Help!!! with license key and blue ball not working - SORRY, JUST FIXED IT!!

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED - SEE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM

Hi, im new to avast. I have a slight problem!
Sorry its long, but i wanted to include everything so i can hopefully get the answer.

I’ve had avast for less than a month i installed when i very first got the internet. Everything was working fine, i hadn’t entered the license key yet as i thought i had 60 days. Anyway, today my internet provider had a problem so i couldn’t search the web but avast had a pop-up saying it has expired & to enter the license key. I couldn’t do this at the time as I could’nt get on my email to see the key number. So I closed the screen expecting it would come again when the internet was working again.

The net was running again, the message did not come up and the blue “ball” icon was gone (i checked the hidden icons setting)! I got the license key no. anyway, and entered it in (going via the icon in the Start-up menu) it was accepted, but the icon was still gone. I came on this forum for help, and followed a message about running the ashdisp file, during this process -when prompted i clicked on the option Home user and not administrator (incase that matters), the “ball” returned, but there is a little red circle with a slash through it on the “ball”. I then registered again, and received the same license number, but when i try to enter the no. through the “ball” it says invalid. However, when I go through the icon in the start-up menu it accepts the license no. Weird!??

But i don’t think avast is scanning, cause the “ball” isn’t spinning (animation is on).
The only thing I have done different, and the last thing i did before this happened- is i changed the computer date, as it was on 2005, and that was the computer date when i installed avast.
Would this be the problem, if so what do i do??? It seem a real hassle to uninstall, re-install. I’ve also tried “repair”.
I i did uninstall, would i get a new license no. or would the same thing happen??
I don’t have any other anti-virus.

Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks

*UPDATE
I just restarted my computer (maybe should have done that before i posted this, i was just stressing out - so stupid!) and the red circle is gone, the ball is spinning, and windows security centre says that avast is on!! For some reason though the expiry date is 14.5 months long.
Hopefully maybe this might help someone else.
Cheers.

2

I suggest an installation from the scratch:

  1. Download the latest version of avast! Uninstall Utility and save it.
  2. Download the latest avast! version and save it.
  3. Uninstall avast from Control Panel (if possible). If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after that.
  4. Run the avast! Uninstall Utility saved on 1. If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after you’ve run it.
  5. Install avast! using the setup saved on 2. It will be good to accept the boot time scanning. Boot.
  6. Insert the license key.
  7. Check and post the results.
3

Thanks.
I was going to try that if all else failed. But im not very computer smart, I’ve never even booted up in safe mode before.
Its really strange what happened though, I knew it wasn’t working cause windows security centre said it was OFF.
I feel like a total idiot.
:slight_smile:

4

If it works in normal way, you don’t need to enter the safe mode…
Is your system time and date correct?

5

Now it is the correct time and date. See, the computer was second hand when i got it and i didn’t even think to have the correct date before i installed avast.

6

Glad you’ve sorted it out. Is it everything working now?