I am running Nexus.exe 10.9.0.921 under Windows 7 - 64 bit. The program loaded well at first and I was able to configure it properly. Recently, however, the program has run into a problem and hangs when I click on any item in the dock. The only way to stop it is to end the process in task manager.

Windows reports this (two different times):

Description:
A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: AppHangB1
Application Name: Nexus.exe
Application Version: 10.9.0.921
Application Timestamp: 4caf1c2e
Hang Signature: 01ab
Hang Type: 0
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 4105
Additional Hang Signature 1: 01ab1da01d6d33602fc8b1cc8e455673
Additional Hang Signature 2: 8bc4
Additional Hang Signature 3: 8bc4de42d4890d45321bf5cda6f99dc0
Additional Hang Signature 4: 01ab
Additional Hang Signature 5: 01ab1da01d6d33602fc8b1cc8e455673
Additional Hang Signature 6: 8bc4
Additional Hang Signature 7: 8bc4de42d4890d45321bf5cda6f99dc0


Description:
A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: AppHangB1
Application Name: Nexus.exe
Application Version: 10.9.0.921
Application Timestamp: 4caf1c2e
Hang Signature: 1173
Hang Type: 0
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 4105
Additional Hang Signature 1: 11730b69344ac49790b1724b47986c5c
Additional Hang Signature 2: f3c5
Additional Hang Signature 3: f3c52c7323ddc30596d3c74c0d12eccd
Additional Hang Signature 4: 1173
Additional Hang Signature 5: 11730b69344ac49790b1724b47986c5c
Additional Hang Signature 6: f3c5
Additional Hang Signature 7: f3c52c7323ddc30596d3c74c0d12eccd

I have also tried creating a dump file which reports this:

Nexus Crash Dump File

On Sun 2/27/2011 2:22:26 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\Nexus (3).DMP
This was probably caused by the following module: guard32.sys (guard32!?Exported@@YAXXZ+0x802)
Bugcheck code: 0x0 (0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: CUSTOM_ERROR
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: guard32.sys .

I do not have the file guard32.sys anywhere on my computer, but guard32.dll is part of Comodo Internet Security. I tried disabling Comodo but the problem persisted. I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling Nexus.

I then tried running the program in safe mode and it works. I then added the normal startup programs that I usually use one by one and Nexus continued to function properly. I then tried running msconfig and setting up to boot with a diagnostic boot with esssential services and drivers only and Nexus would NOT work under that setup.

Is there a way to determine what service or driver is loading that is interfering with the program?

I am stumped. Any ideas?

You did a pretty good job at diagnosing the problem and answering your own question: Comodo is the culprit.

You see, even if you disable it, the device driver it depends on is still running and causing problems on your system (the device driver, however, will not load in Safe Mode, which is why you were able to run Nexus there without issues).

Personaly I use Eset's Smart Security suite and I never had an issue with it (I'm actually a beta tester for them). Comodo, on the other hand, has been known to cause problems with 3rd party applications.

Have you tried contacting Comodo technical support about this issue? I know they are aware of Winstep applications as they have contacted me before about white listing Winstep apps in their AV suite so they are not flagged with false positives.

Thanks, Jorge.

First let me say that I love Comodo, especially when I compare its price to Eset.

That being said, I consulted the Comodo forum to see if I could find anything there. One user suggested in the Wish List that Comodo should be made compatible with the Nexus Docking program but I saw no response to that message.

Comodo suggested reinstalling before reporting any bugs, so I tried to do that and found that there was an error when I ran the uninstall program. I completed it and then cleaned out all of the Comodo entries from the registry manually. I then ran Nexus again and lo and behold had the same problem!

I ran a dump on the Nexus file and it still said that guard32.sys was the culprit. I did a file search and found a guard32.dll file hidden in Windows/System32. When I deleted that, Nexus ran fine. Progress!

I then tried a reinstall of Comodo and when it was done the Nexus issue reappeared as before. However, there did not seem to be a guard32.dll file in the Windows/System32 folder. There was a guard64.dll file. When I did another dump check, it again showed guard32.sys as the problem and a new search for it showed that it had reappeared in the windows/syswow64 directory. Weird.

I am pretty sure that the guard32.dll file is from Comodo as I edited the content and found that there was some verisign information regarding Comodo in it, so it looks like a legitimate file installed by Comodo.

When I again tried to delete the guard32.dll file at this location, I received the message that the file could not be deleted because it was being used by the Acronis Scheduler Helper. I have Acronis True Image installed, so I disabled the two Acronis services so that no other Acronis services were running, but still could not delete this file after a reboot with the Acronis services disabled.

And that's where it stands. It looks to me like you are right and it is a Comodo issue so I will send this information along to them in the hope that I can get some help there. I really like both Comod and Nexus but it may be that I will have to give up either one or the other.

Jay

They're making you go through hoops at Comodo, eh? Sorry about that, I'll try sending a message to my contact there to see if they can look at this, although I have no idea if he is in a position to do something about it.

Very kind of you, Jorge. Thanks for taking the trouble to follow up. The post has now been done on Comodo as a Bug Report and in the Defense+ section. We'll see what develops and your input there (and maybe influence!) would probably help.

Jay

Ok, sent him a message. Not sure if it will help, though, as I don't know his level of access to Comodo developers.

Hmm... I also use Comodo Internet Security Premium on my Win 7 64 bit system and Winstep Xtreme works fine with Comodo software.

Best,
Janusz

Thanks Janusz!

Your post gave me a little tip. I have Nexus working fine on my desktop computer with CIS, so I decided to try something. Here is what I did as I reported it on the Comodo forum site:

I have found a fix or at least a workaround!

Since I have the same Nexus and Comodo installed on my desktop PC, I decided to try to import the configuration from that computer to the laptop having the problem. The desktop configuration was for Proactive Security while the laptop was set for Internet Security. First I changed the laptop configuration to Proactive Security. Then I imported the config file from the desktop PC. After doing this, I rebooted but Nexus would still not work. I then proceeded to force a delete on reboot of guard32.dll which was in the c:\windows\sysWOW64 folder using Unlocker (freeware at http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/). Rebooted and Nexus worked perfectly.

I am attaching the configuration file which I used to get it going.
------------------------------------
The configuration file could not be attached here. If you want to view it or use it, you can download it from the Comodo forum site https://forums.comodo.com/empty-t70194.0.html

I hope this will be helpful to others.

Jay