Problem
After installing the Windows 7 update patch released on 13th March 2018, 32 bit installations of Macrium Reflect may cause Windows to be unable to restart. The error displayed in the BSOD is:
pagefault_in_non-paged_area pssnap.sys
We believe that this is related to the Spectre meltdown protection added in the Windows update:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4088875
Affected versions
Note: This affects all versions and editions of Macrium Reflect.up to v7.1. If you are running v6 or earlier then please also follow the steps below.
Windows 10 32 bit installs that have been upgraded from Windows 7 may also received this error.
Windows 10 32 bit installs that have been upgraded from Windows 7 may also received this error.
Solution
- Using another PC, Download 'removesnap.exe' and save to a flash or external drive that you can attach to the failing PC:
http://updates.macrium.com/reflect/utilities/removesnap.exe - Attach the flash/external drive to the failing PC.
- Boot into your Windows PE rescue media.
- Once started, launch PEExplorer and navigate to the drive that contains 'removepssnap.exe':
PEExplorer is launched by clicking the computer icon on the task bar. - Double click 'removepssnap.exe'
- Close Macrium Reflect to reboot.
pssnap.sys will now be removed from startup and Windows will be able to load.