Re: kb3000850 windows update problem. Work around by Nix Hard.
I had this back in April 2015 approx on a ASUS laptop doing a factory reset and reinstall from built in recovery partition with windows 8.1 and avast installed [sorry can't remember avast version number]
Have just done the same thing on a brand new ACER laptop, after kb3000850 killed the laptop with a install of avast 2015.10.2.2218
Going to do the same for the ACER laptop as I worked out for the ASUS.
Going from information from MS info here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3000850QUOTE;
"Assume that you have either of the following configurations:
You have a Windows Server 2012 R2 server that is running on hardware that has UEFI that has Secure Boot enabled.
You have a Windows Server 2012 R2-based Hyper-V host that is running, and you are running a Generation 2 virtual machine guest that uses UEFI firmware support and that has the Secure Boot option enabled. Additionally, the guest virtual machine is running Windows Server 2012 R2."
END QUOTE
Now I had neither/none of these server 2012 R2 thingies running or the Hyper-V host watch-a-me-call-it running.
But it did give me a clue to what may have been causing problems.
So I just shot both possible suspects out of hand. [as you tend to do]
It is possible that only one of these "work-around" steps is needed.
I don't have the time to "play" any further, someone else may do so, please let us all know the result. [And please then send them & me lots of "free-beer"]
Here we go...
1. First do all Critical Windows updates EXCEPT KB3000850.
Reboot machine. Login.
2. Go into avast settings -> Trouble Shooting -> Enable hardware-assisted virtualisation -> take the tick out of this option. [disable hardware-assisted virtualisation]
3. Get into the UEFI system, [use to be called the BIOS] look for and disable Secure Boot. Remember to save the settings and then reboot. Be VERY CAREFUL here, we only want to play with the BIOS settings not start a reinstall or any other "data-disaster(r)".
QUOTE below from:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-security/uefi-secure-boot-in-windows-81/65d74e19-9572-4a91-85aa-57fa783f0759"Setup UEFI Mode:
The UEFI BIOS has varying capabilities depending on the motherboard make and model. The UEFI BIOS setup screen can be Menu driven by mouse or a Shell interface which needs to be drilled through layers. The setup mode can be invoked at system start by a processor interrupt call via user keystroke. In Windows 8.1 OEM computers, the UEFI BIOS Setup can be started only through the Windows RE, which can be accessed as described above. In the Recovery Environment, navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > press the Restart button and the computer will load the UEFI BIOS setup screen on restart.
You can get into the Windows RE from within Windows 8.1 through Start > PC settings > Update and recovery > Recovery > to the right beneath Advanced Start-up, click Restart now."
END QUOTE
Remember be VERY CAREFUL here, we only want to play with the BIOS settings not start a reinstall or any other "data-disaster(r)".
4. When the machine has rebooted, you are logged back in, run windows update, select KB3000850 and install.
When this has finished installing itself, rejoice...
5. Reboot the machine, reset and reverse changes made above, reboot...
Then rejoice some more till next time.
Any anti-virus I have to uninstall to do something on the machine stays uninstalled because I will install another that just works. Period, Full-stop . No exceptions. !!!
Till the next reboot session, have fun.
Cheers Nix Hard