14 DAY TRIAL // Customers running the latest iteration of the Windows client and server platforms have reported issues in which the boot process freezes completely, keeping them from starting up the computer. According to the Redmond company, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 users can get stuck at the “Please wait” screen, while the machine fails to go over that step in the startup process. The software giant did not specify exactly how severe this issue was or how many customers were affected, but it did indicate that Windows Error Reporting together with AppLocker were at fault.
According to a knowledge base article designed to provide information on the problem, customers need to restart the affected machines, as, once frozen, they will no longer boot. “You try to start a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. However, the operating system stops responding at the ‘Please wait’ screen that appears before you are requested to press Ctrl+ALT+DEL. Therefore, you cannot log on to the computer,” Microsoft informed.
The software giant is not providing an update to resolve the problem. However, a hotfix is available for download from Microsoft Support, allowing affected customers to fix the issue. According to Microsoft, the hotfix will be integrated into the first service pack for the operating system. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, one and the same actually, are planned to hit the public Beta milestone toward the end of July 2010, and RTM in the second half of 2010.
“This issue occurs because an auto-start service remains in the pending mode for too long and cannot start during the Windows startup process. This is caused by a deadlock that occurs because of an interaction between Windows Error Reporting (WER) and AppLocker,” the Redmond company added.
Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD is available for download here.
Another Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.