A 'twofer': The "Windows Self-Healing Tool" that isn't. Also, a way to fix the "missing clock" problem.

How the heck did this get distributed?

http://www.neowin.net/news/unauthorized-windows-self-healing-tool-app-could-cause-more-harm-than-good
from WinCustomize Forums

 

It's one of those stories you just can't make up. More power to Ed Bott at ZDNet:

"If you want to be a Windows expert, one of the most important lessons to learn is skepticism. Whenever someone claims to have a magic fix-it tool or a MakeRocketShipGoFast registry tweak, you should keep it away from any system you care about until you can confirm it does what it says it does...One of the first red flags for me was the information embedded in the file itself. It has a copyright date of 2015 and the copyright holder is Microsoft Mobile Oy...That's the former Nokia division, which has been almost completely dismantled at this point...After a little more digging, I can report that this tool is indeed being distributed from Microsoft's servers. But it has nothing to do with the Anniversary Update and was apparently built by a single tech, independently and without the blessing of the Windows Support group...

The trouble is, the tool does far too much to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public with no documentation.

One engineer who looked closely at what this utility was doing called it "a sledgehammer." Another support rep who also examined how it works was reportedly "frightened by some of the things this is doing. If you're tempted to download and tun this thing, my advice is to steer clear. If you've already run it, good luck." - Ed Bott

So...steer clear of this software which appears to be Nokia recovery software at its base. It's unauthorized, and doesn't really do what it says it does.

Now for the good news! A fix (genuine) for the "missing clock" problem after the Anniversary Update. Turns out this huge honkin' update screws with settings...and that's not really a new thing for big updates, arrarently. While it could be a borked install, it could be something a lot simpler: https://www.infopackets.com/news/9916/how-fix-windows-10-clock-missing

 

Sources:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/unauthorized-mislabeled-microsoft-support-tool-leaks-could-cause-more-trouble-than-it-cures/

http://www.neowin.net/news/unauthorized-windows-self-healing-tool-app-could-cause-more-harm-than-good

https://www.infopackets.com/news/9916/how-fix-windows-10-clock-missing

 

 

42,175 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

:thumbsup:  Thanks, Seth.

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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I keep my task bar hidden. When I put the cursor on the bottom task bar comes up and the clock is first black then white. It changes depending on which WB skin you are using. On Naked Noir it comes up white, no changes. On other skins its black but it doesn't disappear completely.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Sheesh! 

Forgot to credit Hankers for the Neowin source... so, thanks Hank! :)

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

My clock isn't missing, it's just always the wrong color text, so it's very hard to see.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Thanks for that sir.

Have a fun one for you: My dad called me the other day and said that his Win10 start menu had disappeared. Click the start button, nothing. The start menu and every process associated with it was gone.

 

sfc/scannow fixed it, but wow. To allow this most basic and intrinsic part of the OS to malfunction is not excusable. Turns out lots of folks had this problem and sfc didn't always fix it. Some had to do a full recover "save files" operation.  Sheesh.

 

Reply #7 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Microsoft x has a lot of nice features anyway i heard that anything that is not ccleaner or system mechanic is useless to counter productive disk fixers. To that all disk fixers don't work.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

:)  nice! Toda raba