Strange problem with 4.0.437

Hi..

i've been experiencing a strange problem with ESS 4.0.437 on a fresh installation of Vista Ultimate SP2 x32. It's probably a good idea to explain that it is a vLited copy of Vista which includes integrated drivers, IE8, some Ultimate extras, a few third party apps like flash player plugin, shockwave player, Java etc.

Windows installs without a hitch, after entering my wpa2 key, I have internet running smoothly too. However, after installing ESS, then rebooting i'm stuck with limited connectivity. There's no clues in the logs or settings as to what is causing the problem but if I disable the firewall module then reboot, everything works ok again....also, booting into safe mode with networking works perfectly too. I've tried uninstalling, removing settings folders and registry entries then reinstalling but no joy. As a test, I tried installing v3.0.684 and that seemed to work ok too...just seems to be specific to 4.437 but i'm stumped as to what exactly is causing the problem and more importantly, how to remedy it. Also tried formatting and installing the vLite installation again but the same happened.

I have since restored an earlier image but I plan on having another crack at it soon so if someone can make a suggestion or supply a fix, that would be cool.

I don't think the vLited installation is the issue as the last one I made worked perfectly. The only difference between this one is driver revisions and flash/shockwave/java versions. Also, I didn't remove any networking components...just removed the extra languages, unwanted drivers and movie samples.

Cheers for any help

 

Bump...would appreciate some help on this please.

Have just performed a fresh installation of an unmodified Vista Ultimate w/SP2 and the same problem occurs. Immediately after installing ESS, things are ok. ESS is able to update itself but as soon as I reboot...BAM! Limited connectivity! Temp disabling the firewall does not help, I have to go into the 'System Integration' section of the advanced settings and select the 'Personal firewall is completely disabled' option then reboot and all is working fine again.

 

Hello,

Are you installing an OEM copy of Microsoft Windows Vista that has a third-party security solution slip-streamed into it, e.g., a trial edition of some anti-virus software? If there was something present and uninstalled, perhaps a remnant of it is left on the system and that is causing difficulty with ESET Smart Security.

Have you verified that you have the latest device drivers for the network interface card installed?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

Hi agoretsky, many thanks for the reply.

It's a retail version of Vista and yes, i'm using the latest driver version for the nic.

My problem is very similar to this person's:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=249948

I've since restored a previous image again as it's nice to have full function back but before I restored the image, I tried a few other things. After booting, ESS would load as normal..green-ish colour icon in the tray and no balloon tips about any problems. All the while the limited connectivity icon is over the network icon. Then if I click the ESS update button the network icon changes to the usual 'local and internet' one. Yippee...but, IE still doesn't work...don't even get any notifications. Although if I load up Firefox, that works no problems...I get the ESS notification and webpages load ok. I haven't been able to test many other programs as I didn't have a mail client or IM program installed but I had mixed results from using FlashFXP. Only one site would connect, the rest failed to get resolved....but when the firewall module was completely disabled, they all worked without a problem.

It's also worth mentioning again that v3.0.684 works ok. The issues only occur with 4.0.437.

Would the guys in the ESET testing room be able to try this version on a fresh installation of Vista? Just seems to be too much of a coincidence for the same thing to happen to different Vista installations (vLited and unmodified) and to more than one person.

Thanks again for the reply

 

Hello,

It is possible to re-test things, but I would like to do some further troubleshooting first, if that's acceptable to you.

First, can you try resetting ESET Personal Firewall by following the instructions in ESET Knowledgebase Article #941, "How do I restore default settings to the Personal firewall?". Instead of deleting the files, though, I would suggest renaming them to a .OLD extension.

Once that has been done, configure the firewall to run in Learning Mode, as referenced in ESET Knowledgebase Article #2236, "Why did ESET Smart Security notify me that the usage period for Learning mode has elapsed and then block all communication? (4.0)" (not an exact match title-wise, but it does contain the correct steps).

Let's see what happens with a fresh set of rules and Learning Mode enabled.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

I've since restored a previous image as it's not too practical using the computer without a working firewall.

However, before I restored the system, I did run the firewall in learning mode and as for the default settings, I would've thought the firewall would be running that way after a clean installation on a freshly installed OS? I didn't import any rules...I tried the firewall in various modes (automatic, interactive, learning and completely disabled).

I will give things another try asap.

Thanks for the support

 

Little update...

Was working on a friend's laptop the other day. It was a Toshiba Satellite L300D-12L (AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core Processor TK-57 1.9GHz, 1GB DDR2-667MHz RAM). Not the greatest of models, but they got it for free when they ordered some office furniture. It had Vista Home Basic with SP1. As with most systems which come with bundled software on, it was painfully slow as the manufacturers think it's a great idea to run all their software when Windows boots. It had about 80 processes running which were collectively using around 80% of memory resources. Anyway, after removing all the unnecessary crap and tidying up some system and service settings, I got it down to a more respectable 30 processes and 40% memory usage.

My friend already had an ESET license on another machine which they were planning on transferring to the new laptop as the other machine needs some repairs and a possible rma. They were using a build of v3 so I offered to put v4 on the new laptop for them. All was working well for a while. I updated Vista with SP2, some Office updates as well as IE8. As I was finishing things up, I thought i'd run a full system scan. While that was running, I tried loading IE but didn't get a firewall prompt. Closed IE, although the process remained in Task Manager (started to get a familiar feeling as the same happened with the original problem on my machine). Tried pinging but that froze..closed the command window but again the process remained open in Task Manager. So, I waited for the scan to finish...the system was clean. I rebooted and was stuck with limited connectivity again. Was using a lan cable connected to my router as opposed to a wireless connection which I used on my computer when I had the problem. I then completely disabled the firewall module in the advanced settings, rebooted and all was well again! So, I then tried uninstalling v4, removing settings folders and ESET registry entries, rebooted and installed again but the same thing happened. Rather than going round in circles trying to fix the annoying problem, I just uninstalled v4 again and put on v3.0.684.

The problem has not reoccurred since.

So, from my previous issues on my computer, I think we can definitely rule out Vista discs with SP2 and IE slipstreamed on to them and vLite modifications too as this laptop had an OEM OS with SP2 & IE8 installed via Windows Updates without any vLited type modifications.

This does seem to be a genuine issue and I would be very grateful if ESET would look into it.

Apologies for the long post, thought it would be best to include as much info as possible.

 

I too am having the same problem. On a fresh install from vista to vista sp1 to sp2. I installed eset 4.437 early with a few additional drivers that came with the manufacturer. Works great, after a reboot, network got a red x next to it and is unable to get internet.

At first I thought I screwed up the process somewhere and reinstall the whole thing. This time I used acronis and made images. After a few experiments, uninstalling one program at a time, I discover that I got my network back after uninstalling eset.

I restored my image and tried again, now just with eset only, I was able to duplicate the problem, and lo and behold, network comes back after uninstalling eset 4.0. Like the previous poster, going back to eset 3.0 fixed the problem. Please fix. This is extremely annoying.

 

Hi kmart9419...do you have Acronis True Image 2009 build 9796 installed? If yes, you may find the following thread interesting:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=252322

I haven't been able to test the situation, but I plan to the next time I take a backup image on my system.

 

I have no issues with Acronis. I was able to restore several times without any issues. The problem is with Eset 4.437 and vista sp2.

 

I have no issues with Acronis either....but this particular issue with ESET may well be related to that particular build on True Image. There has been a number of users who have experienced network problems (as in limited connectivity) when ESS 4.437 and ATI 2009 build 9796 are installed on the same machine.

It may be incompatible drivers between the two programs. Definitely something I plan on testing over the next few days.

 

With the help of labrador999 (see https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=1533909 post #13) I think I have found an answer to my problem of not being able to access the internet when I install Acronis True Image Home 2009, build 9796, in conjunction with ESET version
4.0.437.0 For your reference I am using Microsoft Vista Ultimate, SP2 on an Intel Quad Processor, 4 GB ram and Explorer 8. For a more complete description of my system look at Post #13 in http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3124 . Also, I am using an Actiontec M142WR modem and router combination which was provided by my ISP, Verizon FIOS. Two other locations that relate to this may be found at https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=249919 and
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3032 .

In relation to a somewhat similar problem ESET stated, in part, “Certain modems and routers can cause conflicts with your updated ESET Smart Security Personal firewall.” This was said in ESET KB SOLN2207, in relation to a slightly different problem about Slow or no Internet connection (4.0). So it may have something to do with the modem I am using.

It would be interesting to know what others, who have this problem, or never had this problem, are using in relation to modems and routers.

This morning, after disconnecting my FIOS cable connection, I PERMANENTLY disabled the Personal firewall in ESET (see ESET KB SOLN2189) and I temporarily disabled my Antivirus and antispyware protection (see ESET KB SOLN54. Then I reinstalled Acronis True Image Home 2009, build 9796. One word of caution, if you permanently disable. or enable, the firewall, be sure to reboot your computer to make sure the action is complete.

After I installed build 9796 in ATI 2009, and reconnected my cable connection,
I then tried to access the internet and I could make my regular connections. Then I enabled the Antivirus and antispyware protection, and everything still appeared to be working properly. Then I enabled the ESET Personal Firewall and tried to access the internet and I had the same problem I had in the past; Internet Explorer 8 could not access the internet.

Next, I again PERMANENTLY disabled the Personal firewall in ESET. This allowed me to again access the internet. I still wanted some kind of firewall for my protection, so I turned on the Windows Firewall that is built into Windows Vista. Using the Windows Firewall worked for me and did not cause a loss of internet connectivity. (See ESET KB SOLN391). I see this as a temporary solution and hope ESET has a solution that will allow me to use their Personal firewall.

In relation to a somewhat similar problem ESET stated, in part, “Certain modems and routers can cause conflicts with your updated ESET Smart Security Personal firewall.” This was said in ESET KB SOLN2207, in relation to a slightly different problem about Slow or no Internet connection (4.0). So it may have something to do with the modem I am using.

Now I need to see if ATI Home 2009, build 9796, is going to work with my system.

I am going to send a copy of this to Acronis support and ESET support. It is my hope that these two companies will not try and blame each other for the problem, but will work together to solve this problem.

 

Here is what Acronis Support had to say. I think they missed the point, there shouldn't have to be a "work around".

I am glad to know that you have found the solution to your network issue. Thank you very much for the update. It will be of great help in resolving network issues of customers using ESET security.

Please check whether ATI 2009, build 9796, works properly now with your system.

If the backup files change its dates while restoring, you can follow the steps provided in the following link:
http://kb.acronis.com/content/1762

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I will leave your case open until you permit me to close it. I look forward to your response.