It seems that after the 5.0.462 update everything finaly works fine. My little brother says he’s not experiencing anymore shield-disabling problems. What about you, other users who had this kind of problems, are you still experiencing them from time to time or not at all?
Anyone, please?
Not at all (fortunately).
That’s good to read. 
I think I will upgrade from v4.8 to v5 shortly…
Newest version of Avast! 5.0 on my Vista Home Premium 32 Bit machine still has this problem. I remember that all versions 5.0.x I tried had this problem.
It looks like that :
-I uninstall Avast 4.8
- reebot,
- install Avast 5.0.x
- configure password for Avast, so unprivileged users cand modify settings (leaving all checkboxes at default state at password tab)
- everything works perfectly,
- than after one or two reebots (after a day or two) when computer starts avast informs that all shields are down.
- I try to enalble them by :
- using context menu by RMB clicking on Avast icon at tray,
- using shields management screen
- using START->Administration tools->Services and trying to start Avast main service
but with no success - avast tells me that there is some error, so shields can’t be reenabled; service starts and in one moment stops.
I noticed that Avast is downloading and installing updates properly (at least by these one or two days).
My system specs (this is computer for my kid):
ABIT KV7 (mainboard)
AMD Sempron 2800+ (Socket A CPU)
Kingston 1,5 GB DDR (RAM)
ATI Radeon 9250 (GPU)
Windows Vista 32 Bit Home Premium.
EDIT :
oh, and one more thing - I’m using Pro version… version 4.8 of Avast works perfectly on this machine
I have had this issue for over six months but today I think I not only have a solution but also an explanation for what is happening.
This worked for me on Vista:
- Control Panel> Programs and Features
- Click on Avast icon
- Click on Uninstall/Repair
- Click on Repair
- Start Avast from the system tray or elsewhere
- Click on Fix Now
I think what might be happening is that a program update at startup gets interrupted leaving the program in an inconsistent state. This leaves the Avast service unable to run and it terminates.
Why the update gets interrupted is another question…
In my experience you have to use the control panel Programs and Features as all other uninstallers can’t get around the Avast self protection.
Also still having this issue. Every reboot, shields are down captain…hit the FIX NOW, everything is fine after, and runs perfect. Never had any issues until recently about a week ago.
Running XP Pro
Avast 5.0.545
Tried all the easy fixes, of repairs and what not? So, I’m still having issues.
Any help would be appreciated.
After sharing what I thought was the solution I also had a further problem last night and this time my procedure didn’t work. However, when I started this morning and Avast was still not running, I went through my procedure again, and this time IT WORKED.
Did I do anything different? I’m not sure but here is what I did this morning.
- Start control panel Programs and Feature (in XP use Add/Remove Programs). Click on the Avast icon and uninstall (in Vista, click on the Uninstall link).
- The uninstall process offers a number of options. Click on Repair.
- After the repair has completed, click on Update.
- Start Avast and click on Fix.
I emphasize that it is Windows Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs) that should be used, not any alternatives. (I use Revo Uninstaller normally but have not had any success with it on this Avast problem.)
One thing to note is that while this procedure did not work last night, it did this morning. Reboot? It may be that a reboot is required.
Hope this helps.