I have used Avast for years and would hate to switch to another product but this issue may be a deal breaker if I can’t resolve it.
I have been having this problem for some time now and only since upgrading to Avast v5, and it occurs about 2-3 times per week. I’ll notice that my system is acting sluggish and know exactly what the issue is. I find that avast.setup is running and is using 20-30% of the CPU and does not ever stop. I open the UI and try to do a manual update. This just creates a second avast.setup, which starts and stops but does not complete an update, and does not produce an error of any kind. I have tried a number of things to at least resolve the issue temporarily. I have stopped and restarted all shields, which does not terminate avast.setup. I have stopped all Avast services, which terminates the avast.setup service, but upon restarting the Avast services, avast.setup restarts (as expected because an update is due) but again it never completes an update and it continues to run indefinitely. I have found that the only way to resolve the issue is to reboot the PC, only to have the issue reappear within a day or two. Since I usually have a number of work related tasks running on my PC, rebooting each time this occurs is a real inconvenience.
I have completely uninstalled and reinstalled Avast at least 3 times, including removing all program file remnants and registry entries. I’ve also tried stopping other programs that I thought might be causing a conflict with Avast and/or avast.setup but have not had any success with this troubleshooting. I’m out of ideas.
Anyone have ideas for resolving this issue? Thanks!
To solve constant CPU usage it will be better that your avast installation is correct and no other software is conflicting.
If avast.setup is hanging the computer, manual management of it won’t solve the problem, will only be a workaround.
Uninstall avast from Control Panel (if possible). If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after that.
Run the avast! Uninstall Utility saved on 1. If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after you’ve run it.
Install avast! using the setup saved on 2. Boot.
Register your free copy or add the license key for Pro.
I did what you suggested but the problem remains. My problem is the same as chgoguy7’s, except that it happens almost every time the computer starts up.
The avast.setup process appears when the program checks / downloads an update for the database or the program
In my case, the problem appears when the computer starts. The avast.setup takes 30% of CPU or even more and I have to wait until the process finishes to use my computer.
I had changed the settings of Avast and check “My computer is not connected to the internet” to avoid the initial auto-update, but this is not a proper solution at all
In the third entry named “Title: Re: Avast.setup process system hog — Post by: DavidR on February 06, 2008, 01:11:47 PM” appears a change in the configuration of the avast4.ini file.
[InetWD]
AssumeAlwaysConnected=1
AlwaysConnectedWaitSeconds=120
OR
UseRAS=1
RASWaitSeconds=120
I have not tested yet and I don’t know if this file exists in version 5 or if it is called avast5.ini, but it sounds good
