EDIT in case someone reads this in the future:
These issues may have been exacerbated by:
a. An issue with one of my RAID 0 HDDs starting to fail (with some errors in empty clusters)
b. Windows' own System Image restore utility being particularly finicky if restoring to a RAID array.
I never learned what ultimately caused aswVmm.sys to get corrupted, but in the end did a fresh install of Windows after removing the suspect HDD and changing to a simpler non-RAID configuration.
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In summary, two related issues on a Win 10 Pro PC:
1. Something went amiss with aswVmm.sys
2. This led to forever stuck in an 'Automatic Repair' loop, with no way to get even to Safe Mode
My Win 10 Pro PC is now stuck in a cycle of 'Automatic Repairs', with this entry within the logfile SrtTrail.txt:
Root cause found:
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Boot critical file c:\windows\system32\drivers\aswvmm.sys is corrupt.
Repair action: File repair
Result: Failed. Error code = 0x2
Moreover I cannot get it to actually go into Safe Mode (hoping to uninstall Avast there), even though I can get to the F8 option for Safe Boot and I use the bcdedit /set technique here: (
http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-stop-an-automatic-repair-loop-in-windows-10-and-windows-8/). (Nor does choosing disable driver signature enforcement or disable early launch anti-malwire drive help avoid the auto repair.)
I do have a previously built USB recovery drive, but booting from it still results in Automatic Repair only.
I've tried oddball things like 'hiding' the aswvmm.sys file; copying the file from another PC... no change in the insistence on Automatic Repair.
So looking for advice for any paths like the following, understanding for now all I have is Win recovery mode and a Command Prompt:
* How to fix this aswvmm.sys file so it will boot past it
* How to uninstall Avast from a command prompt
* How to get Win out of its infernal Repair loop to boot to real Safe Mode where I might be able to uninstall Avast.
(This started with the next boot after either a forced Windows update and/or a recent update to Avast. Obviously a full Win and app reinstall because of this aswvmm.sys file would be a Bad Thing
Attached are a FRST scan and a zip of the aswVmm.sys file (with fake filetype txt to allow upload).
TIA