prevx again?
Thanks for your attention. Best regards." }-

Any idea? Thank you again.

[Cudni]

if you removed prevx and keyboard still was not working prevx is most likely not to blame. do you have the latest patches and drivers for your machine and various software on it? If yes try prevx again

[lol_84]

-{ Quote: "if you removed prevx and keyboard still was not working prevx is most likely not to blame" }-

Can you explain me this sentence? I can't understand it!

Thank you.

[PrevxHelp]

Hello all,
Please let me know if any problems persist with keyboard protection. It looks as if tcyca solved their problems but it could be down to an AV blocking Prevx from installing properly or other hardware layer incompatibilities.

Ensure that if you do uninstall Prevx, do not remove files manually - remove them using the build-in uninstaller, as Windows requires a specific sequence of routines to remove entries within the system.

Thank you for the help! :)

[pling_man]

I had a problem with 106 too. I could boot to the Windows login screen but my mouse and keyboard wouldn't work, so I couldn't login (even in safe mode >:( ). This only occured when I rebooted after uninstalling keyscrambler (which I just found too annoying to live with), so it could be unrelated to prevx.

I have everything back to normal now (thankfully I keep regular images of windows installation on C: and my user documents are on another drive ;D ), and I have now re-installed prevx from the website (version 3.0.5.106).

I would be interested to see a changelog for 106.

[lol_84]

-{ Quote: "Hello all,
Please let me know if any problems persist with keyboard protection. It looks as if tcyca solved their problems but it could be down to an AV blocking Prevx from installing properly or other hardware layer incompatibilities.

Ensure that if you do uninstall Prevx, do not remove files manually - remove them using the build-in uninstaller, as Windows requires a specific sequence of routines to remove entries within the system.

Thank you for the help! :)" }-

Hi Joe, I will try to reinstall prevx tomorrow..Yesterday I encountered this behaviour. In any case, if the problem will persist, How can I fix this problem?
Is Prevx 3.0.5.106 an official release or not? From this forum I see that Prevx 3.0.5.106 is marked as RC. What does RC stand for? I think release candidate but I'm not sure.

Thank you for your attention.

[pling_man]

I want to know if its RC (Release Candidate) as well. I got version 106 from a clean install of the "latest" version so I guess its an official release but we've not had an official view posted yet.

[lol_84]

-{ Quote: "I have everything back to normal now (thankfully I keep regular images of windows installation on C: and my user documents are on another drive ;D ), and I have now re-installed prevx from the website (version 3.0.5.106)" }-

Hi pling_man,

I see that you have reinstalled prevx (3.0.5.106). Does it work for you? or do you encounter the same problem (mouse and keyboard stop to work)? I won't to reinstall prevx if the problem persist. :'(

Edit: to be clear, I will reinstall prevx when I'm sure that the problem will be fixed (I paid my full license, so I would have prevx installed because I find prevx a very good tool)

Have a good weekend!!!

[pling_man]

Its working for me now. I just uninstalled everything using the windows uninstaller, then ran the prevx uninstall tool from the support website, then rebooted, then installed.

[Triple Helix]

So far for me PSO has never messed up my Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse for my Laptop :thumb:

TH

[lol_84]

-{ Quote: "then ran the prevx uninstall tool" }-

Where I can find this tool? Thank you.

[pling_man]

Its near the bottom of the list on the right of this page

http://info.prevx.com/service.asp

[Triple Helix]

-{ Quote: "Its near the bottom of the list on the right of this page

http://info.prevx.com/service.asp" }-

Thanks I was wondering where it was also! I will download and keep it in case I ever need to use it!

TH

[PrevxHelp]

Hello all,
The uninstall issue with KeyScrambler does appear to be a bug in Prevx's protection, although under normal circumstances Prevx should not negatively affect the performance of your keyboard.

Build 106 does not have any keyboard-related changes in it, but I'll be posting a changelog shortly to clarify the other changes.

In the meantime, you should disable Prevx protection when uninstalling KeyScrambler or other similar programs.

Let me know if you find any other issues!

[Triple Helix]

-{ Quote: "Hello all,
The uninstall issue with KeyScrambler does appear to be a bug in Prevx's protection, although under normal circumstances Prevx should not negatively affect the performance of your keyboard.

Build 106 does not have any keyboard-related changes in it, but I'll be posting a changelog shortly to clarify the other changes.

In the meantime, you should disable Prevx protection when uninstalling KeyScrambler or other similar programs.

Let me know if you find any other issues!" }-

I don't use KeyScrambler so that is the reason it doesn't affect my Desktop with MS Wireless keyboard and mouse? Great ;D

TH

[pling_man]

Lol TripleHelix

Thanks for the information PrevxHelp. The uninstall of keyscrambler seemed to work, but I couldn't reboot afterwards. Anyway its gone now and I'm up an running again. Thanks for confirming 106 as an Official Release too.

[Triple Helix]

-{ Quote: "Lol TripleHelix" }-

I try my best to have some fun! ;D

TH

[lol_84]

Hi Joe, I will try to reinstall prevx. In any case, if the problem will persist, How can I fix this problem?

Is there a sequence of action to perform the correct installation? Now my pc is clean (I've re-formatted it).

Thank you for your attention.

[tcyca]

The exact direct link to Prevx removal tool (Version 1,2, and 3.0)

http://info.prevx.com/removaltool.asp

I use that to remove any possible leftovers that is not done by Windows uninstaller and reboot and then resynchronize my wireless keyboard again.
I would wait to see if there are any more bug reports about this issue before installing prevx again. I don't know if the keyboard security module is relatively new feature of Prevx, but there may be some fine tuning (compatibility) before it is working flawlessly. I feel really fortunate that I do not have to reinstall the window again.

[sounak_s]

Why on earth they are declaring it as a Rootkit? Isn't it their own file? ---- http://www.prevx.com/filenames/X239743560318436753-X1/PXKBF.SYS.html

[Triple Helix]

-{ Quote: "Why on earth they are declaring it as a Rootkit? Isn't it their own file? ---- http://www.prevx.com/filenames/X239743560318436753-X1/PXKBF.SYS.html" }-

What security program is flagging it? Because there are different file sizes! Any added info would be appreciated! It could of been modified by malware ??? Or your security app is flagging a False Positive! And from VirusTotal none flagged my version of it 0/42!

TH

EDIT: Some extra info in pictures!

[pkidza]

-{ Quote: "I had a problem with 106 too. I could boot to the Windows login screen but my mouse and keyboard wouldn't work, so I couldn't login (even in safe mode >:( ). This only occured when I rebooted after uninstalling keyscrambler (which I just found too annoying to live with), so it could be unrelated to prevx.

I have everything back to normal now (thankfully I keep regular images of windows installation on C: and my user documents are on another drive ;D ), and I have now re-installed prevx from the website (version 3.0.5.106).

I would be interested to see a changelog for 106." }-

This happened to me yesterday after Prevx upgraded itself to .106. I could not even log on. The only security software I have running with Prevx is Microsoft Security Essentials which I installed last week. I am bleak. It took a reload of Windows to get everything working again.

I use the paid version of Prevx with removal and full SafeOnline. My keyboard is a wired USB keyboard.

[PrevxHelp]

-{ Quote: "Why on earth they are declaring it as a Rootkit? Isn't it their own file? ---- http://www.prevx.com/filenames/X239743560318436753-X1/PXKBF.SYS.html" }-

"PXKBF.sys" doesn't guarantee that it is our file - there are some infections that have started using that name because we do. Our driver is in the 20KB range, while the others are < 10KB.

[PrevxHelp]

-{ Quote: "This happened to me yesterday after Prevx upgraded itself to .106. I could not even log on. The only security software I have running with Prevx is Microsoft Security Essentials which I installed last week. I am bleak. It took a reload of Windows to get everything working again.

I use the paid version of Prevx with removal and full SafeOnline. My keyboard is a wired USB keyboard." }-

:-\ I'm really unsure what would be causing this - do you know if MSE has any persisted log which would show information as to what it could be blocking? We have not made any changes to the keyboard protection in quite a while so it would seem like it is an outside program causing it instead of Prevx itself.

If you or anyone gets into this state, please contact support and we can walk you through correcting it - reinstalling Windows is not necessary and we should be able to find what precisely is going wrong once we find a user who is having the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience - please let me know if you have any further questions.

[pkidza]

-{ Quote: ":-\ I'm really unsure what would be causing this - do you know if MSE has any persisted log which would show information as to what it could be blocking? We have not made any changes to the keyboard protection in quite a while so it would seem like it is an outside program causing it instead of Prevx itself.

If you or anyone gets into this state, please contact support and we can walk you through correcting it - reinstalling Windows is not necessary and we should be able to find what precisely is going wrong once we find a user who is having the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience - please let me know if you have any further questions." }-

I uninstalled VMWare sometime after Prevx had updated to .106 but before the reboot that broke everything. Does VMWare Player (version 3 - the latest from their site) have anything in it that could have caused this with Prevx?

Sigh. I wish I had contacted support. I am so used to the other Tech companies who don't really help you out.

Norton Safety Minder and Truecrypt were also running in the background.

[PrevxHelp]

-{ Quote: "I uninstalled VMWare sometime after Prevx had updated to .106 but before the reboot that broke everything. Does VMWare Player (version 3 - the latest from their site) have anything in it that could have caused this with Prevx?" }-

This could indeed be the cause. We generally recommend disabling Prevx's protection when making large software changes like uninstalling VMWare. I suspect part of their keyboard filter is the conflict here. We're investigating this now and should have a solution within the next build to try to work around this problem occurring in the future without having to disable protection temporarily.

-{ Quote: "Sigh. I wish I had contacted support. I am so used to the other Tech companies who don't really help you out." }-

We do try as hard as possible to help every user possible - we even have users who come in with unrelated issues to Prevx and we try to solve those issues. If anyone else runs into this same problem, please contact us here or in our inbox and we'll definitely walk you through steps to correct it.

Sorry again for the trouble this has caused :-\

[tjk925]

I had the same problem after un-installing Prevx 3.0 free version. All of my keyboard devices including my laptop's built-in keyboard would show up in device manager with a yellow exclamation mark.

I fixed keyboard input by inserting my XP CD, turning on the built-in on-screen keyboard (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/oskturnonuse.aspx) to help with input, installing the Recovery Console (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654), rebooting and following the steps outlined here (http://forums.techguy.org/windows-xp/892740-solved-keyboard-not-working-xp.html) (see first post). Phew!

The key here is
copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config
command in Recovery Console

When you reboot, all of your devices will show up without drivers, but the keyboard should work at this point. Just use the Update Driver option and have it search for the drivers that already exist on your computer for each device. Any Bluetooth and presumably other wireless devices will have to be re-synced. For example, you'll have to reinstall the Bluetooth Stack to get your associated COM Ports back.

[yeuxbleus]

Had the same problem as well. At the time I was trialing Defensewall. I ran the Prevx installer as trusted. After that, Prevx wasn't working properly (safe online would only enable in admin account). After uninstalling Prevx, keyboard would not work. I had to reimage the hard drive to a previous state. I have since gone back to Sandboxie but I have to admit am a little gun shy about installing Prevx again.

[CloneRanger]

Previous versions of KeyScrambler free used to work fine. Later versions i and others had, suffered from various problems. Though at the time none of us were using Prevx as well.

I feel that due to possible overlapping features, using both together is likely to cause issues.

Having said that, i don't have KS installed any more, but using Prevx and Zemana together havn't given me any problems :)