did Kaspersi cause problems so avast won't work?

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I used to have Kasperski and I think that’s causing problems with Avast.

I removed Kasperski successfully. Or so it said. And I couldn’t find Kasperski in the list of programs that can be removed.

I then tried loading Avast free. I got an error message “Windows cannot access specified device …” So I booted in safe mode and loaded Avast. I rebooted to normal mode but nothing in Avast seems to work It won’t scan and it won’t update.

Can anybody suggest any fixes?

2

Download and Run this utility to remove all traces of Kaspersky from the registry:
http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208279463. You might want to print the instructions on the page for use off-line.

3

Thanks DavidR, but it didn’t work. I ran the program with the option of “All known products” and it said it removed all programs.

I tried running Avast and now it doesn’t open at all. I thought I’d remove Avast to reload it. I go to remove it via Control Panel and nothing happens. Avast is in the list of programs that can be removed, but double clicking on it does nothing.

I then tried downloading Avast Free to load it without deleting the existing version (such as it may be) and I got this message “The file could not be saved because you do not have the proper permissions. Choose another save directory.”

I don’t know how to choose a new directory to save to.

What is going on?

4

Are you running as the Administrator on your machine?

Kaspersky has a way of sometimes hiding files. You may want to go into Safe Mode > Advanced Search > Hidden Files and Folders and type in the name of the product you had installed on your machine and see if anything comes up. If in doubt, you can right click the file name for “Properties” to see more information about the file. If it relates to Kaspersky, you can delete it. Make sure to empty your recycle bin while in Safe Mode. Reboot.

As for the Avast uninstall/clean install:

  1. Save a copy of Avast and save it to your HDD (somewhere where you can find it)
    http://www.avast.com/download-software – all products for 6.0.1125
  2. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear6.exe and save it to your HDD.
  3. Disconnect from the Internet at this time.
  4. Go to Control Panel and uninstall Avast through Add/Remove Programs if possible and reboot. - You already did this and it failed, so skip this.
  5. If Step 4 fails, boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool. Uninstall ALL previous versions and products of Avast at this time.
  6. Reboot.
  7. Install the newest version of Avast and reboot.
  8. Get Internet access and register your copy or add the license key for Free:
    Free – http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php
  9. Update the Avast definitions.

Knowledge based article:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=504#idt_0003

Let us know if this helps. If not, please let us know:

A. What other security software do you currently have or did you have in the past on this machine including:

  • Antivirus (AV)
  • Firewall (FW)
  • Trial versions of AV, FW and other security programs
  • Other security software
  • If they were in the past, how did you remove them (the vendor’s uninstaller’s tool or another way)?

B. Are your MS Updates (if you have Windows) current?

5

Sometimes you need to run the cleanup utility in safe mode too.
Joe

6

I’ll be gone for the next several days. I’ll try what you guys suggested this weekend.