fix for black screen on startup problem after avast update on xp 64?

Is there a fix for the problem (described below) where windows xp (in my case 64bit with all patches) freezes on reboot after updating to avast free version 2014.9.0.2011? thanks for any help or advice anyone can give.

yesterday i updated to 2014.9.0.2011 (after being nagged to do so by the program) on my pc machine with XP SP3 64 bit. once finished i rebooted, as asked, but my pc got hung up on reboot after the windows splash screen with a black screen, before the user login screen was reached. (the mouse arrow was visible and movable, but no other response). the computer hung at this point indefinitely.

after googling the problem i found some postings from november about a similar problem. i was able to reboot in safe mode and followed advice in these posts which allowed me to roll back to the previous version successfully, which solved the immediate reboot problem. however i am worried about updating again until i’m sure there is a fix.

(for those with a similar problem, to get a reboot i renamed the file aswSP.sys (eg to aswSP.sys.bak) that is in the folder windows/system32/drivers, and rebooted. this seems to have been the problem file, since then it rebooted, although slowly. once rebooted i uninstalled avast (again in safe mode) and then reinstalled the previous version of avast (2014.9.0.2008), and all problems then vanished. i then did a complete scan but avast found no viruses.)

I had a similar issue on XP x64, after that I moved to another AV program. I will very likely come back to Avast when I see a confirmation that it is fixed in a new release.

I found a couple of posts describing the same symptoms in the big topic about the last update (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=142936.0), and one guy from russian-speaking section also experienced this.

There are also some temporary solutions for that, a little more solid than the one you mentioned. I didn’t try them as I prefer to wait for an official bugfix.
Method 1: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=142936.msg1038060;topicseen#msg1038060
Method 2: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=142936.msg1040743#msg1040743

Looks like it is XP x64 related issue, you can modify topic’s subject to be more concrete.
I hope someone will post here when it is fixed.

Thanks for those links - I agree it is better to await a proper fix. Have added 64 bit to the title.

The problem doesn’t seem all that new, so the absence of a fix by now may mean that problems with old OS’s are perceived not to be worth fixing. I hope not, or at least that we will be told not to wait for a fix, if so.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=143880.msg1043889#msg1043889

Currently, the last version to work is the 9.0.2008.177 version. The recent update did not fix this problem.

I have had similar problems with Avast after updates on my desktop, I downloaded the avast removal tool on another pc then started my pc in safe mode, copied the tool to the desktop and after reboot all was fine again. Then downloaded an earlier version of avast which was okay until it did the update again I have another drive with the same os of xp 64bit so I connected that drive just to see if it was the os on the drive with the problem. The same happened to that drive, it was suggested to check for a bios firmware update and the one I had was up to date. After reinstalling xp64 bit and reinstalling programs etc and avast the same happened. I did what I did earlier and removed avast, I was advised to try AVG which I installed and no more problems. I have 2 other pc’s with the same os and the same happened to them.
As other members have stated that Avast is not supporting older os of xp 32 and 64 bit I am agreeing with them and thinking of using AVG instead.
On my main desktop I have installed windows 7 64bit and all is fine with the later os system but the other drive I still have xp64bit installed.

As other members have stated that Avast is not supporting older os of xp 32 and 64 bit
Those users are wrong. http://blog.avast.com/2014/03/12/avast-will-continue-to-support-windows-xp-for-home-and-business-users/

@hjlutener,

You posted to an older thread, where the users in that thread had an older version of Avast. Avast does support your OS.

What other security software do you or did you have on these machines in the past (AV, firewall, on-demand and resident security software) and how did you remove them?

I’m a bit confused…what version of Avast do you have on your machine(s) and what product?

When you put the Avast Uninstaller Tool on your desktop, you should do it in normal mode; you only need to uninstall Avast in Safe Mode.

When you put the Avast Uninstaller Tool on your desktop, you should do it in normal mode; you only need to uninstall Avast in Safe Mode.
The avast! Removal tool is run in regular mode and when asked to allow it to run in safe mode, give it the permission asked for. The tool will reboot your system into safe mode and perform the removal operation.

New to the forum, but a long time user. :slight_smile:

This bug seems to be a regression from v7.0.1473. It seems to have returned starting with v9.0.2011. A fresh install with r2011 or newer triggers the regression. In-place updating usually triggers the regression, also. r2021 is affected.

A fix for Windows XP x64 would be greatly appreciated. :slight_smile:

Did you use the avast uninstall tool in safe mode?
And RejZor’s avast cleanup tool?

RejZor’s cleanup tool will cleanup the low level drivers and registry items left
behind by the avast uninstaller. And it’s safe to use.

Thank you for replying, Para-Noid.

But the issue is installation, not uninstallation. Avast fails to install properly on Windows XP x64. That’s the part that needs fixing. When I install Avast immediately after a fresh Windows XP x64 installation (fully updated from SP2), the reboot blackscreen occurs. I’d like the latest version of Avast to not cause the blackscreen after reboot.

You keep talking about version 2014.9.0.2011 but the latest one is 2014.9.0.2021.
And if you want, there is the 2022 beta.

As I said earlier, Eddy:

Downloaded beta 2022 free, but the file version is shown as “9.0.2021.515”. Is that correct? Do you have a better link?

The version number of the exe file is wrong, if the file is 120mb for the free version then it is correct.

Be warned that this is a first beta which has bugs so you’d be wise to have a system image before attempting the install.

Thanks for the verification, CraigB. Doing Windows XP x64 test installs on a spare hard drive. Imaging the system takes a bit longer than a Windows reinstall from a flash drive. :wink:

I’ll test the beta soon.

The issue still exists in 10.0.2022 beta 1. I’ve posted in the beta thread with the hope that it can be corrected before 2022 goes final.

The problem is still here in the latest release.
I installed Avast on a clean XP x64 installation, Avast installed fine, I configured it, rebooted. But the boot got stuck on a black screen with only the mouse cursor, before the login screen.

I’ve experimented a bit and I think I narrowed down the issue to Virtualization. Infact, I went to Settings>Troubleshooting and disabled “Enable hardware-assisted virtualization”. Rebooted and voilà, it worked!

So, until this gets fixed I advise that anyone with the problem tries to disable Virtualization.