Avast Program 864 - 889 Wreaks havoc on Vista Home Premium 32 bit

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Hi,

Each time I try to update my Avast from 864 to 889 my system stops functioning.

It appears to update ok, but then on reboot avast fails to start and Online Armor also fails to start.

System recovery does not restore the system.

Fortunately, I make CloneZilla Hard Disk images every other day and so I am able to restore the entire partition from the last CloneZilla image. I did this several times and can confirm it is the avast update that is breaking my system.

But something seems wrong with the 889 program update ?

I notice that at least one other member uses Online Armor and had similar trouble. Perhaps a compatibility issue?
Completely uninstalling avast did not help in my case. System became in-stable beyond repair and needed recovery from backup CloneZilla image.

2

Just wondering, is this a problem with Avast, Online Armor, or both?

Did you try what brhokla suggested in this post? http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=69336.0

3

I think that would be very difficult to tell at this point without elliminating the more obvious possibilities first.

Hello Gumby6131:Do you have the mutual Folders excluded in the others exclusions? Avast excluded in OA exclusions and OA excluded in Avast’s File System Shield.
Also was a Clean Install attempted after issues noted whem OS was rebooted?
And was OA set to “Learn Mode” prior to update.

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:

Free AV: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe
Pro AV: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_pro.exe
Internet Security: 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.
First 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 and 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. Once up and running in Normal Mode, 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 Free and Safe System Optimizing, Privacy and Hard Drive Cleaner> http://www.piriform.com/

As you can see from my signature, I run OA++ on my Laptop and have had no problems with Avast updates. BTW, I also have each security software’s Folders excluded from the other.
If you have any problems please feel free to let us know.

4

I have been using OA++ under Vista Home Premium throughout all of this Avast! upgrade cycle with no issues. But you do need to do the exclusions referenced to be safe. What OA version number are you using? Does completely uninstalling OA cure the problem? Are there any problems when using Avast! 864? What security programs were you using prior to OA/Avast! and how did you uninstall them?

5

All very excellent questions. I feel the need to re-emphasise…The assumption in most cases is that Avast is the issue, and in most cases that is simply untrue. :-
Other security software, proper unistallations of previous security software, correct exclusions as you stated sded are all more likely to cause issues with Avast then Avast itself. ::slight_smile:

6

Ok,
I downloaded a fresh copy directly from avast
I also downloaded the clean utility.
Next I disabled OA

Next,
I booted into safe mode and UN-installed Any and all (only 1) instances of Avast
Then I rebooted and ran the Avast clean utility

Finally I booted back into Normal mode with NO Online Armor running at all

I then Installed Avast the latest available copy of avast free version

The computer was then rebooted…so far…so good…TO THIS POINT

However, once the computer rebooted, Avast was not running and would not start
Online armor could not be started

System became unstable

CloneZilla system restore required once again

I am beginning to believe this simply is not going to work on my HP Pavillion

I am able to run 864 with no problem. Updates fine.

889…no go.

I have read on this forum that it is of no consequence, but I do show Win32:Adloader in the pagefile.sys
but I understand that is a false.

7

I’d say there is something with Online Armor. This is the second user here with the same problem. It’s not recommended to use many security programs at once…

8

Ok,

Perhaps I’ll jump over to Online Armor’s forum and see if there’s been any issues posted there.

Avast has always been a rock solid effective anti-virus platform that I have counted on and recommended hundreds of times. While it is always possible that a new release has an incompatibility issue, it’s stability in the past precludes a quick judgment.