Webroot renders Windows 11 un-bootable

I have received the following instructions from the Webroot support engineer which should help to recover from the Windows blue screen issue that I have experienced. I thought others might find this useful. I have now re-installed Webroot and I am waiting for a Microsoft windows update sufficient enough to reproduce the blue screen issue, then I will follow the procedure below which should bring my Windows back to life.

1. With Webroot installed and the system experiencing the FLTMGR.sys BSOD - Boot into the Automatic Repair screen and navigate to the Command Prompt option. The option is shown in the last image within the instructions linked below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/recovery-options-in-windows-31ce2444-7de3-818c-d626-e3b5a3024da5#bkmk_startup_repair

2. With the Command Prompt window opened, enter the following command:

dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers /od

3. Locate the WrKrn.sys file in this list and make note of the exact file size.

4. Once noted, search the list again for another .sys file with a random set of characters as its name. For example, "XZKtCMGH.sys" (this will not match your random file name as the name is random). Once you have found the file, make sure it matches the file size of the WrKrn.sys file noted in the previous step.

5. You will now enter the exact name of the random file and replace it in the command noted below:

del C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\REPLACETHISWITHTHERANDOMFILENAME.sys

6. After the command has been entered hit "Enter"

7. The file should now be deleted and you can now exit the Command Prompt window.

8. Restart the device using the on-screen power options and verify the issue is resolved.

@p0rth0 

We are releasing fixes for a couple BSOD issues in the next release cycle at the end of this month. If you are still having this issue, please reach out to our support so they can asses the situation, solve it for you, and then get the data to our Dev/QA teams.

Im betting on an old driver that is very incompatible with Windows 10 and 11, and just has been running on the edge, and somehow Webroot pushed it over. I hope it is recoverable, because old drivers are a pain to replace.

@Jimapolis let us know what support says 

Hi @Jimapolis 

I don’t have a screen cap of the exact error but it was a fltmgr.sys bsod system thread exception not handled BSOD. 

I did manage to get it working using a windows 10 boot USB and performed an offline DISM /Offline /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth command.

I’m back into windows now and running SFC /Scannow again this time (in windows) found some corrupt system files. 

So I’m gonna run through now all the check disks, check the disk health (6mth old system), re-run windows updates, clear temp files etc.. 

John

Hi Guys! Is there any DUMP files like a Full Dump or a Mini Dump? These people are great with Dump files if you want someone to check: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/ just check this info first https://www.sysnative.com/forums/threads/sysnative-bsod-dump-file-collection-app-detailed-output-explained.29538/

Both @Ssherjj and myself are Members!

HTH,

Thanks for sharing @Jimapolis !

Hello @Jimapolis Welcome to the Webroot Community Forum.

I would recommend getting in contact with Webroot Support with this problem.

Webroot Support:

Submit a ticket

Call 1-866-612-4227

Note: When submitting a Support Ticket, Please wait for a response from Support. Putting in another Support Ticket on this problem before Support responses will put your first Support Ticket at the end of the queue.

HTH,

Dave

Thank you. 

Thank you everybody for the advise.

I did previously follow the instructions to troubleshoot the blue screen, but the troubleshooting was not effective to repair the issue.

I did previously follow the instructions to boot into safe mode, but even booting in safe mode the same blue screen occurrs.

Here is a sequence of events:

My Windows 11 computer was working fine.

Installed Webroot. It was working fine and I completed a file scan.

On the next Windows update the blue screen occurred.

Windows repair didn’t work, safe mode still had blue screen, I performed a clean installation, and installed webroot. Everything is working fine.

On the next Windows update the blue screen occurred.

Unable to repair, I performed a clean installation, and did not install webroot.

So far, no blue screens. Everything is working fine.

I am using a Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB for a Windows boot drive. According to the properties “This device is working properly.” I think this device is not defective because I have been using it, and continue to use it without issue.

Based on the blue screen message that mentioned FLTMGR.SYS the issue is most likely file system related. I am suspecting it has something to do with the RAID 5 array that was created using Windows Storage Spaces. The RAID 5 array consists of four 6TB hard drives. I don’t know how common the use of Windows Storage Spaces is, maybe not common.

Based on the blue screen only occurring after a Windows update, it may be that Webroot is interfering with the Windows update.

I am awating a reply from Webroot tech support.

Best Regards,

Jim

Hey All,

An update so far. Cannot boot to any variation of safe mode, sfc didn’t fix, check disk didn’t fix, system restore didn’t fix, uninstalling quality and feature updates didn’t fix. 

This looks to be a wipe and reload situation.

John

Hey All,

Well, that was short lived. 

Got back into Windows, ran some scans and then upon the next reboot, back to the same BSOD again. 

John

Hi @MajorHavoc 

In my case, Webroot IS NOT the contributing factor in this issue. 

John