Avast 8 annoyingly slowing down computer

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

After updating to the latest version of Avast free (on XP Home SP3), everything is annoyingly slow.
Each window, is opening very slow and with a huge delay, no matter if it’s a folder or a program.
Repairing the installation didn’t help.
Everything feels like I have to start it in the morning, to be able to use it in the evening.

Surfing through the internet isn’t fun anymore either, because webpages are affected as well (I’m on the latest Firefox btw.).

It didn’t happen with Avast 7.

Could it be the cloud feature?
Maybe Avast is too busy with it or overcharged because I’m only on a 2000Mbit/s connection?

How can I improve the performance of Avast, please?

2

See if that helps:

  1. avast! GUI → Settings → Troubleshooting → Enable: “Load avast! services only after other system services”
  2. Click OK.
  3. Reboot.
3

Same here on XP SP3 32 Bits. On this system every version of Avast was good but Avast 8 as you have mentioned heavy slowdowns & hangups.

Windows Firewall.

No other security software.

4

@Asyn
Avast is already loading after these other services, but still, the computer is terribly slow.

@naren17
Yes, I’ve got the same configuration here.

5
  • Which version of avast! Free…??
  • Other security related software installed…??
  • Which AV did you use before avast!..??
6

For answers see the quote, please.

7
  1. Download avast! Free Antivirus: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/avast_free_antivirus_setup.exe
  2. Follow instructions: http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility (Run this tool for all prior installed avast! versions…!!)
  3. Reinstall avast! with the downloaded installer from point 1.
  4. Reboot.
8

I had to configure some exceptions.
Will my Avast settings stay intact after doing this?

I’ve got something else to do, now.
I’ll be back later today. Probably when I’m done with the reinstallation.

9
  1. You can export/import them. (avast! GUI → Settings → Maintenance)
  2. OK, please report back.
10

madmax25

How much RAM does the XP Home SP3 system have?

I have XP Pro with 1.5GB RAM and have no problem with avast on that system.

11

WOW! This scary. I am trialling Avast because I am having exactly the same troubles with Comodo Internet Sec Suite, worse on XP as reported here, but not good on Win 7 32 bit.

ATM Avast seems a lot faster, but here we go again: same thing “everything has been fine up until now” replies are always “:Try this and try that” and maybe in theory they work, but for me and many other posters, it’s just getting clogged… It’s almost as if attempts to stop viruses are just clogging stuff up as time goes by. Ot the AV people are all allowing a new “fearture” (cloud was suggested) and SOMETHING is causing blocked drains.

12

Ok, I’m back, now.
I’m not done, yet, but I’d like to reply to YoKenny’s question.

I have 4 x 512MB DDR2 RAM installed.

More to come after the reinstallation.
I’m still waiting for some motivation to begin this procedure. ;D

EDIT:
I forgot to ask…
Shouldn’t I reboot, too, after the uninstallation, but before the new installation?

EDIT2:
Damn it! I forgot to ask something else. :frowning:

On my computer there’s a 2nd power switch.
By using that switch, I can boot this computer into a special multimedia mode.
In this mode, a Linux version of PowerCinema is loaded without the need of booting into Windows.

In order for the computer to work like that, that Linux version edited the MBR somehow, when it was installed.
Now, I wonder, what will happen to the MBR, when I run the uninstall-utility?
Will it destroy those special settings?
Will it affect the MBR, anyway?

13

If I want to uninstall Avast,
do I have to uninstall it by using the Add/Remove feature of XP
and then the uninstall-utility
or can I use only the uninstall-utility?

14
  1. Yes.
  2. No.
15

Ok, I did it in the meantime.
When I was booting into safe mode, I wondered about what to choose, my usual user account or the Administrator.
I took my usual account in the end.
It seems to have worked, and it really looks like everything is faster again, now.

But I lost the last 46 days of my current registration.
I mean, it’s not that much of a problem, because it’s the free version anyway, but still, this loss is sort of disappointing.

After being back in the ordinary mode, on the last window of the new installation, it said, there was another AV software found.
Unfortunately, there was no information about what was found in particular.

Long time ago, I tried the AVG, and (in case, I’ll decide to reinstall that product some day)
there is still a settings folder in my %APPDATA%, but nothing else.
At least, I’m not aware of anything else.
Could it be this folder the Avast setup has found?

@Avast developers
Could you please add a feature to let users see what exactly it was that Avast has found?

16

You’re welcome.