Avast! Update fail - Last encounter error: The package is broken.

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I’ve started to have a problem with the Avast! auto boot/start-up update just now. I’m getting the red update pop up, which I see frequently enough for non-Avast! causes since my Internet connection drops regularly with the Homegroup being changed from private home to unidentified public randomly all the time! (I see the yellow asterisks on the Network icon bottom right on W7 task bar.)

The difference this time is that while my internet may have been cut at the original time for this type of homegroup identifying issue, however after I checked internet is connected correctly and even after re-booting, Avast! still is not able to update, which hasn’t happened to me before.

I have also opened Avast! and tried to manually update both definitions & the program, but after they attempt to update I quickly get a message “Last encounter error: The package is broken. Time taken: 2s” for both kinds of updates.

Is Avast! down ATM or something?

With this Homegroup disconnecting problem that constantly occurs I normally troubleshoot the Homegroup and Network Connection to rectify this unidentified public change issue (sometimes it even actually resolves itself after a while, bizarrely) but sometimes I have to disconnect the LAN (Local Area Connection) then “Enable” it and run the troubleshooters again. If still not working I have to reboot and may be do it all over again… I have heard this may be a Wifi issue, but I’m not using Wifi, but cable. I have also read that this kind of thing is an old Vista hangover in W7 too.

Just to provide info, here’s a rundown of this;
When I lose internet connection pages stop running, buffing or loading and I might get a “Internet has stopped working: Diagnose Internet Connection” or some such message.
I open Network Sharing Centre and click on “See full map” which is written in blue upper right of screen.

The Network map of ‘Local Area Connection – Network’ will be created successfully, which means it is working or if it tries for longer it doesn’t and says it cannot find device and says that it cannot create the network map because the network type is Public.
I go back to the Network Sharing Centre and now see that the Network to Internet cable is cut and sometimes the Network Icon has changed with a sand egg timer icon on it with Identifying Network written while it is considered public.

I troubleshoot this and usually get messages afterward completion like ‘HomeGroup information needs to be refreshed – Fixed’ and “No Networks are set to Home location – Fixed’, that is if it works and Network Gateway is back to normal.

Sometime I get others like ‘”Local Area Connection” does not have a valid IP configuration – Not fixed’ and reports like ‘The default Gateway is not available, Reset the “Local Area Connection” adaptor, Investigate router or broadband isses – Detected (triangled asterisk icon), Completed, not run’.

If I’m lucky I get with the Homegroup troubleshooter ‘Problems found User Identified problems – Fixed’ for instance.

But with this time around I had a lot more trouble with a message from Windows Network Diagnostics ‘Problems found Either the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service (PNRPsvc) or the Peer Networking Identity Manager service (PNIMsvc) is not… – Not fixed’. I also had another one that crashed before I saved it with ‘HomeGrouping something? – Not fixed’.

Anyway while my connection is back up, Avast! is still not updating so does anybody know why this might be?

Can anyone help me with my homegroup connection random drop outs by providing advice on that also please?

What do any of these messages actually mean, as in what does Avast! mean by ‘Last connection error: The package is broken’?

2

Try a repair of avast:
XP - Add Remove programs, select ‘avast! Anti-Virus,’ click the Change/Remove button and scroll down to Repair, click next and follow.

Vista, win7 - Control Panel, Programs & Features, uninstall a program, select ‘avast! Anti-Virus,’ click the Change/Remove button and scroll down to Repair, click next and follow.

You may need to reboot after the repair.

If that doesn’t work try, a Manual update of VPS - avast! Virus Definitions Update - Manual Download VPS Update (virus definitions, vpsupd.exe, approx 31MB). - Save the file to your hard disk, locate where you saved it and double click it and that should carry out the virus definitions update.

Note: Ignore the file name in the images of the page that is displayed after clicking the download link, they are for the main program, not for vpsupd.exe which will be downloaded.

3

Thanks for the reply DavidR, but I didn’t have to uninstall Avast! or manually download the update (I’ll remember that for next time) since now, a day later, my Avast! 6 Free is able to both update itself after boot and be updated manually from the program interface tab by me.

However I would still like to know what “Last encounter error: The package is broken” means for such failed update attempts in Avast! and what it really could be implying about my system, especially given all the trouble I have with the randomly changing private homegroup setting to unidentified public which is intermittently knocking out my cabled Local Area Connection on my Windows 7 32 bit Ultimate system. I know the modem router is fine. I’ve read that many people suffer this problem and it has been suggested that it is a Vista issue still hanging around on W7. I was hoping that by understanding the Avast! failed update message in the situation described in my original opening post might help me to finally deal with this Network problem.

So again I ask what does “Last encounter error: The package is broken.” mean and what could be the cause of that failed update message?

4

I tend to take it in steps of least hassle first if that doesn’t work, next step, if it does work it saves some time and hassle.

Generally what it says on the tin, the update package has failed and being reported as broken. That can be the update process itself is corrupt, or the existing VPS version. Rebooting may resolve it though in the case of “Last encounter error: The package is broken,” it is generally more than a reboot can resolve, hence the avast repair step first.