Unauthorized change to windows 0xc004d401

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. The removal of any application you may have installed recently could go a long way to troubleshooting this issues. A few users that were experiencing an In Memory Mod-Auth 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 or Trojan may be to blame. You can contact PC Safety, which is a Microsoft group, which provides free help with Malware infections.

Sign in. United States English. Ask a question. Quick access. Search related threads. United States English. Ask a question. Quick access. Search related threads. Remove From My Forums. Answered by:. Archived Forums. Sign in to vote. Prologue - What I have done thus far I have suddenly started to get a message pop up saying "An unauthorized change was made to Windows". I have taken screencrops of each window from this process. Last Thing I Installed Avast! Wednesday, December 22, AM.

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

If you were directed to this method, you entered an incorrect product key. See the product packaging to make sure that you have the correct product key. Then, follow these steps to use the "Change product key" feature and reactivate Windows Vista:. If this method worked, you are finished. If this method did not work for you, go to method G. Method G: Activate Windows Vista by using the automated telephone system.

To complete this method, follow these steps:. When you login to Vista, a window with several options will be available, select the option to open your Internet browser. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

I have the same question 5. Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. How satisfied are you with this reply?