The group policy client failed the sign-on -- caused 10 min startup

stanhilliard · 06 Feb 2017

I have had a series of symptoms in the following order -- Windows 10:

1) On 1/14/17 startup produced the message - "The group policy client failed the sign on ..." It continued to run after a long startup. All startups after that took a long time -- 6 to 8 minutes total:
ON to login menu -- 1 minute.
Login to black screen -- 6 to 8 minutes
Black screen to desktop -- 1 to 2 minutes

2) After 1/24/17, Malwarebytes can no longer download update files, but Kaspersky can and does.

3) Just before that I had installed MS Office 1016 and installed and ran the add-on NodeXL which uses Excel.

4) After 7 days with the long startup each day, I ran msconfig and on the [general] tab changed the startup from normal to diagnostic startup. The option automatically changes from [diagnostic startup] to [selective startup] when I push [apply]. On trying to shut down, the login screen opened (without the password input box). I shut the computer off after 1/2 hour on the startup/login screen.

5) Current situation:
Now startup is relatively fast - 2 minutes total -- but I don't think it loads any autostarts. msconfig still is set to [selective startup] and switches back to that when I select [normal startup] and push [apply]. Malwarebytes still can't connect to its update server. . There will probably be a lot more symptoms.

How can I track this down and fix it?

Caledon Ken · 06 Feb 2017

So 1/14/17 was probably when the updates from 1/10/17 went in.

Could I suggest you have a look at the Windows Update history to see what was delivered, that they all went in successfully and that no drivers were downloaded. I'm a big believer in Change Mgmt, something caused the issues of 1/14/17.

Next I would uninstall NodeXL and I would uninstall MalwareBytes. I would then re-install MalwareBytes and confirm connectivity has been restored. I would monitor MalwareBytes installation to see if it provides any installation messages. To ensure you completely uninstall Mbam I would use their removal tool. If purchased I would confirm I had key.

Malwarebytes |

How do I uninstall Malwarebytes Anti-Mal...

Regarding startups, I would shutdown Windows completely by holding down shift key and clicking shutdown. Then boot. When you have your system back I would start task manager and click on Startup tab. It will show you status of each line item.

Prior to doing any of this I would ensure I had a fallback plan, something like an Image created by Macrium reflect and Windows 10 boot media created by creating a Recovery Drive, 8GB key needed. Macrium tutorial.

Please check out Macrium Reflect as an Imaging tool. It is recommended and used by members on this forum. It is free, reliable and a fast way to restore to a working system.
Macrium Reflect - Backup and Restore

stanhilliard · 06 Feb 2017

Thanks, I will go through this process and report back. I have another question though. Is the automatic switching behavior in msconfig normal or is it part of the issue?

Caledon Ken · 06 Feb 2017

To be honest I don't know. Maybe it is just indicating that you have changed it once and now this another change. This might be confirmed when you see startup tab.

stanhilliard · 07 Feb 2017

A screen shot is included showing the last two windows updates. Neither shows errors.

I am wondering if the issue could have developed with the 1/25/2017 windows update. The last Malwarebytes file is dated 1/24/17. Malwarebytes runs OK but can't manually access the update server.

Also, both MS Office 2016 and NodeXL were installed on 1/20/2017 – between the last two Windows updates.

New: The printer spooler is not running, probably because of autostarts not running.

The startup tab in msconfig is empty. It refers to Task Manager. In task managers startup tab all 22 of the programs listed are enabled – but I suspect they don't run.

stanhilliard · 07 Feb 2017

New --- The same error just happened to my Windows 10 laptop when I started it. I recorded the complete message this time:

Code:


"The Group Policy Client Service failed the sign-in. 

The Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) type is not supported. [OK]"

I did not push [OK] and after a while the screen turned back to the first screen -- before the log-in. I shut the laptop down so as to not change anything until I have a plan.

I don't use the laptop much but several days ago I, using Xmarks, synchronized the desktop bookmarks with the Xmarks server and then synchronized the laptop bookmarks to that so I would have my current bookmarks on the laptop. That is the only recent thing I remember doing with the laptop. I have recently also synchronized my android Nexus 6 phone to the same bookmarks using Xmarks for Dolphan. During this same period the Nexus 6 developed a problem with its Chrome browser -- at startup it loads a page called Google Payments Center where it is stuck with no way to exit.

EDIT:
I found a 5 page discussion of this problem here:
The group policy client service failed the sign-in in Windows 10 - Microsoft Community
but it is not clear how to fix it.

Caledon Ken · 07 Feb 2017

My startup tab has my audio and touchpad. Likely yours does to. Is your PC making sounds and does your touchpad work?

Interesting thread you posted. Four, if I counted right, fixed this issue by uninstalling Kaspersky and a couple by removing chrome.

I'm in the remove Kaspersky. If you wouldn't mind giving that a try. I would find out if they have a removal tool to remove all traces. Make sure you know license info so you can re-install. Create a restore point before.

It may be worth visiting Kaspersky site and seeing if others are reporting through their forum. Not saying it is Kaspersky just following the leads.

stanhilliard · 15 Feb 2017

Thanks, I think the problem is fixed.
Here are things I did:
1 I made an image of C: using Macrium
2 I removed (clean tool) and added back a fresh KIS.
3 I removed (clean tool) and added back a fresh Malwarebytes.
4 Now it starts fast.
5 Printer works.

I believe that removing KIS turns on Windows Defender. Because after removal of KIS the interface was extremely slow. Like 1/2 hour for startup. The desktop came on fast but it took an extreme amout of time to paint the icons on the desktop and on the start bar. This might be related to my using Classic Shell v4.3.0. The interface sped up when I added KIS back.

The remaining issue, if it is an issue, is that in MSconfig on the [general] tab the option is stuck on [selective startup]. I can change the option to normal startup but the option automatically changes back to [selective startup] when I push [apply]. I think that is caused in the services tab which shows that one service, the geolocation service, was disabled (unchecked) on 2/5/17 (a week ago). It won't re-enable. I'm not worried about it.

Caledon Ken · 15 Feb 2017

Great. Glad you got things figured out.

Thanks for posting back. It should help others.