ChangeIcon MFC Application has stopped working.

Question

Since the last set up updateson 16/09/2014 for "Update for WIndows 8.1 for x64-based Systems (KB2976719), (KB2989647) and (KB2984006)", I have been getting an error everytime I start up my computer stating that "changeicon MFC application has stopped working". It states the issue as an "app crash" and that the relevant program is "UMonit64.exe".

I traced to program to its directory and ran all my virus/malware/etc scans on it and they all said it was fine. I then attempted to run the program and it came up with the same error that pops up on startup and a second error message saying it wasn't able to run because "ustor.dll" was missing.

I did a system restore to before I did the windows update and sure enough everything worked fine. I then ran the windows update again after restarting to complete the update the "changeicon MFC application has stopped working" error message started popping up again.

So my questions are:

1. What is UMonit64.exe/ChangeIcon Application?
2. Did my windows update cause the issue?
3. How do I stop the error message from popping up everytime I start up?
4. Do I need UMonit64.exe? I haven't noticed any programs malfunction when I click the "close program" option when the error message pops up.
5. If I do need it, should I download the missing DLL file to fix it? If so where would be a safe place to download the replacement dll file?
6. Anything else I need to know to fix the issue or whether future windows updates will fix it for me and I should just ignore it for the time being.

Answer 1

SOLVED: (already tried clean boot; clean boot it unnecessary)

1. Go to "Programs and Features." (via right-clicking on what the "Start Menu" used to be.)
2. Select "View Installed Updates" on left-hand side.
3. Find "Update for Windows 8.1 for x64-based Systems (KB2984006)."  (It is an optional update.)   [Also see note at bottom]
4. Right-click and Uninstall it.
5. Contact Microsoft and have them pay me for doing their job for them.

Additionally you and can tell Windows Update to hide it for the rest of your life next time you see it there.

7 Jan 2014

Note: More recent experience made me realize is not just that update. There are multiple updates that cause this issue as I once again had to uninstall a different so-called "update." I personally have chosen to uninstall all updates not labeled "Important" and will not longer install "Recommended" or "Optional" updates as they are useless and seem to only serve the purpose of bogging down your computer and wasting space on your hard drive. Windows Updates are probably the only reason why computers seem like they are getting slower as time passes.

Good Luck surviving with Windows OS!

Answer 2

Hi,

Thank you for writing your issue and queries to us.

The process “UMonit64.exe” is known as Gene USB Monitor or UMonit MFC Application or ChangeIcon MFC Application and belongs to software Gene USB Monitor or UMonit Application or ChangeIcon Application or MediaGear USB2 Card Reader by General.

There are some instances where some virus or other malicious software camouflages itself as “UMonit64.exe”. Windows update may have tried to update the application but while this program was being updated, you antivirus deleted some infected files and caused this application to crash. Although UMonit.exe is not a Windows core file, it may be required by certain applications.

Let’s try to resolve this issue by performing a clean boot.

Method 1: Clean bootPlease restart the computer in clean boot and check if the issue persists. Follow the article below to help you with the same.

How to perform a clean boot in Windows

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

Note: After troubleshooting, refer to this section "How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting".

Hope this information was helpful. Please reply if you need further assistance or have any queries regarding Windows, we will be glad to assist you.

Answer 3

Hi,

Thank you for keeping us updated on the status of this issue.

It appears that the update KB2984006 is conflicting with the process UMonit64.exe and causing it to crash. This update is a patch which fixes several issues in Windows. I’d suggest you check in the following article, if you are facing any of the issues which this update fixes. If not, I’d suggest you not to install this update.

Refer: List of the fixed issues

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2984006/en-us

Hope this information was helpful. Please reply if you need further assistance or have any queries regarding windows, we will be glad to assist you.

Answer 4

Tried the clean boot method and the issue persists :(

More specifically I did the following:

1. Restarted in clean boot - got the error message saying Changeicon MFC application stopped working upon start up.
2. While still in clean boot, uninstalled my last windows updates and restarted again - this time no error message popped up - so I figured the issue was caused by the updates.
3. Reinstalled my the updates while in clean boot mode - problem returned when I restarted my computer as was required by the updates.
4. Repeated steps 1 and 2 but this time only installed the two updates labelled "important", i.e. KB2976719 and KB2989647.
5. This time the error message did not pop up upon restart.
6. Reinstalled the updated labelled "optional", i.e. KB2984006 just to make sure this was the update causing the issue and sure enough upon restart the error message popped up again saying "Changeicon MFC application stopped working"

For the mean time I've uninstalled the KB2984006 update and set it as hidden so my computer doesn't automatically reinstall it on its next scheduled update. I figured that since the update was labelled "optional" that it won't really affect me much?

Can someone confirm KB2984006 causes this issue? Are the steps I took above appropriate? Could it harm my computer to not install that update?

Answer 5

SOLVED: (already tried clean boot; clean boot it unnecessary)

1. Go to "Programs and Features." (via right-clicking on what the "Start Menu" used to be.)
2. Select "View Installed Updates" on left-hand side.
3. Find "Update for Windows 8.1 for x64-based Systems (KB2984006)."  (It is an optional update.)
4. Right-click and Uninstall it.
5. Contact Microsoft and have them pay me for doing their job for them.

Additionally you and can tell Windows Update to hide it for the rest of your life next time you see it there.

I had exact same problem, your solution worked 100%  ;)

Thanx