Recommended BitLocker patch KB 3133977 causes some ASUS motherboards to freeze

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Looks like ASUS set a bit in BIOS that engages Secure Boot – when they shouldn’t have. Combine that with KB 3133977, and you get a bricked system. Inf
[See the full post at: Recommended BitLocker patch KB 3133977 causes some ASUS motherboards to freeze]

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I am not affected by this serious problem, thankfully, but this is just another example as to why it’s good to wait quite a while before installing updates that are not absolutely urgently needed. …I have been generally waiting a month, but maybe I should wait two months!

From Woody’s Infoworld.com article — the history of 3133977:
March 15, patch is optional
April 12, patch is recommended
May 4, patch has negatively affected enough people that Woody writes an article about it

“KB 3133977 went from Optional on March 15 to Recommended on April 12.
Back when it was Optional, only a few people installed it, and a small percentage of them with the right (wrong?) Asus motherboard saw their machines freeze. The earliest report I can find of the freeze comes from Nick Baker, posted on March 19….
I’m now seeing problems reported from all over the globe about Windows 7 machines that suddenly won’t boot.”

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Woody…

Your InfoWorld article states “(I can’t tell when Asus posted its FAQ, because it’s undated.)”

The date showing in the BIOS screenshots is Monday 4/18/2016 so I’m inclined to believe it’s not more than 17 days old.

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Good catch. Thanks!

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This problem is not ASUS’ fault as described. MS recommended that for proper UEFI boot and recognition under Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 that secure boot be enabled. Windows 7 has not supported secure boot so that was not an issue until this patch was developed by MS. It went from optional to recommended without the boot warning that was requested until after the patch started creating issues.

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That’s an interesting observation. I see what you mean – it’s dirty pool for Microsoft to leave UEFI out of the Win7 ecosystem, then suddenly introduce a security patch that tweaks it.

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My Win8.1 machine is probably alright, however, a friend of mine who has Win7 hasn’t told me about their machine yet. Meanwhile, I’ve sent a technical inquiry to ASUS requesting information about a model list of effected machines. Will report back when I can.

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Please do. I looked around for one and didn’t find it.

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Here is what ASUS just told me in their response to the inquiry I sent.

“This is referred to desktop computers and this is not an issue that is specific to models but an issue with Windows and BIOS. Therefore there would not be a list that can confirm any particular computer being affected.”

Alas, my laptop & my buddies laptops are in the clear, woo hoo.

Just to be safe, I’ve added this one to my list of updates to look out for.

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While I sympathize with ASUS about many aspects of this problem – there are two sides to the story, and “ASUS blew it” is oversimplifying things greatly – that response you received is pure BS.

ASUS knows darn good ‘n well which mobos they shipped with the UEFI bit flipped.

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I kind of suspected that I wouldn’t get very far with them. Mostly wanted to see what the general response would be. And while my feigned “woots” might’ve missed the mark, textual sarcasm being what it is, I’ll be interested to see how this progresses. In all fairness, there seems to be some of this on M$ hands as well. Regardless, I’ll continue watching out for this one.

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ASUS motherboards are in some HP and Dell PCs but may be rebranded.

Microsoft Warns Windows 7 Has A Serious Problem
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/05/04/microsoft-warns-windows-7-boot-up-problem/#63545c2c395e

“It all centres around Asus motherboards.”

“Now 27 years old, Asus is one of the largest PC component makers and supplies motherboards to many of the world’s biggest PC makers.”

“One downside: some major PC makers like Dell and HP rebrand the motherboard as the computer’s model number. In which case you should do a web search on your model or call the manufacturer directly.”

“Microsoft has also done nothing to modify KB3133977 or release a new patch so users with Asus motherboards don’t run into this problem in the first place. Furthermore, at the time of publishing, KB3133977 remains a ‘Recommended’ in Windows Update for Windows 7.

Needless to say, conspiracy theorists will have a ball seeing it as yet another new way Microsoft can push users to Windows 10. Especially with upgrade rates slowing in April. This in itself is remarkable given the increasing number of heavy handed and devious ways Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 onto Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.

Regardless, the message is clear: life is going to become increasingly uncomfortable for Windows 7 users from now on. Whether they like it or not…”

Will M$ soon make us an offer “we can’t refuse”?

JF

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Quick update. While doing some cleanup after installing June updates today after DEFCON 3, I was reviewing my notes on this ASUS dilemma.

After doing the May updates on the 30th of May, I was doing cleanup THAT month & noticed on June 2 that this update disappeared. Five days later on the 7th I confirmed it was still missing.

As of today it is still missing. Considering that I have an ASUS laptop (Win8.1) that was uneffected by this possible “desktop only” issue, I wonder if M$ figured that out or if they simply retracted it altogether.

My buddies Win7 ASUS laptop has it still hidden, very odd.

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