Having trouble after installing avast! 6 free version on three different PCs in the same house. Well, the installation completes fine, but when rebooted, I am unable to see desktop icons after logging in.
I tried to find this scenario elsewhere in the forums and didn’t see. Can someone advise what might cause hangups between log in and Desktop loading, or if you have a link I can read more info? When Avast is uninstalled or disabled (safe mode), the system will boot normally, desktop loads fine. I even disabled the rootkit scan on startup and raw disk access boot time scan.
These computers are Windows XP Prof with at least 512MB ram. Latest updates installed.
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)?
Are your MS Updates current?
Try doing a fee scan with Secunia PSI to make sure you are current with your Windows and other software as well http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/. Sometimes there are other dependent software that need to be updated.
Symantec requires uninstallation with their uninstaller tool, not by Add/Remove Programs. So this software most likely is still on your machine and this is why you are having difficulty installing Avast. Please run the Symantec Uninstaller Tool as I suspect this is your major problem with remnants:
Since Symantec is known to leave remnants behind, you can also go into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly upon boot up), once in Safe Mode go to Advance Search > enter “sym” into the search box and see if anything comes up. Do the same but type in symlcbrd.sys , which is a Symantec Core Service BIOS reader. Do it again but type in Symantec, and again but type in NIS or NAV (depending on what you had installed on the machine). If you are uncertain of the files that come up on the search, right click on the file to show you Properties and you can tell if it belongs to Symantec…if it does you can delete it then empty your recycle bin and reboot your machine.
Go to Control Panel and uninstall Avast through Add/Remove Programs if possible and reboot.
If Step 4 fails, boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool. If you had a prior version or product of Avast, uninstall one at a time then reboot and repeat the process in Safe Mode again.
Reboot.
Install the newest version of Avast and reboot.
Get Internet access and register your copy or add the license key for Free, Pro, or AIS.
Update the Avast definitions.
If all goes well after the other unstallations and clean install of Avast, you should check your machine for outdated software since it changes rapidly. A good free scanner is Secunia PSI http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/, which many of us use here weekly. In addition, this site will give you the vendor’s direct download link if an update to a software is needed. Right now there is a new java update. You also keep an eye on the Support are of this forum to keep informed up updates and links as well. But running the PSI scan will be a quick way to see if you need something.
Thanks for the info. re: K9. I suspect removing Symantec without their uninstaller may be the OP’s issue, so now we need to hear back from the OP to answer the questions I posted earlier.
Thanks SafeSurf, I just dropped by now to check for updates. I have some reading above to do ^^. I’ll be able to test this out later today or tomorrow. I’ll give an update on status soon.
Remove Windows as it is a bad operating system… download Ubuntu and burn to a Cd and install on your system as it doesn’t have over 70 billion viruses like windows. It looks like a mac! plus 1000s and 1000s of apps for it… like the iPhone commercials say there is an app for that! but just with ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/ Its free!
At Least i am using it and boot up time is like 25 seconds faster on my 2.00 ghz computer ;D
Plus Fake Av sites I laugh at windows cause they get infected if they download exe… Microsoft needs to stop supporting exe and support new file type made by them like create new filetype called .ms for microsoft programs…
Did you run the SAV Uninstaller that I previously posted and reboot your machine?
Since my last post, Avast put out a new version - 6.0.1125. Since I previously instructed you to uninstall Avast and do a clean install, here is the new download file for the new/current version of 6.0.1125: http://www.avast.com/download-software – all products (Free, Pro, AIS).
Follow the rest of the instructions for uninstalling and installing that I previously posted.