K-Lite Codec Pack 11.7.0 Mega & 11.7.5 Mega corrupts my Windows Task Scheduler, Windows Update & potentially other key Windows applications in Windows 7

Hello, I ran into a problem Saturday morning after I upgraded from K-Lite Mega Codec Pack Version 11.6.5 Mega to Version 11.7.0 Mega. So that morning a
K Lite update box popped up telling me that there was a new version available for download as well as an additional update that I could install after the
installation of Version 11.7.0 Mega had finished. I downloaded both the installer and the update, making sure I had the correct versions, and install them both in the order that the update popup suggested I did. After I had finished installing both, I tested to make sure that my videos, audio and subtitles were all working, and they all were working just fine.
I also installed 3 other updates, those being CCleaner, an Avast update and a Windows Definition Update for Windows Defender (KB915597) (Definition 1.211.1040.0).
So after that, I turned off my computer and went to run some errands. When I came back I turned on my computer, then I decided to run CCleaner by
right-clicking on the Recycle Bin and then clicking "Run CCleaner". I was surprised when CCleaner ran because the "User Account Control" box popped up asking me if I wanted to run CCleaner. This is odd because CCleaner has a built in feature to skip the UAC when ran from the recycle bin. Thinking that maybe the CCleaner update changed something, I opened CCleaner, went to Options > Advanced and noticed that the "Skip User Account Control warning" was unchecked. When I went to click & check the box, a Popup telling me that the Task Scheduler wasn't running showed up. So I went to
Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Task Scheduler. But when Task Scheduler opened, I got a popup that said "The remote computer was not found."
On the far left of the Task Scheduler screen, where the Task Scheduler (Local) tree is, the Task Scheduler Library folder was gone.
In the middle of the Task Scheduler screen, under Task Scheduler Summary, all info under "Task Status" and "Active Tasks" had text that said "Reading Data Failed".
And on the far right, under Actions, most buttons related to creating a task were greyed out.
After that I went to Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Services and found Task Scheduler in a "Stopped" State. When I tried to restart the Task Scheduler service, A box showed up, a green bar within the box filled up for a second and then another box saying "The Task Scheduler Services on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they are not in use by other services or programs." popped up. This is strange because, to my knowledge, Task Scheduler should always be running. After that, I went to Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Event Viewer and noticed that I had
a lot of errors in Event Viewer> Windows Logs > System. My computer never has errors in the Event Viewer, only "Information" events.
The Errors I got were the following:

Level: Critical Source: TaskScheduler Event ID: 404 Task Category: Service RPC error
Task Scheduler service has encountered RPC initialization error in "RpcServerUseProtseq:ncacn_ip_tcp". Additional Data: Error Value: 1721.


Level: Error Source: DistributedCOM Event ID: 10005 Task Category: None
DCOM got error "1053" attempting to start the service WSearch with arguments "" in order to run the server:
{7D096C5F-AC08-4F1F-BEB7-5C22C517CE39}


Level: Error Source: Service Control Manager Event ID: 7023 Task Category: None
The IPsec Policy Agent service terminated with the following error:
The requested service provider could not be loaded or initialized.


Level: Error Source: Bits-Client Event ID: 16392 Task Category: None
The BITS service failed to start.  Error 0x8007277A.


Level: Error Source: Service Control Manager Event ID: 7024 Task Category: None
The Background Intelligent Transfer Service service terminated with service-specific error %%-2147014790.


Level: Error Source: Service Control Manager Event ID:7001 Task Category: None
The Peer Networking Grouping service depends on the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service which failed to start because of the following error:
The requested service provider could not be loaded or initialized.


Level: Error Source: Service Control Manager Event ID:7023 Task Category: None
The Peer Name Resolution Protocol service terminated with the following error:
The requested service provider could not be loaded or initialized.


Level: Error Source: DistributedCOM ID: 10010 Task Category: None
The server {4991D34B-80A1-4291-83B6-3328366B9097} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.


Level: Error Source: Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service ID: 14323 Task Category: None
Service 'WMPNetworkSvc' did not start correctly because MFCreateWMPMDEOpCenter encountered error '0xc00d4268'.
If possible, reinstall Windows Media Player.


Level: Error Source: Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service ID: 14356 Task Category: None
A media delivery engine with ID '0x80070057' was not initialized because RegisterDelegate() encountered error ''.
Restart your computer, and then restart the WMPNetworkSvc service.


Level: Error Source: Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service ID: 14348 Task Category: None
A new media server was not initialized due to error '0x80070057'.
Restart your computer, and then restart the WMPNetworkSvc service. If the problem persists, in Windows Media Player,
turn off media sharing, and then turn it back on.


Level: Error Source: Service Control Manager ID: 7023 Task Category: None
The Windows Update service terminated with the following error:
%%-2147014790

Level: Error Source: DistributedCOM ID: 10010 Task Category: None
The server {9B1F122C-2982-4E91-AA8B-E071D54F2A4D} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.


Level: Error Source: DistributedCOM ID: 10010 Task Category: None
The server {E60687F7-01A1-40AA-86AC-DB1CBF673334} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.


After that, I restarted my computer to see if that would fix it but it didn't. I also shut down my computer for a few minutes to see if that would fix it but it also didn't work. The Task Scheduler was still messed up and I was still getting errors in the Event Viewer.
I ran a virus scan with Avast, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and SpywareBlaster but they all came up clean, No viruses.
Out of options on what to do, I decided to do a System Restore to the previous day. Thankfully System Restore got my Task Scheduler working like normal and all of the errors mentioned above were no longer happening.
Since the System Restore uninstalled the CCleaner update, the Avast Update, the Windows Update, K Lite Codec Pack and reverted them all back to their previous versions, I decided to try and locate the problem.
I started off by updating my Avast, then restarted my computer, then checked Task Scheduler and every thing was fine.
Next I updated CCleaner and installed the Windows Update, then restarted my computer, then checked Task Scheduler and again everything was fine.
Before doing anything else, I decided to make a new System Restore point because I had a feeling that the problem could possibly be caused by K Lite.
So after that, I downloaded K-Lite Codec Pack Mega Version 11.7.0, installed it and restarted my computer. Then I checked Task Scheduler but
like before, it was messed up again and I was getting the same errors.
I used System Restore a few more times after that to try and find a solution.
I tried uninstalling K Lite Mega Codec Pack Version 11.6.5 (the version I'm currently using), restarting my computer and then installing Version 11.7.0 Mega
without changing any of the settings during the install but the problem came back every time, no matter how I installed Version 11.7.0 Mega.
I also tried installing Version 11.7.0 Mega on top of Version 11.6.5 Mega and as a clean install, but the problem came back as well.
I have also tried installing Version 11.7.5 Mega on top of Version 11.6.5 Mega and as a clean install as well, but the problem
seems to affect Version 11.7.5 Mega too.
I have also noticed that the problem isn't just isolated with Task Scheduler, it also seems to affect my Windows Update causing it not
to work either.
I haven't tested this problem out on other versions of K Lite (basic, standard, full) so I don't know if other versions could be affected by this "bug", and I'm too scared to keep trying things, so I think for now I'll stay with Version 11.6.5 Mega since it's the newest version that doesn't seem to be affected, until the K lite team hopefully fixes this or some kind of solution is found.
I have been using K Lite Codec Pack Mega on this computer for the past 4 or 5 years but I have never ran into a problem like this before and I don't know
what else to do except ask for help on here.
My Operating System is Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 64-bit.
Has anyone else experienced this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

Very strange. The pack uses a scheduled task for the update checking. See if you can reproduce the problem with that option disabled in the installer. Do a clean install, select "Advanced" install mode. On the bottom of the "Additional Tasks and Options" page, disable the update check option.

The pack uses a standard method for creating the update task. There are no known problems with this. The code hasn't been changed recently and it was working correctly for you in you previous install, since you got the update message. Did you also try a clean install of 11.6.5 instead of using system restore to revert back to it?

You should also test if you are able to manually create a scheduled task (like launching notepad.exe). Perhaps that triggers the same problem.

Can you export the following Registry key before and after the problem occurs? Then we can compare them.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache

Also make a copy of the folder: C:\Windows\System32\Tasks

Admin wrote:Very strange. The pack uses a scheduled task for the update checking. See if you can reproduce the problem with that option disabled in the installer. Do a clean install, select "Advanced" install mode. On the bottom of the "Additional Tasks and Options" page, disable the update check option.

The pack uses a standard method for creating the update task. There are no known problems with this. The code hasn't been changed recently and it was working correctly for you in you previous install, since you got the update message. Did you also try a clean install of 11.6.5 instead of using system restore to revert back to it?

You should also test if you are able to manually create a scheduled task (like launching notepad.exe). Perhaps that triggers the same problem.

I agree it is strange, in the many years of using K Lite I have always had update checking on and have never had any problems with it; Nothing this severe.
I just finished doing a clean install. I uninstalled 11.6.5 and then installed 11.7.5, I did what you said and disabled the update option.
After that, I restarted my computer and the problems and errors were back.

I have tried doing a clean install. I uninstalled 11.7.5 and installed 11.6.5 then restarted my computer. The problems and errors did not go away.

If I don't have K Lite 11.7.0 or 11.7.5 installed, the Task Scheduler works perfectly fine. I tested it like you said. I made a new Task and set it to open Notepad in about a minute, which it did. It opened Notepad normally at the time I set the task to. I was also able to run it manually by right- clicking on the new task I created and clicking "Run". Notepad opened normally. I also restated my computer after making and running the new task and everything was fine, no errors at all. Task Scheduler stops working after I install 11.7.0 or 11.7.5 and the problems begin after I restart or shut down my computer.

Admin wrote:Can you export the following Registry key before and after the problem occurs? Then we can compare them.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache

Also make a copy of the folder: C:\Windows\System32\Tasks

I have made a copy of the TaskCache registry key before and after the problems as well as copies of the Task folder before and after the problems.
What should I do with the registry and Task folders now?

Also, I dont know if this could be part of the problem but the installer did freeze on me when I got to the
"hardware Acceleration" part of the install. (I have always used "Use Sofware decoding" and have never had a problem with it, so it has always been my Default choice).
From what I can remember, a K Lite installer has never frozen on me before
but it seems to happen every time I try to install 11.7.0 or 11.7.0 for the first time. After I close the installer with Task Manager (ctrl+alt+del) and run it again, the installer finishes normally.
Also I didn't want Ad-Aware Web Companion so I didn't install it, hope that's alright.

I have to go now but I'll probably check back on this post either later tonight or tomorrow. Hope it's alright that I use System Restore to revert my computer to a normal functioning state, I don't feel comfortable with leaving it messed up, plus I need to do some work on it but I don't feel right working on it in this messed up state. I hope you understand. I have saved the Registry keys & Task folders you asked me to make to my flash drive, so I'll still have them for later.
Have a good night.

Just put all the files into a ZIP/RAR archive and upload it somewhere for me. For example http://www.sendspace.com

Are things still working correctly after only uninstalling 11.6.5, so without reinstalling the pack? What happens if you then install 11.6.5 again, without ever installing a newer version? I suspect that gives the same problem.

Lets also check for problems in Windows itself.

STEP 1:
Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt > right-click on it ans select "Run as Administrator".
Run this command: sfc.exe /scannow

This will check for any damaged/missing Windows files. If if says it found problems but can't fix it, then use this command to get details:
findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log > c:\sfcdetails.txt

STEP 2:
Right-click on C:\ in Explorer > Properties > Tools > Error-checking

STEP 3:
Install this Windows patch:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20858
This fixes several Windows problems.

Did the freeze on the "hardware Acceleration" page occur immediately when that page is displayed? Or after pressing "Next"? Or after changing a setting on that page?

Admin wrote:Just put all the files into a ZIP/RAR archive and upload it somewhere for me. For example http://www.sendspace.com

Are things still working correctly after only uninstalling 11.6.5, so without reinstalling the pack? What happens if you then install 11.6.5 again, without ever installing a newer version? I suspect that gives the same problem.

Ok so I did what you said, after uninstalling 11.6.5 and restarting my computer, things worked normally, no errors.
After that I reinstalled 11.6.5 (without ever installing a newer version) and restarted my computer, again no errors things still working normally.

Admin wrote:Did the freeze on the "hardware Acceleration" page occur immediately when that page is displayed? Or after pressing "Next"? Or after changing a setting on that page?

I think it froze as soon as I got to that page, also if I remember correctly, instead of saying "Decoding Method:" on that Hardware Acceleration page, it said "Tweaks" and part of the word was cut off. I tried to recreate the freeze so I could post a picture of it but I couldn't get it to happen again.
Although I did find something new while trying to recreate the freeze. I noticed that the errors come back even if I cancel the installation of 11.7.5. In other words, I ran 11.7.5 up to the Hardware Acceleration page, then canceled the installation and restarted my computer. After the restart, the errors were back even though the installation had been canceled and even though I was still using 11.6.5. So it seems that even running the exe causes it.

I'm not 100% sure but I may have found what could have caused the problem.
You see I just remembered that a few months ago, I ran an app called "GWX Control Panel" version 1.5.0.0 (created by programmer Josh Mayfield) on my computer. The program is a stand-alone exe, no installation needed, and it gives you more control over those "Get Windows 10" apps that Microsoft has been pushing on most Windows 7 & 8 users for the last couple of months.
Much more info about the app can be found on his blog:
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/11/gwx-control-panel-troubleshooting-guide.html
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/11/the-gwx-control-panel-faq-frequently.html
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

The app does what its supposed to do just fine and according to what I read, most of the choices within the app are reversible, except for the one that delete something. I have never used the app to delete anything, the only option I used was the "Disable Operating System Upgrades in Windows Update" button, a reversible option.
I had that option ON around when I started noticing the problem, so I turned it OFF and tried to install 11.7.5 (both on top of 11.6.5 and as a clean install), but the errors still came back, it seems like its a "the-damage-is-already-done" kind of situation I guess when it comes to GWX Control Panel. I'm guessing that something within GWX Control Panel conflicts with 11.7.5. but I don't know for sure, I'm only assuming because it's the only odd piece of software that I have used or even installed, in the past 2 years or so, on this computer.

The reason why I think GWX is causing this is because I did another test earlier on my second computer. My second computer is a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit and I only use it for work/audio editing. I had "K Lite Mega 9.something" (I can't remember the exact version) installed on that computer. I downloaded 11.7.5, ran it, the program asked me to uninstall my older version of K Lite first so I did & then I installed 11.7.5. I then restarted the computer and checked Task Scheduler and Event Viewer and I'm happy to report that I had no errors on my second computer. Everything on that second computer is up to date just like my main computer and most of the programs that I have installed on my second computer are also installed on my main computer (the one that I'm having problems installing 11.7.5 in). So my second computer is almost a clone of my main computer, except that it leans more towards audio purposes. The only difference is that I never used "GWX Control Panel" on my second computer, only on my main, this is why I think that GWX could be the problem and that it's my computer that is messed up. So at least we know that K Lite is ok.

I've been thinking of just reformatting my main computer. I was kind of planing to reformat it some time next year anyway but due to all of this happening and also after finding out that my second computer installed 11.7.5 just fine, I've really been thinking of just reformatting it some time soon.
Would you recommend that I reformat?

Admin wrote:Just put all the files into a ZIP/RAR archive and upload it somewhere for me. For example http://www.sendspace.com

Sorry I just remembered that I forgot to send you the registry files, I was so busy yesterday that I forgot. I'll send you the link to the files via PM right now.

I also have a question about those 3 steps you asked me to do. Should I do those 3 steps first, then try to install 11.7.5 or should I install 11.7.5 first, restart my computer to get the errors happening and then try those 3 steps?
Thank you for your patience and for all your suggestions and help so far.

You can do those steps at any time.

I doubt the problem is related to GWX. Even though the systems may appear similar, there can be many differences that are not obvious. There are over a million users of 11.7.x without problems. I don't think the pack is causing the problem, it merely is somehow exposing an underlying problem.

Can you try this version:
http://files.codecguide.com/beta/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1177_Mega.exe

I've only been able to do the first step but it seems like the scan came out fine. I got "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations." after the scan.

I did a clean install of 11.7.7. When the installation began, I got a message saying "Remove left-overs of Lavasoft web companion." I clicked "yes". Then the installation went on normally until I got to the "Ready to install" page, where the installer then froze at. After closing the installer I tried running it again. Like before it asked "Remove left-overs of Lavasoft web companion." and again I clicked "yes". This time the installer didn't freeze and the installation finished. I then restarted my computer but when I checked, the errors were back again just like with 11.7.0 & 11.7.5.

You know I think you're right about "GWX Control Panel" not being the cause of the problem. I did a test on both of my parents computers (a Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit). They both have K Lite and they both have used that same feature that I used in "GWX Control Panel" around the same time I did. In fact, we used "GWX Control Panel" the same day as well as the same version of "GWX Control Panel".
So here's what I did, my mom had an older K Lite Mega 9.x and my dad had an older version of K Lite Full. I did a clean install of 11.7.5 mega on both of their computers then restarted. After the restart their computers were perfectly fine just like my second computer, no errors. So I think the problem lies within my computer. I have no idea of what could be causing it. Hopefully you got those registry files I sent you this morning, maybe they hold the answer.

I also want to let you know that I may be reformatting my computer pretty soon. Besides those errors, I have noticed that it has been acting weird lately. Sometimes, icons that should be there, wont show up in my Taskbar near the time and I have also noticed that my computer has been very slow lately. My parents' dual core computers boot up and are ready to use much faster than my quad core computer. I usually have to wait at least 2 minutes after my desktop shows up to start using it and I doubt that it could be caused by my computer overheating because I always stay on top of that and make sure that my temperatures are normal, if not cooler than normal, which they are now. So I have a feeling that the problem(s) may just get worse.

I posted this to the filehippo.com comments for this app:

After installing this version (11.75), my OpenVPN and Keypass (Firefox integration) stopped working with "not a socket" errors. I reverted to restore points three times to isolate problem to this package. I believe it corrupts the registry for my TCP stack.

@fringes
K-Lite itself does not cause such problems. The optional bundled offer "Lavasoft Web Companion" adds entries to Winsock, so that could have a compatibility problem with those applications. Removing that program should solve it. Run the codec pack installer afterwards to clean up some left-overs (some older versions of Web Companion had a bug in the uninstaller). I will ask Lavasoft to test those applications.

@Xololanxinxo1
A clean install would be a wise decision given all the symptoms.

I opted out of the Web Companion install, but perhaps the opt-out didn't work. But even if the "optional bundled offer" is what caused the problems, I didn't download or want that software. In fact, opting out is a bit tricky. I'll look forward to seeing what Lavasoft has to say. Thanks.

Opt-out is as simply as clicking on the "Decline" button on the offer page. If you have missed that, then it may have gotten installed. You can check by looking in Windows Control Panel > Programs. There you can also remove it if needed.

@Admin. Sorry it took so long to answer back, the reformat took a lot longer than expected, I also wanted to do some more tests after reformatting to see if I could get the problem to resurface. I'm happy to say that the problem did not and has not come back since I reformatted.

Here's a list of tests I did right after reformatting,
I tested out installing & uninstalling K-lite mega 11.7.5, with a restart in between each of the following:

-Installing/uninstalling K lite as the first program, then restarting. Everything was fine.
-After installing Avast and over 200+ windows updates. Everything was fine.
-After installing motherboard related items like the chipset drivers, ect.  Everything was fine.
-After installing Nvidia GPU drivers.  Everything was fine.
-After installing programs (in groups of 3-4) that I had installed on my previous OS. Everything was fine.
-After reinstalling most of the programs that I had installed on my previous OS. Everything was fine.
-After running every program. Everything was fine.
-After reinstalling all external hard drive, flash drive, Ipod & Iphone drivers and making sure that those devices worked. Everything was fine.
-After running & using GWX Control Panel.  Everything was fine.
-After reinstalling my Firefox add-ons & bookmarks. Everything was fine.
-After everything was reinstalled and all data was transferred back to the new OS.  Everything was fine.

So the good news is that the problem did not return but I could not figure out what could have caused it.

I will say that I did notice a difference in the K lite installer after reformatting, particularly in the "Additional Software Offers" part of the install. On my old OS, I would never get offered the "Video AdBlock plugin for chrome and firefox". I thought that maybe I wasn't getting that offer because I already had the Ad Block Plus plugin, so I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until I reformatted, reinstalled my Ad Block Plus plugin and then ran the K Lite installer that I noticed that now, I was getting offered "Video AdBlock plugin", despite the fact that I already had Ad Block Plus installed. I believe that this is normal because my second computer, as well as my parents computers, have Ad Block Plus and yet they too get the offer for "Video AdBlock".

I also noticed that whenever I ran 11.7.7, the one you recommended that I could try, I would get that "Remove left-overs of Lavasoft web companion." popup. Before reformatting, I checked my drive for anything related to Lavasoft but I couldn't find any trace of it. I never install bundled software so it was weird that K lite wanted to remove it. Maybe it got installed accidentally, or from somewhere else, and something got left behind. I honestly don't know.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about what I tired and what I noticed, maybe it could help someone else.
Reformatting seems to be the answer because everything is running smoothly again.
Thank you for all your help and suggestions Admin!

There are several cases in which no offers are shown. For example during updates and silent installs. It also depends on the Windows version, language, and installed browsers. If you don't see them, then nothing gets installed. If you do get the offer, simply click 'decline' if you don't want it.

That popup in 11.7.7 was always shown, also when not relevant. So don't worry.