last night (around 12:30 am, 5-10-2017) Avast popped up a message after I switched between my 2 user accounts on windows. The message said that Avast needed to reboot the computer to apply updates. This appeared routine, so I clicked on reboot. After the reboot, the computer was seriously messed up:
-screen resolution set to 800x600 (I always run 2560x1600)
-right-clicking desktop\screen resolution only brings up a limited selection , maxing out at 1280 x 800.
-desktop settings reset to windows default. (wallpaper, windows theme, etc)
-my desktop icons were missing. only a few program & windows icons remained.
-My documents folder was now empty! (freaking out now)
I immediately performed a system restore to 2 days earlier.
after reboot, the screen resolution is now restored but my desktop settings are still missing and my documents folder is still empty.
A second reboot lets me see some windows messages that appear briefly:
- just before the desktop appears , windows says: “preparing your desktop” I don’t normally see this.
- after desktop appears, a windows popup appears in notification area saying (something to the effect of) that this is a temporary desktop and to try and log in later.
hovering over the Avast icon in the notification area caused it to disappear.
A third reboot was no different, but after a few minutes, the Avast UI popped up (of its own accord) with the familiar “You are now protected” message.
A forth reboot restored my desktop setting, icons and My Documents files.
It appears that I’ve managed to restore the computer to a working state but I’m still very concerned as to what caused all of this.
After checking this forum. I find the last Avast program update was 7 days ago… why is Avast asking to reboot a week later?
Thanks for any help & apologies if the post is too long (my 1st post)