The Home Edition download file is only about 300 KB in size, yet the system requirements states that the app needs 100 MB of disk space. What’s up with that???
Cagey Bee
114.Something Megabytes to be exact. The download file is small because it downloads the files by going to a server and download them. The installer file is little because all it has to have is some coding to make it go to this site and download the file. Who would want a installer to already have the program in them but you have to wait a hour for it to download and when it does download, it says COPYING files and then says bla has been installed thirty minutes later. You could of saved about 47 minutes.
Hi Cagey Bee!
300KB is just the online installer i think…
If I’m not wrong you need to be connected to the internet while the installation.
Didn’t notice before that there is no normal installation file (20-30 MB) any more… :o
yours
onlysomeone
OK, so I understand that the 300 KB file is just an installer file. Is there somewhere that I can download the normal installation file for a friend who is still using dial-up?
Cagey Bee
Download directly from avast.com don’t click the Cnet (download.com) link on the avast download page, scroll down and select the English version, it should be the first item.
I tried that. It gives me the same 300 KB Avast_Home_Setup.exe file…
Perhaps you could send me a link?
Cagey Bee
The file must be called setupeng.exe (use the direct link on avast site).
What link? Where exactly is it?
CB
Well that isn’t the direct link on the download page, that I remember.
So it looks like they have changed the download method recently, before you were able to download the complete file. So it looks like you will have to download the setup file and save to your hard disk and then double click on it and I can only assume it will check your windows settings to ensure you get the correct language version.
Unfortunately that would be a problem as you couldn’t download it for them as they would still have to download.
Try downloading from FileHippo as they seem to have the full version, http://www.filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/.
Wow, Thanks! That’s the file I was looking for…
Cagey Bee
http://files.avast.com/iavs4pro/setupeng.exe
Maybe it’s only if you access the non-English webpage… 
Yes that is the old link but it is no longer on the avast download page, so it looks like they have changed the download method.
Perhaps in light of the previous win9x/ME update issues.
I have to say I don’t like this change as when we suggest a clean reinstall we suggest downloading the latest version first before uninstall of the existing version and running the uninstall utility. Without a direct link it means going on-line with your trousers round your ankles unprotected.
I’ll consider changing the order of that entries… but a reinstallation from the scratch is needed when the user has installation troubles, avast is not working anyway as it should. I tend to suggest repair instead of reinstall, but not always it is possible :-\
Yes not always possible and that is why it is needed to be able to download before an uninstall and being unprotected whilst downloading a 32MB file, no fun on dial-up to be spending well over an hour, nearer to an hour and a half on-line unprotected. So we would have to recommend somewhere like filehippo rather than avast.com for the download not very good.
The same would be true of anyone considering making a switch to avast from another AV, recommended practice it to download the new AV before uninstalling the existing one.
Perhaps we need to take this up in another place ???
So, an installation from the scratch will be:
- Download and save the latest avast! version. Go offline.
- Uninstall avast from Control Panel first.
- Boot.
- Download the latest version of Avast Uninstall and use it for complete uninstallation. If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there.
- Boot.
- Install again the latest avast version you’ve saved on step 1.
- Boot.
- Check and post the results.
That won’t work as the first step takes you to the new download page and from there you can only get the 300KB file, that presumably you have to be on-line, run the new setup file (in much the same way as the beta setup file) to install the Home version.
So you can’t get the full version from avast, that is why I gave the filehippo link, which isn’t a good advert in my eyes. Unless of course we give then the direct link that you posted above, which is only the English version and Alwil may not like us to give that out.
I have started a topic in the other place.
I WAY agree with the need for the ability to download an entire installation file if one chooses, WITH resume supported, and download manager support (such as FDM which I use). AND manual update to latest definitions cumulative from executable’s date available.
My hubby’s laptop is currently infected, and I am “shopping” for a new AV solution. Once I believe I have cleared the infection, I need to install a NEW antivirus solution, but I absolutely do NOT want to connect his laptop to the internet UNTIL after that. He has _qbot - a backdoor, rootkit capable, password-stealing downloader. It would be the ultimate in foolishness to connect it to the internet in order to clean or protect it.
Also, I am on dial-up, so downloading large files is usually an overnight operation.
Thanks for the direct link to the english version, BTW - for now. Is there a manual update link available as well?
avast! VPS Update - Manual Download this is the full virus signatures and is over 20MB.
-
For updating an off-line systems, download using a system with internet connection, save the file to a CD or USB drive and transfer it to the off-line system and run it to update the VPS signatures file.
-
Dial-up Incremental VPS update work around for off-line system. The quote below works, tested on off line system requires a reboot for the WSC to also recognise the updated VPS.
Thank you for the database link 
Sorry to be a pest, but can you tell me… Does the full program include a virus database current to the date of the full program? If so, is that 24 MB an update to that, or the entire database to replace it?
Thanks.
The full program contains the complete VPS (virus signatures) database, the 24MB download contains the complete database, the idea being it is the way to update off-line systems (outside of that hack I mentioned), which can’t get the auto update ‘incremental’ VPS updates.
So if you download the full program file that will contain an almost complete database, depending on where you download the program from, http://files.avast.com/iavs4pro/setupeng.exe. This source should be the most up to date and once installed, a manual update would incrementally update and signature updates since those contained in the setupeng.exe installation file.
The avast.com download page should be being reverted to the old one where people are able to download the program without the hassle you had to start with (hopefully today).