"I have not yet begun to fight!"

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976?Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Unless you are in this field of investigative journalism, especially covering extremely sensitive subjects and potentially dangerous subjects as well, you simply cannot understand the complexities and difficulties involved with this work that I face every day.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

How to Use DISM to Fix Component Store Corruption in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

Information

One of the most used tools when fixing corruption for Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 was the System Update and Readiness Tool (KB947821), commonly called CheckSUR. The CheckSUR tool was an excellent way for most people to see what corruption had happened on their store, and potentially fix that corruption if the tool contained the payload to do so.

In Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012, this has changed. It’s called Inbox Corruption Repair and it brings the functionality of CheckSUR into Windows rather than requiring a separate download to get the utility like you do now. This is exposed in two ways, the first is really unseen by the end user and happens when Windows detects a corrupted state when attempting to install fixes via Windows Update. When this happens, Windows fix the corruption silently and then re-install the prior packages. The manual way to use this tool is via DISM (Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management). The way this is exposed is via the DISM /Cleanup-Image functionality.

If a Windows image (Windows component store) becomes unserviceable, you can use the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management (DISM) tool to update the files and correct the problem.

For example:

To use to fix Windows component store corruption when a SFC /SCANNOW command is unable to repair corrupted system files because the store (source) is corrupted, then run the SFC command again.
To use to fix Windows component store corruption when the same Windows Updates continue to appear to be available to install even though they already show successfully installed in update history.

For more information, see:

This tutorial will show you how to do an Inbox Corruption Repair with the DISM /Cleanup-Image tool to fix component store corruption in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do an Inbox Corruption Repair with the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management (DISM) tool.

Note

The DISM /Cleanup-Image tool saves it's log files in the file locations below. To be able to view these logs, you would need to copy them from the locations below to your desktop, then open them from your desktop.

C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

OPTION ONE

To Run "DISM /Cleanup-Image" tool in an Elevated Command Prompt

1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below that you want to use.

Note

Available Switch Options:

/CheckHealth - This switch option only checks to see if a component corruption marker is already present in the registry. It is just a quick way to see if corruption currently exists, and to inform you if there is corruption. It does not fix anything or create a log. This should be finished almost instantaneous.

/ScanHealth - This switch option does not fix any corruption. It only checks for component store corruption and records that corruption to the log file. This is useful for only logging what, if any, corruption exists. This should take around 5-10 minutes to finish.

/RestoreHealth - (recommended) This switch option checks for component store corruption, records the corruption to the log file, and FIXES the image corruption using Windows Update. This should take around 10-15 minutes up to about an hour to finish depending on the level of corruption.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3. When finished, it is recommended to restart the PC to configure any updates that may have been affected by this.

NOTE: Some scans may take a while to finish and may seem like it's hung at times, but let it sit running until finished.

OPTION TWO

To Run "DISM /Cleanup-Image" tool in an Elevated PowerShell

1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

2. In the elevated PowerShell, copy and paste the command below that you want to use.

Note

Available Switch Options:

-CheckHealth - This switch option only checks to see if a component corruption marker is already present in the registry. It is just a quick way to see if corruption currently exists, and to inform you if there is corruption. It does not fix anything or create a log. This should be finished almost instantaneous.

-ScanHealth - This switch option does not fix any corruption. It only checks for component store corruption and records that corruption to the log file. This is useful for only logging what, if any, corruption exists. This should take around 5-10 minutes to finish.

-RestoreHealth - (recommended) This switch option checks for component store corruption, records the corruption to the log file, and FIXES the image corruption using Windows Update. This should take around 10-15 minutes up to about an hour to finish depending on the level of corruption.

Repair-WindowsImage -Online -CheckHealth

Repair-WindowsImage -Online -ScanHealth

Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth

That's it,
Shawn

Windows 8 Freezes or Hangs: The Fix that Worked for Me

September 1st, 2012

Goto comments Leave a comment

Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to find me on Google+.

Windows 8 will be released to the masses in October of this year. As a developer, I’m lucky enough to get Windows 8 RTM a bit earlier.
Despite what everyone is saying, the new Start Screen really isn’t that bad. In fact, it will be very nice once all your apps are updated to take full advantage of it. And contrary to popular belief, the desktop is still around, and everything works pretty much like it did in Windows 7.
Still, I have a few gripes: There are no more gadgets. Instead, there are live tiles on the Start Screen. That’s lame.
Worse yet, I have experienced the infamous hanging/freezing issue that was supposedly fixed during the testing phases of Windows 8.
In short, every 30 minutes or so, my puter would lock up for about 30 seconds, the hard drive would be pegged to 100%, and then everything would go back to normal.
Like I said, Microsoft supposedly fixed this in the test versions of Windows 8 – but it seems they didn’t, really.
There are many solutions to be found on Google, but there is only 1 that worked for me…

If you look in the event viewer, you will see that every time Windows 8 locks up for 30 seconds, you get 2 entries:

WARNING – storahci – Reset to device, \Device\RaidPort0, was issued.
WARNING – disk – The IO operation at logical block address 5b9408 for Disk 1 was retried.

If you search Google, you’ll find various explanations of how to fix this problem. The most popular are:
The command-line solution from My Digital Life Forms:

I had the same problem. Then I found a topic here, where a guy had intel motherboard and win8 freeze during boot. Somebody told him that it is win8′s fault, and there is something what we have to type into CMD and solves the problem. It solved for me.
type this into CMD: bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes it solves the freezing problem. And don’t forget to restart.

The Hyper-V Install fix from Paul Thurrott’s site:

But one thing did work. And while it’s working perfectly for me—three days and no hangs at all, fingers crossed—it may not work for you. I’ve tried this on three PCs, to great results. But there’s no guarantee.
And that workaround is…
Install Hyper-V.
I explain how to do this, and what the requirements are, in Windows 8 Feature Focus: Client Hyper-V.

Miscellaneous other fixes:

Install the latest Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers
Reinstall/Reset Windows 8
Defrag your hard drive
Mess around with TRIM if you have an SSD
Stand on your head while patting your tummy and sipping a cup of espresso (don’t get any up your nose)

Well, I tried the command-line fix. I tried installing the Intel RST drivers. I installed Hyper-V. I even stood on my head…
But nothing worked.
Just a note here: I have to say that the Microsoft community forums were seriously Useless since they were the ones who recommended a Reset or Reinstall of Windows 8. Seriously? I mean, I just installed the damn OS, it’s brand new, and they think the solution is to reinstall/reset?! Methinks not. Thanks for nothing.
Anyway, many people also noted that this hang problem only occurs if you have Windows 8 installed on an SSD. Not so, my friends. The freezes I experienced were for my normal HDD. My SSD worked fine.
They also say that this is a particular issue with Sandy Bridge machines. Guilty, your honor! I do have a Sandy Bridge puter.
I then tried various combinations of the above solutions, to no avail.
This was getting to be a seriously annoying problem. But then I found a post on the Windows 8 Forums by user “borate”:

+++++++++ UPDATE ++++++++++
After a full week of stability it appears that the problem is resolved and may have been caused by a combination of missing or incorrect drivers/settings…
Since the SATA drives (running AHCI mode) were set to enable “hot swap” in the BIOS and LPM was disabled in PCI power management there have been no further instances. Earlier, the latest AHCI SATA drivers were installed, and those may have contributed to the fix.
Why these changes were necessary and not made by the O/S upon install is problematic. Hopefully, the RTM will do better.

AHA! Now that makes sense! Since the hard drive seems to be pegged for 30 seconds, and since it seemed that Windows 8 couldn’t access the hard drive and was issuing a reset, it made sense that changing the BIOS hotswap setting just might work.
So, I went into the UEFI (new type of BIOS) screen at boot, and I set my SSD and HDD to Hot Swap = Enabled.
For 2 days now, I haven’t had a single disk error in the Event Logs. WOOHOO!!
Note that the Link Power Management change borate speaks of above was not necessary in my case. Also, I’m using the standard Microsoft storahci driver, not Intel’s RST driver.
I really hope that Microsoft gets their act together and fixes this before the general availability of Windows 8. This is a bug that should never have made it into the RTM version of Windows 8. Since newer machines with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors generally use UEFI instead of the old-school BIOS, and all the systems I’ve worked with have the setting for hot swappable drives, this is a major problem. Lots of people are reporting it, from what I can see.
Seems to me this could become a rather show-stopping bug that could knock the wind out of Windows 8′s momentum – especially considering people’s fear/hatred of the revised interface.
Well, we’ll see. In the meantime, try enabling hotswap for your drives, and see if that doesn’t fix the freeze/hang issue for you, too!

Texas Border Rancher Makes Frightening Discovery; Claims Proof That 9-11 is About to Happen Again [VIDEO]

July 16, 2014 by Tim Walker | News, Videos

Mike Vickers owns a sleepy little 1,000 acre ranch that borders the U.S.-Mexico border. Vickers says that a minimum of 30 illegal immigrants cross his ranch, each and every day. The problem is that the Border Patrol station is just over five miles away and getting help to the ranch is time is just useless most days.

Vickers recently found something on his ranch that one of the illegal-aliens dropped, and that single find has Vickers, the local community and the entire Border Patrol in alarm.

In May, Vickers discovered a dictionary on his property, but this is no ordinary dictionary on English dialect. The book is Urdu-to-English, something that many American’s are unfamiliar with and are soon about to be as disturbed as the local political arena in and around the country.

Urdu is the National language of Pakistan. The language is in fact spoken in many parts of Afghanistan and India. The discovery of the book on the ranch brings to question “are extremists crossing our borders to the south and leading a jihad against the U.S.?”

Vickers discovered the book, reported it to the Border Patrol but has only come forward recently due to the fact that the agents he reported it to, did little or nothing about it.

The book in fact, was found near an electric fence, so Vickers see’s this as a case of getting zapped by the fence in the night, and dropping an important document that may lead authorities on a quest to seek out its owner.

A single Border Patrol agent has recently come out and told TheBlaze that he is not surprised by Vickers’ discovery at all. “We’ve found Quran, prayer rugs and many other unusual items at the border that certainly raise concern,” the agent said.

Border Patrol has a new slang for the noted crossers, “OTM’s”, meaning “Other Than Mexicans.”

“We have limited resources,” the agent said. “It’s frustrating for all of us and there’s no doubt that we have OTMs coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and other parts of the world that we are very concerned with……… these guys won’t be turning themselves into Border Patrol like the family units or children.”
The entire incident concerns Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who quoted this month that ‘he believes extremists are plotting another Sept. 11^th style attack on the United States.’
“This jihadist group ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have promised direct confrontation with America,” Poe said last month. If Poe is right, the Republican Party in Washington is sure hitting the ‘nail on the head’ in this matter.

Poe undoubtedly believes that extremists will carry out any future attack, and are most likely to cross into the U.S. from the Mexico/Texas border.
“Of course the way they would come to the United States would be through the porous border with Mexico. The drug cartels will bring people into the country no matter who they are — for money,” he said. “Everyone in the world knows that the border between the United States and Mexico is completely porous.”
Poe believes that putting National Guard troops along the borders is one step in the right direction for preventing such attacks on the U.S.
“National security does not start overseas; it starts at the border between the U.S. and Mexico,” he said.

ALERT -- House Resolution Calls on Border State Governors to Deploy National Guard Forces

Via CNS News

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has introduced a resolution calling on border state governors to deploy the National Guard to stop the influx of illegal immigrants, since Pres. Obama “never will.”

Announcing H. Res. 675, Rep. King called the flood of illegal immigrants a “presidential-caused crisis”:

“There is nothing in President Obama’s $3.7 billion request that secures our border. Even though this President has the power to close the border, I know that he never will. In fact, he refuses to do so.

“The American people must understand that this surge in illegals coming across our border is a presidential-caused crisis. This President’s lawless actions such as DACA have caused this nightmare. These actions clearly demonstrate that he is not bound by the Constitution and will not take seriously his obligation to defend our sovereign borders.

“This crisis is devastating our communities and putting the burden on American taxpayers. Right now there is an incentive for illegals to continue to pour across our border, and the only way to discourage them is to seal our border and send them back. Therefore we call upon the southern border Governors to call up their National Guard units to secure the border. This resolution also commits the United States House to funding the states for the cost of securing our border. These are the only supplemental appropriations the House should be considering.”

Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), a co-sponsor of the resolution, said that deploying the National Guard “sends a clear message” to illegal immigrants:

Yesterday, the North Carolina congressman , which would make this request of the governors of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. It would also recognize and defend the constitutional authority of any governor to deploy the National Guard to secure the border.

“In order to resolve the crisis on our southern border, we need to strictly enforce our immigration laws – something the Obama administration has failed to do,” said Congressman Jones.

Keep reading

URGENT - Top U.S. General Says Mexico Border Security Now ‘Existential’ Threat to U.S.

Via Defense One

A top United States general in charge of protecting the southern border says he’s been unable to combat the steady flow of illegal drugs, weapons and people from Central America, and is looking to Congress for urgent help.
Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, commander of U.S. Southern Command, has asked Congress this year for more money, drones and ships for his mission – a request unlikely to be met. Since October, an influx of nearly 100,000 migrants has made the dangerous journey north from Latin America to the United States border. Most are children, and three-quarters of the unaccompanied minors have traveled thousands of miles from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
“In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in the hemisphere with the associated drug and [undocumented immigrant] flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance,” Kelly told Defense One. “Many argue these threats are not existential and do not challenge our national security. I disagree.”
In spring hearings before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Kelly said that budgets cuts are “severely degrading” the military’s ability to defend southern approaches to the U.S border. Last year, he said, his task force was unable to act on nearly 75 percent of illicit trafficking events. “I simply sit and watch it go by,” he said. But the potential threats are even greater. Kelly warned that neglect has created vulnerabilities that can be exploited by terrorist groups, describing a “crime-terror convergence” already seen in Lebanese Hezbollah’s involvement in the region.

Keep reading

Russian Commander: Bodies Dead For Days Before Flight Took Off

MOSCOW (AP) -- A top pro-Russia rebel commander in eastern Ukraine has given a bizarre version of events surrounding the Malaysian jetliner crash - suggesting many of the victims may have died days before the plane took off.
The pro-rebel website Russkaya Vesna on Friday quoted Igor Girkin as saying he was told by people at the crash site that "a significant number of the bodies weren't fresh," adding that he was told they were drained of blood and reeked of decomposition.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 was shot down Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard. The plane was flying 10,000 meters above an area where Ukrainian forces have been fighting separatist rebels. Each side accuses the other of downing the plane.

Keep reading...

Russian Rambler.RU reported that Obama decided to un-freeze 2.6 billion $ and transmit it to Iran. US media is silent about it, even though Iran is still building nuclear weapons and threatening destruction of the U.S.