Avast 5 has way too many issues at this point. I beg Alwil to stop pushing this out until more problems have been addressed in the next few builds. It is not ready for the non-experts!!!
Well you said it, it is being offered, you don’t have to accept the offer.
I’m sorry but your missing the point. Most users don’t know that they shouldn’t upgrade yet. Anyone who has been reading this board knows that Avast 5 has issues, especially on XP. It’s simple to hold off a build or two until things clear up. At this stage, a few days will make a HUGE difference. Alwil, PLEASE just wait for a bit!!
I don’t believe I’m missing anything as not all XP users are affected by this.
When you consider the volumes of downloads against the reports of problems on the support forums and you are hardly likely to get too many reporting they installed and had no problems at all, like my XP Pro SP3 install over 4.8.
If this was happening to every XP user that updated then you would see the forums light up like a Christmas tree, that is not to say that for those that it does affect then it is a problem and one which a clean install usually resolves.
Hello HA Nut…
Avast 5 is probably not ready for some of the experts either. 
It’s like David stated, you don’t have to install it. The choice is truly yours. Hopefully most if not all users are aware of this and will take it to task. They either want to take the chance and try the install…or not. I believe vlk and his capable crew are working on the bugs that others have been unfortunate to experience. I’m counting on it.
See http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=54412.0 for some suggestions and comments about how to proceed.
look, I’m on Seven and I’m entitled to download XP mode, wanna test that once for all with V5 ;D
edit: not sure my results will be relevant when compared to an actual WinXP install though…
edit: forget it, my laptop doesn’t support “hardware supported virtulization”, so no MS virtual PC, and I knew it :
Actually the forum is being “lit up like a Christmas tree.”
I am curious how plain and in what form the “offer” of 5 is.
That is, will I recognize it and be able (probably) to wait.
Thanks
Its a big shock to see this poor decision of upgrade by what was the best AV in the world. 
Two computers, both well within the requirements, and very well running, and clean, now with a good deal of corruption, nothing I can’t handle, but all my friends, and all the people I do repairs for, and teach how to do things, I have had to start notifying them of an unacceptable level of error and failed install rates with avast 5…
I also want to add… Avast 5’s new interface looks incredibly identical to the old Norton Corruption interface… And the new Macafee Crashinvention, you can quote my alteration of those names which I see fitting for the programs they represent, I just hope we aren’t seeing the same path of greed and deception in avast, like all other software’s that gain a moderately high level of users then turns on their users, exploiting them and their once secure systems into a secret open door to malicious adwares and spywares while all the while claiming to be a defender against them.
NOW SOME DETAILS::::
Vista 64, SP1, all current,
Asus m2a vm hdmi
500 gig seagate 7200 at 3gb - 40% used
nvidia 8600 gts superclocked
8 gb supertalent 800
Install failed and TOTALLY CRASHED after hitting one of the BACK BUTTONS to get a second look at the space required when I noticed it first said 45 megs then it said 53 megs, and trying to forward again with the NEXT button it went down, not my computer but AVAST’S INSTALLER FAILED BIG TIME. Windows Security cried out INCOMPATIBLE AVAST ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM, so I figured no problem, just a feature of the failed install.
Second try, I got NO OPTIONS, my thought was it’s already got that info from the failed attempt. Going on it seemed to install ok, BUT still no acceptance by Windows security system…
Rebooted after verifying updates of data bases and engine, I rebooted once, but no change, entered Win Security sys and it claims to be running and ok… BUT the avast Icon still has the yellow warning sign…
I will deal with that computer later…
XP computer…
XP Pro SP3
Asus P4s8x-mx
Intel Celeron 2.53 gig
Kingston 2 gb 800 runnning at 667
Geforce FX 5200
Installed via the upgrade tool within 4.8 seemingly seamless… Updated fine, I think…
Next day back to shuffle a couple files from another computer to my storage drive, and I noticed a bunch of flagrant activity in the now unstable windows explorer, acting like the early beta versions of Vista and win7, where you click a folder and it either right away or a few seconds later jumps some where, anywhere, and you have to find that folder again, and scroll it back into place…
Other issues…
This new light colored tray icon sucks, it’s a rotating ball, that’s some consolation, but the image in it sucks, you can’t tell what it is to describe it, I cant tell some one over the phone what they hell their looking for…
And as I said the G.U.I. and only yuppies call it gooey, thinking their cool. It is G.U.I. Graphical User Interface, and this one is so spread out over the screen, it sucks, too damn many sub menu garbage, that SUCKS, we want a simple GUI that is so perfect it saves time… It’s got to be all right there, easy to see, easy to read, easy to lead some less knowledgeable person over the phone through the settings.
Such AS 4.8 has… The perfect Program Settings Interface.
That GUI is UNBEATABLE… the settings window straight down list on the left, is ideal to walk people through over the phone, but this new one SUCKS!!!~
What happened Avast, who the hell do you have making decisions now?
Get rid of the punk fad ideas, and get back to the good system, dependable working, reliable installs, and EFFICIENT GUI… To hell with this new Norton Corruption GUI…
OTHER FACTS, there are more people who do not know enough to follow this new layout and will quickly DUMP IT.
I work with a groups of people, and I CANNOT recommend this.
Most of the people I help get set up with Avast 4.8 went on to purchase it, now I feel bad…I hope you take this version down immediately and rework it, so the people who trust my recommendations won’t come back to me asking whats going on!!!
I will hang on to avast 4.8 until it is no longer updated, and then if 5 has not been fixed, I’m down the road…
I have cancer, medically retired, I help others as much as I can, I am sharing my vast knowledge of 30 years intense computer work. I have many friends, and am very well known around the country…
Get back Avast… You were once too good to loose.
Logos, experiments are good. I have an 8yo XP sp3 laptop that I just resurrected with a new hard drive, that was running just the Windows firewall, and MSE so I could take a look at it. Installed Free Avast! 5 with no problems, it updated the database, and I rebooted. Both Avast! 5 and MSE running fine on XP Pro SP3. So, nothing intrinsic about XP SP3 that causes Avast! 5 problems, and MSE is not one of the programs that contends with Avast! 5. Of course, YMMV as you add ingredients to the soup. Alwil still needs to sort out what is happening with the help of those with problems.
was wondering if I could launch this XP mode in VirtualBox instead of MS V.PC…will see But you’re right, sounds from many that V5 doesn’t systematically conflict with XP and the issue may lie somewhere else
I know, A couple of the users I service that are still using Avast just got updated and are having problems (One BSOD, one freezing up after running for a while, Both XP). So I have to make service calls in the snow. :
I’ve told the others to turn off program updates for now.
While beta-testing, I’ve gotten an impression that Alwil team don’t have many XP machines, which might make the claim plausible to some extent.
However, at our ends, we have Avast! 5 Free on two XP machines, which don’t seem to have a major problem. One of them had a serious issue with the firewall, though. As for a minor issue, on the other computer, I cannot let Mail Shield scan Gmail pop3 traffics of Outlook Express, ending up with keeping Stunnel but that’s all.
I am surprised that version 5 is being offered THIS FAST. I would have waited 3-4 months before beginning an auto update rollout.
Jack
Installed manually a week ago…
Vista Home Premium…Smooth with any problems or slowdowns…
I just cant get to know why many people are suffering anomalous errors when Im not? Is my system any different from the others?
If this is due to avast! being incomplete, then why did my manual installation succeeded?
-AnimeLover^^
Frustrating thing for me (and maybe Alwil too) is that I have 3 XP Pro SP3 (2xPro, 1xHome) PCs running avast! 5 IS with no problems. I also know of 7 PCs (some Vista but mostly XP) with avast! 5 Free. I’ve asked them to tell me if they notice anything strange. Yesterday one reported an X in the tray icon. avast! service was stopped, “Repair” in “Add/Remove Programs” fixed it.
I agree!
I’ve been using Avast for years and never even knew this forum existed until now (reading on other sites that 5 was released) and trying to use it with failure, only now did I join this forum trying to gain knowledge if anyone else is having problems…and a lot of people/computers are. There’s no denying it.
I think, if they start the push the update as 5 is now, then there are going to be tons of people with busted computers.
5 is just not ready for mass release.
I’ve NEVER had a problem with Avast until 5 (using older version for years and years)…something is just not right and until they find and fix what the problems are…they should hold back the roll out.
P.S. This is exactly why I left every other anit-virus program (Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, ) to name a few…they were just too much trouble to use/deal with.
I am using Avast 5.0 on 2 computers.
The first PC:
Intel Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, Windows XP SP3. Avast 5.0.377 was installed, an upgrade from 4.8, with Online Armor as the Firewall. On demand scanners: Malwarebytes Anti Malware, Super Anti Spyware, and ESET Online Scan.
The second PC is in my signature.
Thank God, I have not encountered any problems with Avast 5.0. My sister even reports that it scans faster than Avast 4.8. And it does use lesser resources compared to Avast 4.8.
By the way, both PCs are well maintained as I do the maintenance on a weekly basis. I guess it all boils down to how we use our computers. There is no software without bugs so I don’t dream about having a software that is literally bug free. Installation and removal of software have something to do with the way we use and maintain our PCs. I am very particular about installing and removing programs in my PCs as they affect the OS directly. In fact I keep those things to bare minimum. And so far, it seems to work well since I am not experiencing problems with Avast 5 or other programs that I regularly update or upgrade to. I am not saying though that other people will not have problems. Just sharing what I think could possibly cause additional problems to other people, other than bugs in the Avast 5.0 software.
Sorry to make this remark. But for someone who is well known in the country, you sure have a very nice disposition, specially with the choice of words. At least my friends in high places are not this too vulgar with their words. Finesse is what they call it or etiquette as some would say.
I think the points here (while some are good) can be put across in a better tone, that way some people reading it won’t have their sensibilities crossed.
I have cancer, medically retired, I help others as much as I can, I am sharing my vast knowledge of 30 years intense computer work. I have many friends, and am very well known around the country....
LOL I missed that one 