Are you completely uninstalling Avast?

Safe mode run uninstall tool select at the top what version of avast to uninstall.
After do a search for any Avast that might be left over also Norton.
If you know how to run regedit you can also look in there for any left over Avast or Norton.
& lay off using tuneup for a day or two

1366x768, 32 bit

@doodledoctor,

Please try the following (you may find little changes according to the specific version of Windows):

1_ Task Manager → Services → Avast Antivirus → Click on the lower button “Services”. Choose from the new list of services the one for Avast Antivirus. Right click → properties → Startup type SHOULD be “automatic”. Please be sure it is (and if not, change and save it, must reboot and review this same setting).

2_ Now Task BAR Properties → Notification Area → CHECK “Hide inactive icons” → Customize → Select “Avast Antivirus” → Behavior (column) → Select from the options: “Show” → save all options including the properties dialog of the task bar is closed with ok.

3_ Close all your opened programs. Change your resolution (temporarily) to 800x600, still with color quality of 32 bits, and (if your screen display lets you, set the refresh frequency to some value between 60 to 100 Hz (meaning, standard “low” resolutions. Your desktop appearance will change (a lot). Don’t panic! And don’t start moving any icons. All will be as it was when you change again to your original resolution after the test.

Take a look at the tray area. Do you see your Avast icon under these conditions? If still not, try changing also the color quality from 32 to 24 or 16. Take a look at the tray area. Do you see your Avast icon under these conditions?

4_ Reset all your display settings (resolution, color bits, refresh rates) to the previous values you had. Your desktop should return to show the icons as they were before (if you haven’t moved them).

(Note: the resolution of 800x600 is very low for your screen, and it uses a very different relation than yours. It may be difficult to really see something, and it may require from you to temporarily change the settings of your screen from its menu - not only from the graphics settings of your OS. As said, don’t panic, be patient, and all will return to be displayed normally once you return to your normal resolution.)

Please report back your results.

I had the exact same problem as you;the avast animation in the tray icon area all of a sudden stopped appearing upon startup. Turned out that the problem was that a worm interfered with the avast installation and stopped it from fully installing.
Run some scanners to pick up any infections. Run these free scanners:

  1. http://www.malwarebytes.org/ (run a full scan)
  2. http://www.surfright.nl/en/downloads (download hitmanpro and run a default scan; its very quick)

@doodledoctor,

You haven’t answered my previous post (with 4 not-so-complicated steps), so I don’t know if you are still interested.

Anyway, here is something else you could try so to get your tray icon(s) to work.

1_ Close (as in complete “exit”, not only just close the windows of) all programs, specially those with icons in the tray area. For Avast and others that are more “difficult” to close, leave them “as-is”. If you have other Windows users logged on simultaneously, log off them (leave only your user open).

2_ Disconnect from the Internet (not completely necessary, but it may help to “clean” the tray icons cache).

  1. Open regedit.

4.A For XP :


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TrayNotify

4.B For Vista / Seven :


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

  1. (Optionally) In the registry key from step 4, you should find 2 entries:

IconStreams
PastIconsStream

Select both entries, and make a backup of them (optional, but generally recommended).

  1. Delete those 2 entries:

IconStreams
PastIconsStream

  1. Close regedit, and LOG OFF immediately from Windows.

8_ Wait for the HDD’s led to almost stop tilting, and log on again.

Although these are “many” steps, they are not at all complicated, and the procedure should take you a couple of minutes.

This procedure cleans the cache of tray icons for your Windows user.

Please report back your experience.

Hi,

This morning I uninstalled avast! and installed a different antivirus to see if the same problem occurs with that. I’m going to see how that goes. Thanks.