Rescue Mode (2014) New Bitdefender Total Security Problem
My symptoms are different than the ones in this thread and I don't want to hijack it so I'm starting a new one. Mods please combine the threads if appropriate.
I've opened a support ticketed but I hope a forum discussion might lead to some insight. Considering the other forums posts I've found I'm not hopeful that Bitdefender will have a solution but they may surprise me. I'll leave out my normally snarky comments 
except for this one: The first thing support asked is that I uninstall Malwarebytes which I did and it did not resolve the issue. If you've seen my other posts I'm not on board with with Bitdefender's "Malwarebytes bad!" philosophy but that's way off topic here.
Rescue Mode doesn't work on either of my Windows PCs so I assume it's a local configuration issue. Both PC's config is Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, UEFI install (not legacy BIOS), GPT partitioned SSD drive. I'm ignoring that one is a laptop and the other a desktop, and the drives are SSD. I assume it is UEFI or GPT (and why GPT would make a difference I don't know but at this point it's just information). I confirmed Rescue Mode works in a virtualized Windows 7 x64 environment to eliminate Windows 7 x64 as being part of the problem.
The laptop kept reporting there wasn't enough space on the drive which I know isn't correct. I deleted all the Rescue Mode files from the root of C: and did a repair of BDTS and the error message changed to notify me Secure Boot was enabled. I went into the laptop Setup and changed from UEFI only to allow both UEFI and legacy BIOS (turned off Secure Boot) and to boot legacy BIOS first. After that the previous "not enough space on disk" message came back. I also tried BIOS only.
I swapped in the original HDD that came with the laptop which is an MBR formatted drive and a BIOS Windows installation. Sure enough, Rescue Mode worked like a champ. With Malwarebytes running (oops, sorry, keep it classy 
).
What confused the issue is that I grabbed the command that Bitdefender to setup and launch Rescue Mode and running it from an elevated command prompt because it didn't seem to modify the BCD store at all on the UEFI installs. Using BCDEdit I manually added the entry necessary to boot Rescue Mode (effectively creating a dual boot which Bitdefender does not recommend) and Rescue Mode still did not work. So whether the BCD store is being updated or not the system still does not boot in Rescue Mode. I grabbed EasyBCD and installed a quick Linux distro that uses the same type of BCD entry to boot (Real-mode Boot Sector) and it also doesn't boot so (assuming that was a valid test) I'm focused on UEFI. I don't see why UEFI would keep the BCD from being modified so I think it's a red herring and possibly a flaw in my attempts to collect data.
That's where I left off. At this point I'm focused on UEFI vs BIOS. I'm not the smartest guy in the room and usually consider myself one of the hammers in the bag. I only have a light understanding of many of the things I mentioned, but I'm technical and curious and hope this helps Bitdefender resolve my problem and hopefully someone else's and make a better product for everyone. For the older PC I originally needed to scan (Mom's) the Rescue CD wouldn't work and I had to do almost as much work to come to the conclusion that I was not going to be able to resolve the "needs 1024" video resolution issue and ran a different product. I don't expect that issue on my two PCs where Rescue Mode doesn't work but I'd rather use the current tools for some unknown, stubborn reason.
Thanks for any suggestions and I'll put on my fireproof pants if you want to unload on this. I consider myself stuck until I come up with any more half-backed ideas so I appreciate any assistance. At this point my question is how a UEFI install of Windows could interfere with booting up an alternate OS when the Laptop is set to UEFI/BIOS with bios as preferred.
Edit: This info was sent to support for my ticket.
Comments
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Ticket ID:201309101004251
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Thank you for posting, I will contact you in a few minutes via Ticket ID: 201309101004251.
Have a nice day!0 -
Does this post from the forum apply?
From the thread (emphasis mine):
2. Rescue Mode supports Windows XP, 2003, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Note that some newer computers (sold after Windows 8 was released) use UEFI at boot and UEFI does not support booting Linux systems (including Rescue Mode). We are investigating a solution for this.
As I explained in my rambling post, my system is UEFI.0 -
I give up. I'll follow up with Amazon to see if I can get a refund.
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Thank you for posting, I will contact you in a few minutes via Ticket ID: 201309101004251.
Have a nice day!
Hi Georgia...I can't boot into rescue mode either and I'm assuming that its because my computer also boot_s using UEFI. Has BD made any progress on this issue. Are there any alternatives to accessing Rescue Mode.0 -
@ PNutts3
If you decide to reconsider our products, please reply to my email sent via ticket ID: 201309101004251. We will gladly help you with the encountered situation.
@ ozziebear
Bitdefender works properly on about 50% UEFI systems. To be able to assist you further, we need the following details:
1- a screen shot with the error you receive when trying to load Rescue Mode (or reply with the text message)
2- the model of your PC/laptop
3- did it come with Windows 8 already installed?
Thank you, looking forward to your reply.0 -
@ PNutts3
If you decide to reconsider our products, please reply to my email sent via ticket ID: 201309101004251. We will gladly help you with the encountered situation.
@ ozziebear
Bitdefender works properly on about 50% UEFI systems. To be able to assist you further, we need the following details:
1- a screen shot with the error you receive when trying to load Rescue Mode (or reply with the text message)
2- the model of your PC/laptop
3- did it come with Windows 8 already installed?
Thank you, looking forward to your reply.
Hi Georgia...I opened a ticket with support and have sent that info to them so I'll wait and see what they suggest.0 -
Hello ozziebear,
Thank you for letting me know. I received your response via ticket ID 201309241001919 .
Please reply to my email and tell me if you agree with the next steps.
Thank you.0 -
My father's PC is affected.
Medion PC-8585 pre-installed with Windows 8. EUFI mode and GPT partitioning. 1TB Seagate 7200.14 (ST1000DM003-9YN1), free space 815GB.
Mainboard is Medion branded H61H2-LM3 by ECS.
Error message as attached.
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My father's PC is affected.
Medion PC-8585 pre-installed with Windows 8. EUFI mode and GPT partitioning. 1TB Seagate 7200.14 (ST1000DM003-9YN1), free space 815GB.
Mainboard is Medion branded H61H2-LM3 by ECS.
Error message as attached.
Hi...Yes that's the same error message that I get. BD is proposing a remote session. I'm thinking about it.0 -
I know how to make it work but it involves making a few critical alterations to the factory setup. So if suspecting problems I could burn the 2013 rescue image to cd or convert it onto a usb stick and boot from that. The machine is new this year and supposedly still under warranty (although the level of support is shocking) so I don't particularly want to start messing with it and converting GPT to MBR, altering the UEFI BIOS settings in question unless absolutely necessary. I just tried entering rescue mode without altering anything to see what would happen and feedback some information to Bitdefender.
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@ antikythera
Thank you for the details. In the meantime, on the affected PC please right click on "Computer" > choose "Manage" >"Disk Management" and attach to your reply a print screen of the entire window - "Computer Management".
@ ozziebear
Please see my reply via ticket 201309241001919. Please let me know if 8 AM works for you.
Thank you both so much for cooperating with us. Have a lovely weekend ahead!0 -
Hello please find the attached as requested.
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I'm interested if Bitdefender can resolve this and would appreciate if someone posts the solution here. I'm not sure it's enough to make me come back as a customer but it would be nice to see Bitdefender have a win and address a problem that's going to become more of an issue as folks replace their PCs with newer ones.
If it helps anyone, here's the issue as I understand it (subject to change as newer information becomes available)
1. Secure Boot must be disabled (per BD support)
2. Rescue Mode works on about 50% of UEFI systems (per BD support)
3. It's unknown if a GPT partitioned disk affects Rescue Mode booting in a UEFI system
4. It's unknown if Bitdefender can write to the BCD on a UEFI system with a GPT partitioned disk (my guess is "no" based on my testing)
Of course a Rescue CD that works is an acceptable workaround to me, but like Rescue Mode it only works on a subset of PCs.
I validated Rescue Mode works in a VM BIOS based MBR partitioned system. My next step was to try a UEFI install Windows on an MBR partition but at that point life got in the way and I couldn't justify any more time on it. And I apologize for mentioning this but the support for this was terrible.
So there's my brain dump and I'll step out of the thread to not confuse the issue. I'm happy to respond to questions directed to me but I don't want to get in the way of BD providing support and since I'm no longer trying to solve the problem I doubt I have anything useful to contribute.0 -
Hello everyone,
I would like to ask you if this error still persists when starting Rescue Mode. According to our Development team, the issue should be solved at this moment through automatic update of Bitdefender.
Please make sure that the Bitdefender product updates daily, and in order to do this please right click on the Bitdefender icon from the system tray (near Windows clock) and choose 'Update now'. Once the Bitdefender product will ask you to restart the computer and the build version will change to 17.20.0.883 (latest build) the issue should be fixed.
To make sure you have the latest build please right click on the Bitdefender icon from the system tray, choose 'About' and look at the 'Product Information'.
I will be waiting for your feedback in this matter. Thank you!0 -
I will try running Rescue Mode again when I have access to the PC. However it has since been upgraded to Windows 8.1. Hopefully that won't affect it though?
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Hello everyone,
I would like to ask you if this error still persists when starting Rescue Mode. According to our Development team, the issue should be solved at this moment through automatic update of Bitdefender.
Please make sure that the Bitdefender product updates daily, and in order to do this please right click on the Bitdefender icon from the system tray (near Windows clock) and choose 'Update now'. Once the Bitdefender product will ask you to restart the computer and the build version will change to 17.20.0.883 (latest build) the issue should be fixed.
To make sure you have the latest build please right click on the Bitdefender icon from the system tray, choose 'About' and look at the 'Product Information'.
I will be waiting for your feedback in this matter. Thank you!
Since BD product update to 17.20.0.883 and Windows update to 8.1, I no longer get the error message. Computer restarts but just loops around to the Windows log in screen. So a step in the right direction but still no rescue mode.0 -
Hello everyone,
I would like to ask you if this error still persists when starting Rescue Mode. According to our Development team, the issue should be solved at this moment through automatic update of Bitdefender.
I reinstalled BDIS to see if the issue was resolved and for my PC it is. It can now boot into Rescue Mode.0 -
Rescue Mode works fine on my Father's machine as well now. The modifications did the trick even with Windows 8.1 installed.
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Terrific! Thank you all for sharing the results.
@ ozziebear Rest assured we will help you further with this. You can expect an email from us via ticket ID 201309241001919 in the next minutes.0 -
Since BD product update to 17.20.0.883 and Windows update to 8.1, I no longer get the error message. Computer restarts but just loops around to the Windows log in screen. So a step in the right direction but still no rescue mode.
Bitdefender developer here, it would help me a lot to have some details about your hardware, since UEFI support has recently been introduced in consumer laptops and, booting linux-based applications (like our rescue mode) is hit-and-miss to say the least.
So far we know that some Toshiba and Samsung laptops will not boot linux (or rescue mode). Can you provide:
- laptop brand and model
- was Secure Boot enabled when you tried starting Rescue Mode
- what BIOS flavour your laptop has (common are Phoenix, Award, MSI, ...)
Thanks. @PNutts3: you're right, we only introduced proper UEFI/Secure Boot support last month. Some laptops are missing functionality required by rescue mode, we are building a list and will notify users when they attempt to start rescue mode on such a laptop.0 -
Bitdefender developer here, it would help me a lot to have some details about your hardware, since UEFI support has recently been introduced in consumer laptops and, booting linux-based applications (like our rescue mode) is hit-and-miss to say the least.
So far we know that some Toshiba and Samsung laptops will not boot linux (or rescue mode). Can you provide:
- laptop brand and model
- was Secure Boot enabled when you tried starting Rescue Mode
- what BIOS flavour your laptop has (common are Phoenix, Award, MSI, ...)
Thanks. @PNutts3: you're right, we only introduced proper UEFI/Secure Boot support last month. Some laptops are missing functionality required by rescue mode, we are building a list and will notify users when they attempt to start rescue mode on such a laptop.
Hi Bogdan...I appreciate your help
This problem is occurring on an HP Pavilion Desktop PC Model # p7-1455
System info tells me that Secure Boot is enabled.
Bios Version/Date: AMI 8.14, 2012,12,18 (I hope this is what you are asking for)
Let me know if you need more info.0 -
Hi Bogdan...I appreciate your help
This problem is occurring on an HP Pavilion Desktop PC Model # p7-1455
System info tells me that Secure Boot is enabled.
Bios Version/Date: AMI 8.14, 2012,12,18 (I hope this is what you are asking for)
Let me know if you need more info.
Its been 3 weeks. Any progress or info on this?0 -
Its been 3 weeks. Any progress or info on this?
Rescue Mode worked perfectly for months until I had to reinstall Bitdefender Windows 8 Security.
I then received the message about Rescue Mode not compatible with a secure boot system (implies I'm using W 8.1 with UEFI boot).
This solution worked perfectly:
1. Uninstall Bitdefender
2. Go into UEFI/BIOS and disable secure boot (temporarily)
3. Reinstall Bitdefender
4. Access Rescue Mode from the Bitdefender interface within Windows. The system will then reboot you into Rescue Mode.
5. Exit Rescue Mode, then before booting back into Windows, re-enable secure boot from UEFI.
6. For me, Rescue Mode now would not work from the Bitdefender interface within Windows, HOWEVER, you are able to access Rescue Mode now from the pre-boot startup options, for me it's pressing f12 before boot then selecting "Bitdefender Rescue Mode??????" instead of the Windows option.
Finally, if you want to use Rescue Mode, you'll need to access it from the pre-boot startup options, which for me isn't even a hassle (you need to restart the system anyway if you were to access Rescue Mode from the Bitdefender interface within Windows).0 -
Rescue Mode worked perfectly for months until I had to reinstall Bitdefender Windows 8 Security.
I then received the message about Rescue Mode not compatible with a secure boot system (implies I'm using W 8.1 with UEFI boot).
This solution worked perfectly:
1. Uninstall Bitdefender
2. Go into UEFI/BIOS and disable secure boot (temporarily)
3. Reinstall Bitdefender
4. Access Rescue Mode from the Bitdefender interface within Windows. The system will then reboot you into Rescue Mode.
5. Exit Rescue Mode, then before booting back into Windows, re-enable secure boot from UEFI.
6. For me, Rescue Mode now would not work from the Bitdefender interface within Windows, HOWEVER, you are able to access Rescue Mode now from the pre-boot startup options, for me it's pressing f12 before boot then selecting "Bitdefender Rescue Mode??????" instead of the Windows option.
Finally, if you want to use Rescue Mode, you'll need to access it from the pre-boot startup options, which for me isn't even a hassle (you need to restart the system anyway if you were to access Rescue Mode from the Bitdefender interface within Windows).
Hi Rowlands111,
Welcome on the forum!
Your first post sounds very useful.
However ,the post you answered is almost two years old! (what one's call "to unearth a topic")
If you did it deliberately to offer a soundproof solution to the UEFI/BD problem, it's great, maybe the admin could input them in announcements, let it easy to consult in the future?.
Regards,
L.0 -
Hi Rowlands111,
Welcome on the forum!
Your first post sounds very useful.
However ,the post you answered is almost two years old! (what one's call "to unearth a topic")
If you did it deliberately to offer a soundproof solution to the UEFI/BD problem, it's great, maybe the admin could input them in announcements, let it easy to consult in the future?.
Regards,
L.
Haha... I know apologies for resurrecting an ancient thread. Could have probably started a new one.
It was somewhat on purpose, but more of just *I see a problem I experienced, quick let's post what I consider to be some form of solution!* without really taking into account the age of the topic.
Thank you, hope others find it useful.0
