Avast keeps turning it's self off

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I am having difficulty with the new Avast. I was running the older version and never had any problems with it. I just downloaded the newer version of the free avast today and have already noticed a problem. I look down after and hour or two and my avast has turned it’s self off. I turn it back on and after a couple of hours it’s off again. I have run a scan and everything is clean. I ran several different kinds and all good. What is the issue? I am running windows vista. I dont really know anything else about the laptop though so If I need to give you other info you will need to tell me where to find it. I was really happy with the older avast but now Im worried I made a mistake by upgrading to this version. Please help
Tanith

2

hi tanith,

I take it you downloaded avast 5 free over the top of avast 4.8 free? This should have worked.

have you tried a repair of avast5? go to control panel…programs and features(add/remove programs), and selected avast5, a repair option should appear.

if that doesnt help you may want to try to uninstall avast5, then run the removal tool, then download avast5 free again. Here is the removal tool.

http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility

if this doesnt help please come back and let us know, im sure others will be more than happy to give you a hand.

Sat

3

@ the OP: use the uninstall tool only if you can’t uninstall “normally”…otherwise don’t bother, as the “normal” uninstaller will clean your system better than the tool :wink:

4

I always use the uninstaller after running the built-in uninstaller.
What seems to cause a lot of the reported uninstall problems is the failure to disable the Avast self-defense module first.
(Program settings>troubleshooting)

5

the self-defense module, at least on my system, has never been an issue for uninstalling. It’s been one and it’s still one problem when running system restore if needed.

6

I’m having the EXACT same problem. I have tried uninstalling and reloading and that didn’t fix it either. I NEVER had the first problem with the older version.

7

Didimlr, did you try the removal tool, or just the standard uninstall? You can find the link to the tool earlier in this thread.

Also, even though you are having the same problem as the original poster, it’s better to start your own topic so that people don’t get confused when they are trying to help.

8

Before you do the uninstall, it would be helpful to check the avast LOG folder (usually in “c:\documents and settings\all users\application data” in case of XP or “C:\programdata” in case of Vista/Win7) whether it contains any files named unp*.*. If it does, we’d be definitely interested in seeing these…

It is possible that there’s a 3rd party application installed on your system which is taking the avast process down.

Thanks
Vlk

9

Building upon that response from VLK, remember that the folders that he’s asking you to look for are hidden by default. If your computer is hiding them, you’ll need to unhide them before you can access them.

Windows XP: (in a Windows Explorer Window) Tools > Folder Options, click View, then check “show hidden files and folders”

Windows Vista / 7: (in a Windows Explorer Window) ah heck… just click here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/394-hidden-files-folders-show-hide.html

10

Mine is doing this also, and I wish it would at least make a sound when it turns off! Rather distressing to notice the slash through the icon and wonder how long it has been off. Didn’t see this as an option in the sound settings, though.

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Do you have any of those unpXXXXXX.mdmp files in avast! log folder, as Vlk mentioned a few posts earlier?

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I looked at mine, and I do not have any.

13

avast4me25, what operating system do you use?

14

Windows XP SP3 home

15

Hmm, pity :frowning:
If it were Vista or later, we might be able to extract the dumps from the Windows Error Reporting applet; I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s not possible on XP.

16

@ Igor and Vlk,

I tried this when I had the same problem, which I do not have now, and it did not work. I have XP as well and know how to check for hidden files. I also didn’t get any Event Errors.

What did work for me on my machine was to do the following to resolve the problem:

  • Disable Avast prior to uninstalling
  • Uninstall the normal way (Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs)
  • Reboot
  • Clean the machine (Ccleaner works well)
  • Reboot in Safe Mode and use the Avast Uninstall Removal Tool, which removed MANY parts of Avast
  • Reboot
  • Reboot into Safe Mode again and check for remnants by Search All Files and Folders > Advanced Hidden Files (remove them only if you know what you’re doing since parts can sometimes be left behind)
  • Reboot
  • Clean the machine and check for registry errors (Ccleaner works well)
  • Make sure with an on-demand software that the machine is malware-free
  • Defrag the machine prior to reinstalling Avast again
  • Install latest build of Avast, update definitions, and register product.

I’ve had no problems since following this procedure :slight_smile: I know this may seem tedious, but I had to do this on 2 XP’s and so far it worked.

17

When I had a problem with avast! on my XP Pro system this tip helped a lot:
How to invoke memory dump creation?
http://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=71

Not sure if it works on XP Home though.

18

Thanks for all the help. I have been trying different things when I can. I have repaired the program like the first recommendation and we will see if that works.
To Vlk. I have been unable to display avast logs. I went to another site that told me how to show hidden files in Vista, which is what Im running, but nothing ever came up under Avast other than just the turn on program link. So I have no clue if I have a ump file in the log or not.

19

So the repair did not work, now trying the uninstall. Just one problem, I dont feel comfortable with the cleaner software, installing is fine but opening in safe mode, what if I have problems, how do I get out of it,Im really not a computer person and I cant even see the avast log files. Im going to try for now just reinstalling it, If I continue having the problem I will try it again using the cleaner/uninstall program. Let ya’ll know.

20

moonharvey, it might seem a bit of a mission to run the uninstall tool, but it’s really fairly straightforward. But first, when you look for the dump file, rather than looking in the Avast GUI for it, try looking via windows explorer - pretty much the basis of the operating system.
Double click on “my computer”, and a window will open, within that window you can navigate through the various folders and sub folders to find the one containing any dumps, if present.
So from the explorer window that opens, you’d then open “documents and settings”. Then “all users” (or “users”). Then continue as the path posted by VLK points.