Powershell has stopped working message on Windows 7 64 system

Question

I tried to post this once already but i cannot find my responses nor my question from before so I'll re-post it.

I'm not sure if this problem was caused by a windows update, but it seems to have started soon after I did it.

I've been besieged  by  pop up  "Powershell has stopped working"  that happens every 10 seconds or so.  

I'm not sure if this is malware or if it was caused by the update. 

Any suggestions on how to perform system checks or diagnostics would be appreciated.  I've attached the signature below and it looks quite different from the previous posts.  

Since I still have a restore point for last Monday, I'm not sure if I should try to restore it before performing any clean boot.   or System file checker  to diagnose corrupt files.

Is there a recommended procedure to follow for example.  1) try restore point

                                                                                                2) try clean boot

                                                                                                 3) try system file checker

                                                                                                 4)Or malware remover  malwarebites  anti rootkit etc.

Problem signature:

  Problem Event Name: PowerShell

  NameOfExe: powershell.exe

  FileVersionOfSystemManagementAutomation: 6.1.7601.17514

  InnermostExceptionType: System.AccessViolationException

  OutermostExceptionType: System.AccessViolationException

  DeepestPowerShellFrame: tem.Management.Automation.MethodInformation.Invoke

  DeepestFrame: t.Invoke

  ThreadName: Pipeli..ution Thread

  OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48

  Locale ID: 1033

Thanks  

Tom

Answer 1

Hello Tom,

Thank you for visiting Microsoft Community and providing us with the detailed description about the issue.

As per the description, I understand that you are experiencing issue with “Powershell has stopped working” in the computer.

I certainly understand your concern and will try my best to help you.

In order to understand the issue more clearly, I would request you to provide me with the following information.

1. Did you make any significant hardware or software changes recently in the system?

This error message appears when the broken version of Hotfix979744 is installed on your computer, and when security updates 2449742 or 2446709 is installed in the affected environments. Confirm that broken version of Hotfix 979744 is installed on your computer.

For more information on this, please refer the article below.

Exchange Server, SQL Server, or Powershell crashes after you install security update 2449742 or 2446709. 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2540222/en-us

On addition to this, I would suggest you to try the following methods and check if that helps.

Method 1:

Step 1:

As a diagnostic step, check if the issue persist in safe mode with networking. How to boot the system in “safe mode with networking”, please follow the steps in the link provided below.

Advanced startup options (including safe mode).

**Note:**Safe mode is an alternate boot method for Windows operating systems that makes it easier to diagnose problems. The only startup programs loaded are the operating system and drivers for the mouse, keyboard, and display modes display. It is often possible to get a system to start in safe mode when it won't start normally.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows7/advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

Step 2:

If the issue does not appear in safe mode, place the computer in clean boot state and check if the issue reappears.

To diagnose the problem whether any third party program or application is causing the conflict, I would suggest you to try “clean boot” and check if it helps.

**Important:**Placing your system in Clean Boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue. You need to follow the steps from the article mentioned below to perform a Clean Boot.

---

**How to perform a “clean boot” in Windows,**please follow the steps in the link provided below.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135/en-us

Note: Refer "How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting" to reset the computer to start as normal after troubleshooting.

Try to reboot the system and check if it helps.

If the issue persists, follow method 2

Method 2:

I would suggest you to run System File Checker scan and check if that helps.

Note: System File Checker is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. This article describes how to run the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to scan your system files and to repair missing or corrupted system files**.**

Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

If the issue persists, follow method 3

Method 3:

Run a full computer scan with the Microsoft Safety Scanner to make sure that the computer is virus free.

**Microsoft Safety Scanner,**please follow the steps in the link provided below.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx 

Note: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss. 

I hope this information is helpful.

Please do let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello Jayant,

Thank you for your help.  I checked for the hotfixes and security updates and had none of the ones listed.

Before I went any further I decided to try and see if a windows update that I installed earlier in the week may have been the problem.  I reverted to an earlier restore point and I haven't had a problem since.

I must have had a corrupted windows update. 

Sincerely,

Tom