Avast! causes system crash [Win98]

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I just installed Avast! on my Win98 system and it is causing a couple of problems.

Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast! or it will cause a complete system freeze or it will generate the menu but cause one of the above problems if you highlight the Avast! menu item even if you don’t click on it. One of the above three things will happen EVERY time you right click on any file and generate a context menu.

Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven’t had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!

I have tried to un-install Avast! and then re-install but the problem persisted. Of course the problem did not exist between the un-install and re-install when Avast! was not on the system.

System information is as follows:

PII 400Mhz.
320 MB Ram.
4 Hard disks sized at 25GB, 20GB, 11GB and 50GB. System drive has about 15GB free.
Win 98.
Avast! version 4.6.603
VPS 0510-0

There is no other anti-virus program installed on the system.
Ad-Aware is installed but is not running.

I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can’t be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.

Thanks for your help!

2
Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast!
Not likely this is caused by Avast. More likely is a bad registry. Or better said a bad registry entry. Avast is working without any problems with Windows 9.x
Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven't had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!
This can be caused by the fact that Avast is still scanning while you are trying to shutdown. Check what is still running and close it before trying to shutdown to see if this is the case.

It can also be caused by a bug in Windows 98(se), did you apply the shutdown patch from MS?

I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can't be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.
Again? Do I understand correctly that you have tried several and none settified your needs? No need to switch in my opinion. Just relax and trouble shoot is the way to go and we are here to help you in the best way we can. You are not on your own ;) The problems you have are (although inconvenient) minor ones and I believe we will be able to track down the cause of it and solve it.
3

The exact text of the Explorer fatal error may tell us more, but it may simply be a low-resource condition of Windows 9x (which is hard to do anything about it).

As for the shutdown problem - it may be caused by MS Jet drivers. I suggest to download the latest MDAC package from Microsoft. For the Home version, you can disable using the Jet drives by changing the line Database=ODBC into Database=XML in avast4.ini, but it’s not an option for avast! Professional, unfortunatelly.

4 
Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast!
Not likely this is caused by Avast. More likely is a bad registry. Or better said a bad registry entry. Avast is working without any problems with Windows 9.x

First, this problem only happens when Avast! is installed. After I found this problem I uninstalled Avast! and everything was fine. After I reinstalled the problem was back.

Second, when the computer crashes you can see the context menu come up with all the entries until the place where Scan With Avast! should be. From that point down the menu is blank.

Third, when the menu does actually come up without crashing, hovering the mouse over the Avast entry for more than about half a second will cause a system crash. This does not happen with any other item in the menu.

It could be a registry issue but it must be coming from something that Avast! is adding since the problem does not exist anywhere else.

Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven't had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!
This can be caused by the fact that Avast is still scanning while you are trying to shutdown. Check what is still running and close it before trying to shutdown to see if this is the case.

I can try that but I was not running a scan when I shut down. This now seems to happen every time I shut down or even restart. Is Avast! always scanning?

It can also be caused by a bug in Windows 98(se), did you apply the shutdown patch from MS?

I don’t have SE. This computer originally came with Win 95. Since I bought it right before Win 98 came out I got a free upgrade to 98 from Dell when it came out. When I first upgraded I used to have this problem all the time. Several years ago I got a new hard drive and I did a fresh install of 98 and I haven’t had the problem since. This is going back now several YEARS. Now since installing Avast! the problem is back. It seems pretty clear to me that it has something to do with Avast! since this is the only system change that has been done now.

I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can't be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.
Again? Do I understand correctly that you have tried several and none settified your needs? No need to switch in my opinion. Just relax and trouble shoot is the way to go and we are here to help you in the best way we can. You are not on your own ;) The problems you have are (although inconvenient) minor ones and I believe we will be able to track down the cause of it and solve it.

I’ve been using EZ-Antivirus from CA for several years. I started with them back when they were still InoculateIT and free. I was very happy with their product through version 5 or 6 but they really messed up with their latest version. Then after making an inferior product they had the nerve to raise the price. Avast! is the first program I’ve tried since. I have mixed feelings in general about Avast!. As a tech guy I prefer a more simple but more functional interface than a more graphic but less informative one. I like the features that it has though and it seems to do a scan in decent time.

It identified a few files as trojans and I am strongly suspicious that at least two are false positives but I can’t be sure. If they are in fact trojans then it is already showing improved detection from EZ-AV. If they are false positives then that could be problematic.

I also can’t seem to find an option for the program to make intelligent choices automatically when it finds an infected file. I’ve serviced systems that had over 1,000 infected files on them. Could you imagine having to specify manually what to do with all those files? I’m glad I don’t have any major infection on this machine!

I still have to hunt some more through the options. If this option exists let me know where I can find it.

I also emailed support a few days before starting this post and I still haven’t heard from them. I’ll cut some slack here since this is a free program but I would expect better if I buy the Pro version.

In short, I haven’t removed Avast! yet. I’m still giving you a chance. If you can resolve these problems I will be very happy and very inclined to go Pro. If I find myself running around in circles and getting nowhere then I’ll have to give AVG a try.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that there is someone out there to help that really tries. My biggest gripe with CA was that their tech support clearly did not read the questions you asked and just shoved out standard replies. If they want to charge for their program they have to do better than that. It seems that here I at least have you guys and that’s a good thing.

Thanks!

5

When I do get an error message it is an Illegal Operation error caused by Explorer. The details are Explorer caused a GPF in module glint.drv.

I don’t always get a message. Sometimes the screen will just get messed up and the system will completely freeze forcing me to do a hard reset. I keep Resource Meter running in my system tray and when I tried it now to get the exact error message for you I had over 60% resources free or more in all three catagories.

I have the latest Jet drivers. I’m not sure if I have the latest MDAC drivers but I think I do. I believe I have 2.6. The newest I think is 2.8 but 2.7 and 2.8 don’t support some of the functionality that I need. I don’t remember exactly but I went through those files when I reinstalled Visual Studio on my newest hard drive.

Again, I did not have these problems at all before installing Avast!.

Thanks for your help. I’ll be checking back soon if you can find a solution. Thanks!

6

GLINT.drv seems to be a graphics card driver. I really don’t know how avast! could cause this kind of error. Google shows quite a few other problems with these drivers on Win9x (such as this one).

I’m certainly not an expert on Jet drivers, but could you tell me what functionality do the new versions lack, in comparision to 2.6?
If you want to check if the shutdown problem is really caused by Jet, switch the Database to XML, as described previously. As I said, it’s not a good setting for the Professional version (working with tasks in Enhanced User Interface behaves strangely and lacks some functionality), but at least we would know if they are the cause.

7

It would make some sense if this is related to the graphics driver. Several years ago I had frequent problems with crashes that resulted in a messed up screen and the problem was traced to the video driver. I updated the driver back then and the problem went away. There are still some programs that won’t function properly if the video settings are at full acceleration but there are a lot more that won’t function if it isn’t so I can’t keep it below full acceleration all the time. Are there any graphical nick nacks programmed into the Avast! context menu item that could be interfaring with the graphics card?

MDAC version 2.6 and up do not come with ODBC support for Jet or Foxpro databases. I did install 2.6 so I guess I may as well install 2.8. There may have been some other system requirement or problem with 2.8 that held me back from installing it but now I can’t find any reference to it so maybe I’ll try installing it.

I’ll try changing the .ini file after I do that and I’ll let you know what happens.

Thanks!

8
I also can't seem to find an option for the program to make intelligent choices automatically when it finds an infected file.
With the home version you can put a checkmark in front of "don't show this screen again" if the 1st malware is found. Than select in that screen "delete" and in the next screen that pops up also select "delete".

In the Pro version you have extensive options to set on how to behave when something is found. You can even create events like “if… then”.

Back to your problem. Have you already checked if there are newer graphic drivers or tried older ones?

9

Most anti-virus products allow you to set up in your options what to do when a virus is found. In EZ-AV it was set to attempt to repair and if repair was impossible it would delete on the older versions and quarentine on the newer versions. If I’m going to run a full thorough scan I will usually do it before I go to sleep or leave the house when the computer is not otherwise being used. The last thing I want is for the scan to stop and wait for instructions if something is found. I may not be back at the computer for several hours and I want the scan to be done by then.

As to the problems, I installed MDAC 2.8. It didn’t help any for the context menu issue and I won’t know if it helped for the shutdown issue until I shut down later.

I have the latest drivers for my video card. A new driver hasn’t been made for this card for several years. It is a Dell modified card with imperfect drivers that were never perfected. Almost everything else works fine though. There are only one or two programs I encountered that don’t show video correctly if full acceleration is enabled. All other context menu items work without any problems. This is the first time I’ve had a context menu problem like this and this computer isn’t exactly new.

Thanks for helping. Keep trying and maybe something will work!

10
Most anti-virus products allow you to set up in your options ...........
Avast does allow that also, but you need the Pro version to have extended options.
11

Updateing MDAC did not help the shutdown problem. I tried changing the Database setting in the .ini file to XML but I couldn’t tell you yet if it helped with the shut down. It definitely did NOT help with the crashes.

Any more ideas?

12

If you disable the avast icon on the explorer extension (details here: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=1647.0), would it help?
If you use ContextEdit you can see what is wrong with your system at ‘all files’ (http://www.pcmag.com/utilities/)
Hope this helps.

13

That did it! ;D

Without the icon it no longer crashes on right click. Any idea why the icon was causing the crash?

I still have to update you on the shutdown issue. Changing the Database entry to XML may have helped but I’m not sure yet. It also won’t help if I go Pro and if I keep Avast! that would be my intention.

Thanks Technical!

14

I can’t imagine what is the real trouble.
But I’m very happy that the information could guide you to the solution.
It’s not all the times that we shot that good 8)

But, what did you do to solve the problem?

  1. Remove the icon on context menu
    or
  2. Remove all the line (icon and text) with that application?
15

Thanks to Eddy that found the download link for Context Edit:
http://www.ramlende.com/downloads/contextedit11.zip :wink:

16

I removed the icon using the .ini file. The menu item works fine once the icon was removed.

The computer still seems to be having some shut down problems even with the Database=XML setting. Now it doesn’t happen every time but it still seems to happen. Any ideas on that one?

Thanks guys!

17

Are you using a firewall? Which one?
Which programs (or processes) are opened when you start shutting down?

18

I’m not using a software firewall. I have a router and a dynamic IP and for now I’m relying on that (yes I know it’s probably not enough).

The programs running on my system at any given time including shutdown as listed in Task Manager (Ctl-Alt-Del version) are as follows:

Winfax MOD - USR 56k … (The part of Winfax that monitors the modem for incoming calls)
Explorer
Hotsync (For my Palm Pilot)
wfxctl32 (The Winfax controller)
Cliptrack (A clipboard utility that saves your last 20 text clipboard entries so you can use them again)
Rsrcmtr
Point32
Loadqm
Mswheel
Rundll
Mixghost (a utility from my soundcard)
Stimon
Systray
Upsd (My UPS monitoring software)
E_S10ic2 (Printer software)
Ashmaisv
Ashwebsv

The only thing that’s different here from before I installed Avast! is that now Avast! is running instead of EZ-AV. Nothing else has changed.

The shutdown now is unpredictable. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. With the Database=ODBC setting I don’t think it ever worked. Before installing Avast! it always worked.

What’s next to try?

Thank!

19

Are you sure that you remove completely EZ antivirus?
Do it have a ‘external’ removal (uninstall) stronger than the Control Panel Add/Remove applet?
In fact, it’s beyond my imagination what is going on in your system… ::slight_smile:

20

Well let’s put it this way. I recognize everything in the Ctl-Alt-Del list and none of those files are EZ-AV related. The uninstall from control panel started the EZ-AV uninstall utility which removed all the files from the EZ-AV folder. (I checked. Nothing is there.) If anything was left behind it can’t be doing much.

Like I said before, the only thing that has changed on the system that I am aware of is the anti-virus. If you want I can uninstall Avast! and test the shutdown but since the problem doesn’t happen every time it may be hard to prove anything that way and that would mean running without virus protection for a short time. I don’t know what else to tell you. I would surmise that something in Avast! is not shutting down correctly or is preventing something else from shutting down but I’m not sure how to even test that.

If there is any other info that you think could be helpful I’ll do my best to supply it. Aside from that I’m afraid that the ball is in your court now. If I am going to keep Avast! the problems will have to be solved somehow. You did a good job on the crashing problem. If you can solve this one you’ll have one very happy guy here.

Thanks for your help!