Hello. I have just removed Norton360 from my Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop running Vista (2GB RAM). It is not used much and has little software. The only thing that might be odd/unusual is a Wuala drive. I have twice tried to install the current d/l of Avast - once with and once without the Google Drive option. In both cases installation appeared to succeed, but the system locked up shortly afterwards - not even ctrl-alt-del would work. It would reboot, but locked up again on the first click - eg on the start menu or avast icon. The little circle goes round and round forever. In both cases I had to use the restore point to get the system back to normal. I am on the point of giving up, but millions of people obviously have no problems and I am wondering if there is anything else I should try first. Thanks.
did you run Norton/symantec removal tool and reboot before installing avast ? http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/
if you have used system restore that often give avast problems unless you turned off avast self protection first
so you may need to reinstall
remove with this http://www.avast.com/en-no/uninstall-utility
download and install http://www.avast.com/en-no/download-software
Thank you for the prompt reply Pondus. I did not use the removal tool - I simply told Norton to do a complete uninstall when prompted by the Windows uninstaller. I did not know about avast self protection - but I don’t think I would have been able to use it if it is a normal feature of avast, because a click on the avast tray or windows icon freezes the system. I will try your suggestions.
I followed the instructions given by Pondus, but I am afraid that problems persist. I was able to run avast with the computer in Safe Mode (I completed a scan and took the opportunity to exclude the Wuala drive from future scans), but the symptoms I described persist when I try to run normally. I can’t open avast, - other programs (including Task Manager) don’t run - and the sytem becomes unresponsive. I had to go back to the restore point again. Thanks again for your suggestions. I will try an alternative - which is a pity because avast is the most recommended free program at the moment (as I am sure you know).
i have sendt a pm to one of the removal experts here…he may have some magic tricks
while waiting you may attach a OTL diagnostic log here
you find OTL here. http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0
It may be worth running a clean boot to determine if it is Avast having problems with your computer, or if there is a conflicting driver/service installed
Thanks again Pondus / essexboy. I have run Malwarebytes and found no positives. I probably do have something running at startup which conflicts (though it is hard to know what on this rather lean machine), but after 3 tries / restore points, I really don’t want to take it any further. I am giving Panda Cloud a try and it will probably suffice for the use to which this machine is put. I am grateful for your help.