Avast Free unable to download updates after pre-logon scan

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Hi -
Today avast blocked a trojan, Win32:Trojan-gen, immediately after logging on and suggested a complete scan after reboot, which I accepted. During the scan, it found an infected file DSNDUP.exe (I believe it’s part of the Soundmax driver package) and I moved it to quarantine. I then rescanned with avast, TM-Housecall, and super-antispyware, and all came up negative.

But the scan had the unfortunate side effect of being unable to connect with the update server (I use manual updates)and permanently freezing the computer whenever I try to do an update. I know it wasn’t a server issue because my other laptop updated without a problem.

Since avast’s uninstall app works quite well, I elected to uninstall and reinstall, and now everything works as it should.

The reason I’m posting is because this is the second time where an inability to update has occurred, and I have had to uninstall/reinstall. Two incidents don’t add up to conclusive proof, but I suspect that certain applications within avast, such as the full scan prior to login (at least under some circumstances), can cause avast to become unable to connect to its servers, in case you want to investigate it further.

You never want to give Microsoft too much credit for anything, but XP (I’m a recent convert from W2K) has a nice feature where it will offer to try to repair a broken connection. Perhaps that would be a good feature here as well.

2

Hello RF: The next time this poblem occurs (if it does) you might want to try an Avast Repair.
Go to Control Panel, then Add and Remove Programs and choose Avast then Click 'Change/Remove. Scroll down the options and click ‘Repair’. When finished reboot your computer and see if that makes any difference.
I would also suggest that if you have had and previous versions of Avast installed (v.4.8 - v.5 - v.5.1 betas) it would be a good idea to completely clean any remnants from previous version that may be left on your system and could cause problems with the functioning and updating on your present version.

If you choose at any time to do a Clean Uninstall and Reinstall, you can follow the directions below> :slight_smile:
However, if everything is working properly then the process below is not necessary.

If you have had v.4.8 installed or v.5.0 or 5.1(beta) and had issues with the functioning of the version or an install of a newer version over top did not work properly, there is a possibility of File corruption. I have found this process to be extremely effective in many situations. Consider executing a ‘Clean Install’ using this format.
I recommend you follow these instruction in the order they are presented

Please download the latest official version of Avast (5.1.889) for the product you need and save it to your HDD:

    [b]Free AV[/b]: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe        
    [b]Pro AV[/b]: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_pro.exe        
    [b]Internet Security[/b]: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_ais.exe

Then please download aswClear5.exe (Clean up Utility) http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility and save it to your hard drive where you can access it easily.
1. IN NORMAL MODE. , Please go to Start/Control Panel/Add and Remove Programs and choose Avast and click Change/Remove, and then Uninstall from the options listed. Once the uninstall process is completed, Reboot your computer
2. When up and running, Reboot again, this time into ‘SAFE MODE’ and find the (aswClear5.exe) download you saved to your hard drive and run the Clean up tool. Make sure you first choose the version from the list supplied in the tool that you want to cleanup and then run the tool by choosing Uninstall; your computer will automatically reboot.
3. Once up and running in Normal Mode, if you choose too, follow the NOTE BELOW, before finally installing the latest version of Avast you saved to your hard drive.
Remember, if you have had more then one version of Avast installed on your computer, you need to choose the version in the Clean up tool that you have had installed on your system one at a time. If you have had both v.4 and v.5.0 installed, then you need to follow the ‘safe mode’ process twice; once for each version separately.

NOTE: It has also been suggested to run CCLeaner after you Reboot and before the Clean install of Avast. CCleaner is a powerful maintenance and cleaning application for the computer. The tasks that it is capable of performing make the PC work faster and in a more effective way
CCLeaner is Free and a Safe System Optimizing, Privacy and Hard Drive Cleaner> The latest FREE version can be found at: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download. Choose either download links at the bottom of the box

If you have any problems please feel free to let us know. :slight_smile:

3

Thanks for that thoughtful response, which I’m saving. I actually did look for a repair option in add-remove but couldn’t find it. After your post, I went back and looked again and of course it is there. I missed it because it is “below the box” and you have to slide the gripper on the right, which I failed to notice, downward to bring it into view.
RF

4

You are welcome. And now that you can locate the ‘Repair’ option, that is of course the first course of action and BTW fixes a good percentage of update issues. :wink:
Check back and let us know if the problem persists. And then you have the next option which resolves a vast variety of issues usally resulting from corrupted download files and conflict with remnants from other versions.