Avast 5.xxx -pathetically slow boot time

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Upgraded from 4.8 to 5.x many months ago. There was a noticeable slowing in boot time. Actual PC and Avast performance once booted was fine so I lived with it. About 3 days ago did a program update (sorry, did not notice the exact version) and boot time became terrible-up to 10 minutes to boot [Pentium 2800, 2GB RAM, XP-SP3 w/all updates] PC runs everything fine.

These forums usually hold the answers so I did some digging. Uninstalled 5.xx, ran [aswclear5.exe]and installed [Avast_5.5.889_setup_av_free.exe. Aaaaa, it was even WORSE!. Tried another 5.xxx version recommended for slowing. Nope.

When removed my boot time is just fine, a couple minutes. I’ve reinstalled 4.8 and that works. I’ve read all the warnings and encouragement to use 5 but it’s just not working for me at all.

Anyone have any insight into this? A simple clean install is not the answer. I’ve done 4 complete variations of those now without success.

2

Are you using any other security software?

3

You can try http://soluto.com/ to check what is blocking your boot time.

4

I have almost similar configuration as you, mine is just in perfect harmony with my system. I am thinking that your avast has some conflict with one of your startup item. try using ccleaner to disable some of your startup program and see how it works.
just my 1cent.

5

I logged onto the forum after receiving notice of the update 5.1.889 specifically to see if there is information about improving boot time. Did a search and found this thread. I’m encouraged. Really excited about the referenced Soluto software. I’ve downloaded it and look forward to running it when I get to my personal PC tonight(I’m presently on my office PC.)

I’ve been consideering switching my AV software. Though I have only anecdotal information, my boot time seems to have lengthened significantly since installing Avast. I also noticed that it is practically frozen during boot as I watch the Avast globe with ! in the applications tray (lower right). Things don’t start working until the globe starts spinning.

Since I frequently reboot several times during an evening on my PC, this slow reboot is annoying. I’m not always certain that a reboot is necessary, but it is my first attack at a problem if I get a crash or other suspected problem. I work a lot with video editing software which is very resource intensive. Doing several reboots while working on a suspect file can take a 15-20 minutes or more. So slow boot time is very frustrating for me. I have done some Google searches regarding boot time and AV software and haven’t found Avast to show up as a culprit, so I decided to check this forum.

I’ll report my soluto results after I check it out.

6

I liked the video - Cute

http://soluto.com/

Here is a review of Soluto

Note that the review was written eight months ago but it is generally a favorable review except for the update comment about Soluto and Cloud computing.

Can Soluto really make PCs less frustrating?

By Ed Bott | May 25, 2010, 5:19am PDT

A tiny software startup in Israel is trying to make your PC less frustrating. I got a sneak peek at Soluto last month, before its official unveiling yesterday, and I’ve had a few days to play with their software in advance of this first look.

The idea behind Soluto is to use the experience of thousands (or, ultimately, millions) of PC users to approximate the knowledge that a Windows expert gathers by trial and error. The software—currently in beta and free for the download—runs as a background service that watches your PC as it works, detecting slowdowns and trying to analyze the cause. By comparing those events and possible causes against a database of apps, drivers, and other software (cleverly called the PC Genome), the software can suggest solutions that you can implement with a click or two…

Windows 7 already does a decent job of delaying and prioritizing some startup tasks so that the system feels responsive well before it officially completes all boot-related tasks. On that virtual PC with the nearly-three-minute boot, I was able to be productive less than a minute after startup—launching programs, using a web browser, and checking e-mail while the system did many of its startup tasks in the background. Still, performance felt snappier and some tasks were more responsive after Soluto had completed its work. I would expect more noticeable performance improvements on Windows XP, which uses a less sophisticated startup process.

Soluto’s software is lightweight and unobtrusive, although, ironically, it notes that it delays startup by a few seconds. On the two systems where I’ve installed it, I’ve seen no untoward side-effects, and its recommendations have been reasonable and conservative.

This is a very clever solution to a genuinely frustrating problem. Time will tell if this startup can build the critical mass they need to be a success. If you try the software out, I’m interested in hearing your experiences.

Update 25-May 10AM Pacific: Ah, the woes of being a cloud-based startup. Soluto’s servers are being hammered right now, which means that the cloud-based service is not responding properly and is returning a misleading error message. The company says they’re working hard to resolve the issues.

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades’ experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.
Link to complete ZD-Net article

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/can-soluto-really-make-pcs-less-frustrating/2164

7

I was running MalwareBytes. My first clue there were problems after upgrading Avast was the [Realtime protection Module] would not start and give me an error message. I could load it manually. I also use a Clipboard utility that is supposed to boot up. It would sort of half boot, be running in the background but not visible. I’d have to stop it with [Task Manager], then boot it manually.

So, I uninstalled MalwareBytes. Boot time was still awful. When Avast 5 was uninstalled > great again.
Installed 4.8, all background programs boot properly and boot time is satisfactory.

I have not yet re-installed MalwareBytes. Still trying to figure out Avast primary problem.

8

I’m just trying that out. Interesting program-I like it! My boot time is ~3" with 27 sec of Avast4.8 time. Nothing of particular interest jumps out.
I did run [HiJackThis]. No remarkable issues.

9

No Soluto for me!

Trashed my XP Pro system and was useless on my Windows 7 system!

10

Isn’t that interesting. Soluto works fine on my system, Avast 5 does not. My wife is running it without problems and I built her system.
Tricky things some of these AV/malware programs and all their interactions.

11

Thanks again for the tip

I installed it on my network and rebooting two of three computers.

  1. Laptop total boot time a little over two minutes - Total boot time saved by “Pausing” what I didn’t need at boot time = 2 seconds
  2. Desktop total boot time 1:21 - Total boot time saved by “Pausing” what I didn’t need at boot time = 1 second

My guess is that Soluto takes longer to load at boot than the time I saved. :slight_smile:

Anyone it is an interesting program and for most people who don’t bother keeping their start up program list clean it could save them a bunch of time. In my case I am pretty diligent about keeping my start up program list to a minimum so Soluto did not benefit me. However, for now I will leave it installed.

What I really need to do is spend the time looking at the “Processes” that install at boot time and clean those up. Maybe someday when I have nothing else to do :slight_smile:

12

I kind of agree with the comments about Soluto. I also do keep track of what processes start and keep them trimmed down to what I want.
It tells me Avast4.8 takes ~28 seconds to boot. I haven’t tried putting Avast 5.xx back but I know it would be well over 5 minutes. So…what’s the point? I know Avast is the culprit. I still don’t know WHY it’s the problem. Soluto has no solution for that.

13

I have got the solution. When I installed avast 5 for the first time in my net-book PC, It took about 15 to 20 minutes to boot. Its was looking as if it had freezes my windows xp. >:( After 20 minutes of booting what i did, i read the avast help. There it was clearly mention of a setting: Setting>Troubleshooting>Load avast services only after loading system services. After checking this box when i restarted my net-book, it booted up in 45 seconds… :smiley: Isn’t cool!!! Therefore I request all the users of avast to follow this…
Thanks.

14

I’m pretty sure I tried that earlier. I was looking for ways to improve the boot time. If I can get the gumption up I may try again to make sure. It’s a pain to uninstall, reboot, clean up, reboot, install, reboot (forever), update…The whole process can eat up an easy half hour only to get unsatisfactory results.

When is 6.0 projected to come out? Should I just wait for that? I must have spent the better part of 4-6 hours on my previous attempts to figure this out so am a bit leery of even trying again unless I know what the problem probably was, and a decent chance of success.

15

Try soluto.com to check which is going on with your boot.

16

Ok, I did.
Complete and clean removal of 4.8. Installed 5.1.889. No malware running (for now-usually run Malawarebytes).
Boot time went from 2:13" > 5:05 (more than doubled—seems even longer) ::slight_smile:
Avast boot time went from 30 sec. on 4.8 > 51 sec. (is that why it’s called 5.1? ;D)

A BIG chunk of boot was just called [System] and was 81 sec. I did not note that process time during the 4.8 boot so it must not have been significant. Soluto does not define what exactly is the [System(s)] file booting.

In addition a clipboard tool [Clipmate] I use has it’s boot process screwed up. This has been predictable in 5.x. It half boots - running in process but not available. I need to kill it with task manager and reload it. It’s OK then.

Updates seem normal. Protection seems OK.

Does this help anyone figure out my problem?

17

When I had Soluto on my XP Pro system it slowed down boot up so much that I could go and make a cup of coffee at the start of my XP Pro system’s boot up and by the time the coffee was ready in 10 minutes the system was up.

The best setting I found was to Load avast! services only after loading other system services in SETTINGS then Troubleshooting

Are you running XP Home or Pro?

18

I’m running XP Home. Soluto (according to Soluto) it loading in 8 sec. My initial problem was with avast 5. Adding Soluto as a diagnostic has not made any noticeable difference.

I’ll try the [load avast last] option.
FWIW it continues to screw up Clipmate.

Addendum: I did the [load avast last] change. Boot time improved to 4:41. Avast was 40sec, and [System] was 83sec.
Clipmate booted right, a couple other things did not…weird.

But NOW, the Avast icon on mouse-over says [avast! Ativirus: WARNING, your system is UNSECURED]. When I open the Avast menu it says it IS secured.

19

I used [Soluto]to disable a bunch of my non-critical start programs. Most of them were a few seconds. According to that program the combined total saved was 30 seconds for 12 items.

The reality: Total boot time dropped to 1:24 (from 5 minutes). System boot dropped to 19 sec, and Avast to 5 sec. INCREDIBLE!

So, some combination of boot items is not playing well together. I’ll have to start adding them slowly back in and see what breaks it.

20

fmerk, glad to know that Soluto gave you a hand :wink: