Earlier I had the same problem with 1489 and reversed back to 1483. I have set Avast to start after System files are loaded. I find the Wireless revolving donut freeze at start up and stabilise only after Avast is loaded. What has to be done to remove the Wireless adapter from Avast’s stranglehold. Thanks…
hi Nagan,
What version of avast!?
Free, Pro, AIS, Premier? What OS? SP?
Sorry! AVAST free 1497, WIn 7 x 64 . I did not get SP?
NP.
SP stands for Service Pack version. At the time post was made, this information and others was missing.
Two things to try:
[ol]- Since you are running avast! free, it cannot affect the firewall as it does not have a built-in firewall as does, say, Avast! Internet Security. You can temporarily disable Web Shield, Network Shield, and Behavior Shield, in that order, one at a time, to see if one of these is possibly interfering with the built-in Windows network driver and report back. Re-enable each real-time service if that one does not change behavior with the network driver but disable only one for each step and reboot for each one and see if there is a change.
-OR-
- Wait until avast! is fully loaded before attempting to connect to the internet.[/ol]
-If wireless connection, set that to ‘On Demand’
-If wired connection, plug it in when avast! is done loading.
Have you ever had another antivirus program or a/v full suite installed prior to installing avast! free! Was that uninstalled using Programs and Features? (A/V programs included with the system whe first bought but never used do fit into this category.) Never run two active resident antivirus programs or suites at the same time. Otherwise, an user will get glitches in their system and worse.
If so, use the link provided below in my sig to finalize removal of left-over drivers from any previous a/v programs and reboot. (It is marked with the word “New:”)
Thanks Mchain for the detailed reply. How to find and set the Wireless to on demand. I have no such option in my Dell Wireless Adapter. For the rest I usually hibernate/resume so it will take its time. You can advise me if it is the Web , or the Network shield which is to be turned off first.
OK, let’s try one thing at a time.
Read the following to see if your wireless adaptor is attempting to connect to other networks than the one you normally use: http://superuser.com/questions/380670/windows-7-automatically-connecting-to-unsecured-wireless-networks-on-startup
“On demand” wireless connections is the same thing as using a manually set on/off connection; you get control over when the connection is made and where it is made, and to what network.
Not aware until your last post you that use a laptop. There should be a function key at the top of the keyboard that will turn your wireless on/off as needed, and using this key to control connectivity may be all you need to do. As I do not have a Dell laptop, suggest looking up in Dell help section in laptop to find this function key.
Could be that avast! is detecting multiple network attempts to connect to several different wireless networks at the same time when your wireless is set to automatic connectivity, as your system resumes from sleep, hibernate, or fresh cold boot, and is thus causing the behavior and symptoms you describe.
In XP, right clicking the Windows Network Internet Access icon in the system tray will offer one to select “Properties” and drill down within to a setting that allows the user to uncheck a box for automatically connecting to a preferred wireless network. Don’t run a wireless connection in Win 7, but this should still be similar in process.
So there should be two ways to change the setting from automatic; one in dell using the function key, and the other, using the windows network access icon via right-click.
[EDIT:] If you find the Windows Network Access icon to be disabled as the Dell one became the system default in operation, see: http://www.home-network-help.com/wlan-autoconfig-service.html wlan autoconfig service must be enabled and running to operate here. This is offered as an option, as the Dell function key should be all you need to control your wireless operation.
Ok. Two things I want to make clear. This problem of a jinxed WA revolving donut appears only on restart or cold start , whatever. On resume , there is not much of an issue and most of the time I am on that mode. The second is I am presently using the system in an environment where only the preferred network with password access is available. Also to mention that though other networks are available they won’t be accessible due to the password issue , does Win 7 take time even in identifying that info , I am not aware. And the next best clue on "Roaming Aggressiveness"is it is set to moderate, not much of an issue here.
With such possibilities I might tend to zero in on Avast only. But presently it is impractical for me to uninstall Avast and check the system under the same connection environment. But since the Wireless icon stabilises only after the Avast icon appears , I thought Avast could be the reason. Might be I disconnect the Network shield and check later.
Thanks for trying to help…
Sorry I wasn’t able to help.
You have been helpful mchain. What is the coverage in detail of Avast both in the Network Shield and Web shield. If I have the file shield will it be safe to turn off either or both of them.
Please be patient. Am working on the security issues re Web Shield, Network Shield, so might be a day or so. Hold off for now.
OK, back.
First option would be to try to delay when avast! starts it’s system services. You get to keep all shields active and set the way they are.
(Forgot this was already done.)
Avast! program interface>Settings>Avast! Settings>Troubleshooting>place a check in the box for “Load avast! services after loading other system services.” Close the program interface. Reboot.
Seems some definitions are in order re the three shields.
Web Shield: Monitors all web browsing activity and proactively blocks online threats before they reach your browser. So, this one is for surfing protection.
Network Shield: Provides proactive protection on viruses on the network, and also blocks known malicious websites on-the-fly using a blacklist of known bad sites with known malicious code (hacked). So, this one would block worms that spread through the network, for example, or block hacked sites.
Behavior Shield: Monitors your system for suspicious behavior of system and application files and alerts you when such occurs. So. if a normal system file exhibits behavior it is not classified to have, it will alert. More heuristics-based detection than definition-based detection.
As long as you run a protocol where you test by disabling one shield at at time, and do not actively surf the 'net, you should be fine. Reboot after re-enabling each disabled shield to ensure they are running at next restart, and then repeat the same process for the next one.
Keep in mind that when a system starts a cold boot or restarts, there is a lot going on “under the hood” one cannot see, and it is happening pretty much all at once. Sometimes services/drivers will not load when they are supposed to, and consequently will temporarily hang until they start properly, and thus slow expected overall boot time/performance over what it should be. This may be what you are seeing.
Thanks for the detailed reply mchain.I have set Avast to start after the system services to start.No issues on that. Might be next time I disable Network shield and check for myself…
You can always run Process Explorer by Sysinternals at boot to determine what is hanging (slow to start).
I found this post by accident, but it seems to be the same problem I encountered, updated to 1497 a few days ago and then found I had no internet access. Using a USB attached MIFI dongle, which means I get both access via wifi and the USB hardwire (comes up as an unidentified network). After many hours messing with it and finding I could get access if I disabled Avast until reboot, I found that stuffed Avast and I could not access it after the disable. Also I was finding Firefox was not shutting correctly and having to reboot to access either.
This was fixed (well it seems to be for now) by simply not switching on the dongle until the netbook and Avast were fully booted.
That still leaves the question of why Avast does this and if it should indeed do so at all!!!
Suggest using this tool to troubleshoot. You can set it to record boot start-up processes and note any inordinate hangs from there.