An unauthorized change was made to windows....

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  Hello Melou78,

  Vista is in, what we call a 'Mod-Auth' Tamper state.  There are 2 types of Mod-Auth tampers.

   
  1)    A critical system file was modified On Disk - What this means is that the file, located on the hard drive, was modified in some way. This can be caused by a malicious program (spyware, malware, virus) or by manual file modification (by a user of the system). There is also a very small chance that an Update may fail in mid-update and cause this type of issue. As a safety mechanism, Updates are made so that if they fail, they roll back any updating that was done before the failure, but there is an off-chance that the roll back did not occur.
  
  2)    A critical system file was modified In Memory - What this means is the file itself (on the hard drive) is un-modified, but the code, from that file, running in the system, was modified in some way and is caused by a running program that is incompatible with Vista.
   
    Because there is No Mismatched files listed under the "File Scan Data-->" line of your Diagnostic Report, we know that your issue is an In Memory Mod-Auth and therefore caused by an incompatible program. This means there is a program install and Running that is trying to access parts of the OS that Vista does not allow, which by definition, means it is incompatible with Vista.

  
  NOTE: We have seen an increase in this type of issue and we believe it is unlikely that software writers are still making programs that are incompatible with Vista. Instead, we believe that a majority of the issues are being caused by Malware that are doing the same things (on purpose) as incompatible programs do (by accident).
   
    In addition to why a Mod-Auth occurs, it's also important to understand how Vista detects a Mod-Auth event. There is a Service that runs in Vista that detects a Tamper to a Critical System file. But this Service runs randomly, so if you were to install an incompatible program and run it, Vista (most likely) would not immediately enter a Mod-Auth  State and it could take some time for the Mod-Auth to be detected. The important point to note is that the moment Vista detects the Mod-Auth, you know that the program that is causing the Mod-Auth, is currently running.
  
     Below I have provided a number of steps to help you identify the program that is causing the tamper:
   
    First, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931699/ and confirm that you do not have any of the programs known to cause this type of issue.
   
    Second, in your Diagnostic report above, you can see the line that starts with 'TTS Error:' followed by a bunch numbers: M:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- This is the Tamper Time Stamp and it breaks down like this:

  
      (year)  (month) (day) (time in 24format) (millisecond)
  M:2011        06        22           1324               26173- -
   
  Note: I also see a "K" type Tamper Time Stamp. The “K“ stands for Kernel Mode tamper. Once you remove the program that is causing the In Memory Mod-Auth tamper, the Kernel Mode tamper may be resolved as well. But a Kernel Mode Tamper can sometime indicate a Malware infection. To be on the safe side, we strongly suggest scanning your system with the Anti-Virus program of your choice as well as with the Microsoft Safety Scanner (https://consumersecuritysupport.microsoft.com/default.aspx?productkey=pcsafetymalware&faq=1&task=diagnostics&st=1&wfxredirect=1)  
  
  Now that you know the time of the tamper, you can now try to connect that time with a program.
  1)    Login to Vista and select the option that launches an Internet Browser
  2)    Type into the browser address bar: %windir%\system32\perfmon.msc and hit Enter
  3)    When asked if you want to Open or Save this file, select Open
  4)     In the left hand panel, click Reliability Monitor
  5)    Click on the “System Stability Chart” above the date 06/22
  6)    Below the chart, in the “System Stability Report” section look at the report titled "Software (Un)Installs for 06/22/2011 "
  7)    Look for any program that shows "Application Install" in the 'Activity' column.
  8)    Since the process that detects Tampers runs randomly, it can take up to 3 days for the process to detect the tamper and set Vista to a Tamper State. Because of this, please repeat steps 5) thru 7) for the dates 06/21. 06/20 and 06/19  (or around the date the issue first occurred)

  
    This could tell you what programs were installed on or around the Tamper date and should help you narrow down the possible programs that could be causing the issue. Unfortunately, if you installed the program at some time in the past, but didn’t run it till now, this process may not be helpful.  The removal of any application you may have installed recently could go a long way to troubleshooting this issues.
  
  Note: Since everyone has different programs installed on their computer, it is extremely hard for support to figure out what program is causing the problem, but if you still need assistance in identifying the Incompatible Program, please create a no cost support request at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52029

  
  Also Note: it has been found that Malware, such as Viruses and Trojans, can also be incompatible with Vista and can cause an In Memory Mod-Auth. A number of users (that were experiencing your same issue) have confirmed that a Malware infection was the cause. If you follow the above steps and cannot find a program that is causing the Mod-Auth, you may want to investigate if a Virus, Worm or Trojan may be to blame. You can contact PC Safety, which is a Microsoft group, which provides assistance with Security related issues:
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/support/default.mspx

  Thank you,

  ---

  Darin MS

  • Marked as answer by Darin Smith MS Wednesday, June 22, 2011 7:55 PM
  • Unmarked as answer by Darin Smith MS Friday, June 24, 2011 8:49 PM

  Wednesday, June 22, 2011 7:54 PM
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  "Melou78" wrote in message news:c77e1d21-26f2-4c88-9bc9-06e8b347ca16...

  Hi

  AFter installing some updates, I restarted my computer and now i can't access my desktop, programs etc. I have this error : 0xC004D401.  Check solution online and it does nothing.  I had my pc for over 3 years, Never had issues with it until this error....I was able to install and run a program here are the details.  I just want it to run normal again, Please help !! :) thanks

  Diagnostic Report (1.9.0027.0):
  -----------------------------------------
  Windows Validation Data-->
  Validation Status: Invalid License
  Validation Code: 50
  Cached Online Validation Code: N/A, hr = 0xc004d401
  Windows Product Key: *****-*****-27HYQ-XTKW2-WQD8Q
  Windows Product Key Hash: U8YEZzymoD4DMyaMb32rPrNIS90=
  Windows Product ID: 89583-OEM-7332157-00061
  Windows Product ID Type: 2
  Windows License Type: OEM SLP
  Windows OS version: 6.0.6001.2.00010300.1.0.003
  ID: {91FBEF3F-16FD-47F9-A35B-4F73B4B2F401}(1)
  Is Admin: Yes
  TestCab: 0x0
  LegitcheckControl ActiveX: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
  Signed By: N/A, hr = 0x80070002
  Product Name: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium
  Architecture: 0x00000009
  Build lab: 6001.vistasp1_gdr.101014-0432
  TTS Error: K:20110414234049119-M:20110622132426173-
  

  
  Licensing Data-->
  C:\Windows\system32\slmgr.vbs(1634, 5) (null): 0xC004D401
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Please see the advice in the Note to Avast users post here....
   
   
   http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuinevista/thread/E2F066B3-2517-41BC-8FAD-4C036F2F4AC8
   
  

  
  --
  
  

  ---

  Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

  • Proposed as answer by Darin Smith MS Friday, June 24, 2011 8:50 PM
  • Marked as answer by Darin Smith MS Tuesday, June 28, 2011 10:50 PM

  Friday, June 24, 2011 9:07 AM

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  I would like to jump in here if no one minds. I first got a validation error after I ran an anti-virus, anti-malware with an application I got from eSupport.com. After cleaning, my system would not boot up, and could not get to the desktop at all. I tried using my Windows 7 upgrade disc to fix the problem but found that my product key (on the side of my computer) could no longer be validated, so I ran my Vista recovery discs I got from HP and did a complete factory install. The error that product key could not be validated continued. In the control panel I tried to change the product key, there is a link for doing that but couldn't. I tried to use work around I found in Microsoft Answers forums. They did not work, so I tried my copy of Windows 7 upgrade again. This morning I finally was able to get to the Windows 7 desktop but I am informed I have 30 days to activate this copy of Windows 7. I am at work right now and I fear that I will have to buy a full version of Windows 7, completely format the drive and load the full version to get a good validation and activation.

  One thing of note is that I think I caused this problem in advance of the anti-spyware by having deleted the contents of the Recovery partition, which the user is warned not to delete. I tried recovering the deleted files by using an un-delete program, but it seems I had completely screwed things up. fortunately I have Mozy an offsite backup.

  My word of warning to all Vista users, DO NOT delete the contents of your Recovery partition. Leave it alone. Someone here can probably tell me (us) if there is important information (data) in the Recovery partition that will affect validation. I would like to hear from you. Thanks

  Friday, June 24, 2011 1:25 PM