Avast 8 won't install on Vista SP2

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Avast Free version 8 install fails. It had Avast on it a while ago, but the End User put a lot of other crap on this unit since the last time I touched it last year, including other antivirus and security crap which I cleaned out before trying to reinstall Avast.

The Avast install log mentions this:

26.04.201321:19:19Return code: 0x000036B1 [The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log for more detail.]

Event Log (Windows):

Log Name: Application
Source: SideBySide
Date: 4/26/2013 9:32:06 PM
Event ID: 59
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: xxxxxxxx
Description:
Activation context generation failed for “C:\Program Files\AVAST Software\Avast\ashBase.dll”.Error in manifest or policy file “C:\Windows\WinSxS\manifests\x86_microsoft.vc90.crt_1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b_9.0.30729.6161_none_50934f2ebcb7eb57.manifest” on line 0. Invalid Xml syntax.

Did an sfc /scannow

[i]Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of th
em.
Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

The system file repair changes will take effect after the next reboot.[/i]

Any ideas how to fix this, short of a nuke and pave of the hard drive?

I’ve run the Avast cleaner, reinstalled all of the MS C++ packages to no avail…

2

It normally is a issue with visual c++.
Since (as you say) the user had a lot of crap on it and you “cleaned” the system…
It can be a lot (and really mean a lot!) of things causing the problem.
I would say, don’t make it hard on yourself and just install Windows-7 (if the system can handle it)
If not, install Windows-XP (ofcourse with all available updates)

3

I would be wary of installing XP as support will end in less than a year. :slight_smile:

4

As mentioned the Side-By-Side Configuration is Incorrect Error in avast is usually related to C++ normally it means the required version isn’t present - You need to install MS Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable.

You need 2008 SP1 - this is the one:
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update
Note this link there are 64bit versions there (IA64, x64) ensure you get the correct one for your OS (x86 32bit OS, x64 64bit OS)