Mysterious Computer Freeze [V7][M906]

  1. COMODO frozen, even after a restart.
  2. Cannot access CIS diagnostics, my system doesn’t BSOD.
  3. COMODO Internet Security 7.0.312140.4101 RC
  4. Windows 7 (64-bit) SP1 + all of the newest updates on real hardware.
  5. Using Proactive configuration with a few extra tweaks.
  6. Did a full reinstall.
  7. No other active security programs.
  8. Cannot reproduce, happens at random after a while.
  9. Described everything here: https://forums.comodo.com/beta-corner-cis/yet-another-mysterious-cis-freeze-t102397.0.html

Below are two Complete Dump files triggered by forced BSOD:
The first is with the HIPS & Sandbox turned off, Game Mode on and CIS options frozen yet a usable system made right after boot up so not many apps are loaded:

The second is with HIPS & Sandbox enabled, Game Mode off and almost a completely unusable sluggish system with some apps waiting indinitely for approval:

Are you sure that the version is 7.0.308911.4080? I ask this because this is not the most recent version. If it is that version, does manually checking for updates find any updates?

Also, I’ve moved this to the Beta bug reporting board as this is an issue with one of the Betas.

Thanks.

Oh, sorry, copied that line from the format thread, of course its 7.0.312140.4101 RC.

Another thing I noticed.
Clicking the icon in the tray brings the options just fine, I can disable HIPS and Sandbox, which finally allows me to run/install/use programs that weren’t allowed in the CIS database before, but nothing happens when trying to disable/change options of the Firewall or the antiviurs.
The firewall itself seems to run just fine, all my programs can download/upload and the CIS widget shows traffic.

Below is a quote from a post by mouse1:

If testing CIS, it's a good idea to have the ability to force a blue screen in the case of a total computer freeze so you can create a dump file for QA.

There are two methods of doing this, one of which (the most satisfactory, a registry edit) needs to be prepared in advance. The second (using powershell) can be done when existing windows are frozen but new ones can be opened and the cursor is free. To perform a complete memory dump a BSOD is induced so please save all work first!

Registry edit method
This is described here: Forcing a system crash from the keyboard - Windows drivers | Microsoft Learn

Powershell method
The powershell method is described here: 3 Ways to Force a Blue Screen in Windows - wikiHow

A less satisfactory alternative
You can also sometimes use cntrl-Alt-Del to get task manager up, and then right click on CIS processes dump them. But this gives less info of course. Then afterwards you may be able to reduce the priority of a process using high CPU to regain control. You can increase the likelihood of this working by running taskmgr or an equivalent at higher than normal priority whenever you are testing.

If you try these and find some additional wrinkles please feedback in the comments on help material trace.

Best wishes

Please try to follow those steps to produce a BSOD, which will dump all information in memory. However, before doing that make sure that your computer is set up to create a Complete Dump in the case of a BSOD. An explanation of how to do that can be found here.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.

Ok, I’ll try that. I do hope it won’t dump all of my 8GB’s of memory cause that would be a bit difficult to upload… 88)

EDIT: okay, done that, the powershell method BSOD my computer perfectly, but how do I locate the dump file? Is that the one in Windows\Minidump? I did enable and use the “Complete memory dump” feature, but this one’s a bit small, only 300KB.

Sorry, I should have explained more. It will dump everything in memory. Thus, in order to submit it to Comodo, it’s best to use a file sharing site which can upload a file as large as whatever size it ends up being. If you have any trouble finding a suitable upload site after creating the dump, let me know and I can find one for you.

Thanks.

Okay, but is that the one in Windows\Minidump?

No, I think by default it will show up in Windows. However, just to be clear, only a Complete Dump will ensure that everything is caught which is going on. Thus, a MiniDump or even a kernel dump, will likely not contain enough information. That is why the devs have asked that I obtain a Complete Dump for situations like this, especially when they are not replicable.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks.

Strange, I enabled “Complete memory dump” but there is no MEMORY.DMP file anywhere and I had it set to %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP

Okay, got it at 2nd try, I didn’t have the option “Overwrite any existing file” checked before and that was important I guess, but it’s strange that I didn’t have such a file before and still it didn’t want to create one. :wink:

So were you able to trigger this during the freeze?
If so, how large is the file it created?

Well my CIS is “frozen” all the time, like I said, I can see it in tray but can’t open any options.
The file is of course 8GB large cause that’s how much memory I have, but I got the size down to ~1.3GB with 7zip.
Where do I upload it now? Hopefully somewhere that doesn’t require registration and stuff like that…

Actually, it turns out that the site I usually use may not work with a file as large as that. However, please try Mega:

and let me know if it will allow you to upload files that large.

If it will not then try 4shared:

I think that one will likely work, although Mega would be preferable.

If neither work let me know and I will continue looking.

Thanks.

Actually, I just checked Mega myself, and it looks like you can only create a download link if you create an account. Therefore, please try 4shared and let me know how that works.

Thanks.

4shared says I can’t upload files larger than 200MB :frowning:

Okay, hell with this, I registered on MEGA

Okay, I just tested this site:
http://www.filedropper.com/
and it does work without registration. It also says that files up to 5GB in size can be uploaded. Thus, I think it should work fine for you.

Let me know if you have any issues with it, and I apologize for not having a suitable site ready ahead of time. I didn’t realize until I went to give you the link that the site I usually use caps the maximum file size at 500MB.

Thanks.

Don’t worry about it, already uploading it to MEGA as I type this.

From what I saw MEGA uploads without registration, but requires registration to create a download link. Admittedly, I did check it only briefly, and may have mistaken how it works, but if it does require registration for creating the download link it may not be the best choice. Did you try the other service I linked to?

Yes, I know, I registered on MEGA. :slight_smile: