After latest Avast Program update, PC is frozen with Win ME Welcome Screen

Hi,
I have a laptop PC running Win ME. After the lasted full blown update with Avast …I rebooted per the instruction. Now the PC is frozen with the Win ME Welcome Screen. The hard drive seems to be in some type of a loop. I thought it was up dating the files…but after 25 minutes realized sometime was wrong. I have tried to boot in Safe Mode without any luck.
Please advise.

Do you use a firewall?
Any other antivirus or security program?
If you uninstall avast and start from the scratch, the latest version, will it help?

Hi Tech,
To answer your questions:
Firewall: Hardware via router/modem…no software one
Security: Ad-aware, SpyBot and Spyware Blaster

I am finally able to use the laptop again. I used the boot disk, did a scandisk, and a restore of the registry.( What fun!!!..) I was able to restore via ME Restore to a prior time.
Problem now is Avast console when it loads freezes…no functions. Also I do not have the small icons in the task bar as before.
I wanted to uninstall the program…but there is no program included as with the earlier ones.
Would you please advise how to uninstall.
Thanks & Regards!

  1. Uninstall avast from Control Panel first (test again if it works…). Boot.
  2. Use Avast Uninstall for complete uninstallation. Boot.
  3. Install again the last version. Boot.
  4. Check and post the results.

Didn’t you have any other antivirus in the past in this computer?

My XP PC also freezes rigth after login evert other time now :frowning:
Very annoying. Started after the last programs update.
The desktop is up, and I can move the mouse.
But can’t do anything else, not even open task manager.
Just a busy pointer when I move mouse to START button.
avast! icon is not in the tray, neither ZA icon.

Any dump file that could help troubleshooting? Just freeze, never crashed?
Any info in the Windows Events?
Couldn’t the problem be on ZA?
Did you try uninstalling one of them and test?
Is it constant or erratic freeze?

Hi Again,
THANKS!
After complete removal and new install…Avast is working correctly now.
Thanks for your assistance!

No crash here. Just hangs at desktop at the time the avast! icon should appear.
Only busy timeglass when mouse over START, Ctrl-Alt-Del work, but not anything in that box :frowning:

Have used the same config for ages, always 100% stable - until this last update :frowning:

Could reinstall, but then I guess I will loose all my setting (or is there something I can copy/save)?

  1. avast skin folder.
  2. the txt and html files of clean notes (if you changed the default ones).
  3. avast4.ini file and, if you will install in the same folder as before, avast4.md file.