Recently I clicked update on Avast to make sure everything was ‘cool’ and then everything went down hill rather quickly. I’m not sure what exactly happened the first time Windows failed or if I just restarted. I’m pretty sure something happened that caused the computer to freeze resulting in a reboot. The reboot failed and the computer never started. It went through the usual but Windows hanged and just sat there. I eventually went into safemode and went back to the latest restore point. This fixed the problem, and Windows slowly loaded.
That’s all fine, but it’s clear Avast caused the problem. I didn’t check the event logs, assuming that I should just reinstall Avast and it’s unlikely that this would happen again. The problem now, however, is that Avast is blue screening every time I attempt to install it. Viewing the the event logs I get “The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:aswSnx SABRE”. Pretty certain that that’s what happened when Windows failed to load. Not sure about the blue screens. So that led me toooooo this http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=80916.0 which led me toooooo the Avast uninstall utility. So I’ve run the utility! Now I’m afraid to reinstall Avast because damnit I don’t want to deal with this again.
Also another malfunction is that Avast seems to think that it’s fully installed but the sandbox function shutting down a lot of things including random startup programs like Rainmeter and an HDD monitor.
I am confused and I don’t want to go back to AVG because the protection seemed to be going downhill. But this is really tiring!
Did you have a previous AV on this machine in the past at any time? If so what was it and how did you uninstall it (even if it was a trial version)?
What other security software do you have on this machine (firewall, other security software)?
If you reinstalled Avast, did you use the Avast Uninstaller Tool first to remove ALL remnants of this version and previous versions first? This could be your problem.
Here are the instructions for the proper way to do an uninstall and clean install (do not install until we know your answers to the questions above first as having remnants of previous AV’s or security software may be the problem and we often have you run their uninstaller tool again to be sure - http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/, then reboot:
Go into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool. Uninstall ALL previous versions and products of Avast you had on this machine and reboot in between each uninstall.
There will be an update to the current version in the next few weeks. Try to do the uninstall/clean install as instructed above and let us know how it goes.
I have had the same experience. Immediately after the update several days ago, the computer began to boot very slowly, froze, had to be power-offed, etc. I eventually did a total uninstall both on the control panel and with the downloaded uninstall tool. Then (without Avast) the computer regained its fast speed. However, when I downloaded the new Avast, the same thing happened all over again. I repeated the process again, even with a disk installation from our IT person. But whenever Avast got on the computer, it slowed and frooze in boot ups. When it did boot up, the Avast icon seemed to be twirling almost constantly. I also lost my internet connection. A second computer in the house has Avast and has no problem with the new update. The difference is that it is operating on Office 2010 and I am on Office 2007 (both are Windows 7 64 bit). I wonder if there is a conflict with 2007 Microsoft Outlook. The cursor often froze the cursor on it. I simply cannot go on for days trying to get the new Avast to work so I have done a total and complete uninstallation again and installed AVG. The computer now works fine.
Alright. Thanks everyone for the responses. I uninstalled Avast via control panel but my assumption is that there are definitely remnants. I’ll probably go through your instructions at some point soon to make sure there aren’t any remnants of the program, but I think I agree that waiting for a new build might be a safe bet.
I recommend not only making system restore points but also system images. Free one that I used before Windows 7 is imagex.exe. Anyway, completely uninstalling with the utility should put you in the ok (clear drivers).
Please read my post #1 again and answer the questions so that we can help you. You could have conflicting software causing your issue. Now you probably have remnants because you did not uninstall using the Uninstaller in Safe Mode as I instructed.
I would recommend following my instructions again for uninstalling and replying to the questions in your next post.
If you still have the download file for the previous version and feel more comfortable using that to install Avast, then use that instead. Otherwise, here is the Free version: Avast 7.0.1426: http://www.oldapps.com/avast_antivirus.php?old_avast=7370. There will be a new release coming out in the next two or so weeks.
