Cannot Uninstall/Install Avast.

XP-PRO with all the MSoft updates. Maybe coincidence, but immediately after converting the C: partition from FAT32 to NTFS…

I have been using the FREE edition for some time, suddenly at startup I get this screen…

(1)
Upgrade to AVAST Professional Edition

We’re glad that you’re using our software, but have you actually considered buying it…
etc

The above comes from the ASHDISP.EXE, which is in Startup.

After selecting “Close” the AVAST icon is missing from the system tray, so I check and the ASWUPDSV.EXE is running in memory.

I like AVAST a lot so I decide to d/l and install the PRO version, after starting the setup exe I get this screen…

(2)
Buffer overrun detected.
A buffer overrun has been detected…
etc

I figure that maybe I should uninstall the FREE version first, before installing the PRO. However, when I try to uninstall the FREE I get the same error screen (2) above.
So now I cannot install PRO nor uninstall FREE.
I have several times updated my reg number for the FREE edition.

  1. Am I still safely protected against viruses while I work to clear this problem ?
  2. How do I fix it ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

BTW… the ASHSERV.EXE is NOT running and when I try to start it from Services I get…

Error 1053, did not respond in a timely fashion.

  1. Use the uninstall util from Avast’s website.
  2. Reboot
  3. Reinstall

That fixed it, Thanks.