I recently bought 2 new Laptops from Amazon.com.
The first is an ASUS Series N53S-EH72 with an Intel i7 processor, Windows 7 and a GEFORCE GT540M NVIDIA Cuda w/1Gb Dedicated Ram video card (VRAM), 6Gb of DDR3 Ram, a 500Gb HDD @ 7200RPMs â should be a screaming machine. It had AMAZING reviews!
I used ninite.com to load in the programs I wanted after the initial set-up. Ninite.com doesnât have Avast so I downloaded it afterward and my computer began to run very slowly and eventually just stopped working. The mouse and keyboard would stop working intermittently so I ran a troubleshooter on the computer and it said the Superfetch wasnât working. It simply will NOT run properly without the Superfetch on. The only solution I found was to use Windows Restore and each time I used it, it would remove the Avast program. The computer would work okay, until I re-installed the Avast program, then it would begin to run very slow again. It seems that the only way I can keep it running is to use the restore program almost daily. That computer had such great reviews, I expected a real performer. It runs worse than my 6yr old dual core and that runs circles around it.
Laptop #2 is a Gateway NV55S13u with Windows 7 and an AMD A8-3500M processor with an AMD Radeon HD- 6620G with a 512MB Graphics System Memory dedicated video card, 6GB of DDR3 Ram and a 640GB HDD @ 5200RPMs. I just bought 2 of these for a friend and they ARE screaming machines. Mine however, has turned into another doorstop.
I opened the Gateway computer after my frustration level got so high with the ASUS, that I wanted to toss it out the window. So, I opened the Gateway and did all of the compulsory downloading of updates and went to ninite.com to load my programs. I then went online to download the Avast program and my computer immediately went BSOD. I could NOT get it to reboot and after multiple tries, I went into Safe Mode and did a restore point.
It finally accepted the restore point, but took out the Avast program like the other computer did. I finally got it back up and running and loaded the Avast program back in and although I have registered both computers on Avast.com, I could neither log in nor access my account (With Avast.com) - it acknowledges that I have an account, but refuses access. I discovered this forum and although this computer is sluggish and I am having problems with the keyboard, I have been able to type this message. It continually locks up or I get the dreaded BSOD so I ran the troubleshooter again and it says that the Superfetch is not running again. I went into Services and manually turned Superfetch back on and it seems okay for now.
I called Amazon.com and planned to return both computers, but I can only get a refund or choose different computers because both are out of stock or unavailable. I really want to keep these computers because of their potential to be great machines. At first, I thought I had a dreaded âLemonâ but have a difficult time believing they are both âLemons.â
When I went to register the computer with Avast, I discovered this forum. THANK GOD!! I was ready to ditch both computers, only to discover (I believe) that the problem is the Avast anti-virus program. I have always been a huge fan of Avast for many years and ALWAYS recommended Avast to ALL of my friends and co-workers. Occasionally I would try the AVG anti-virus program, but it has become an incredibly intense memory hog with their latest version. I am greatly disappointed that Avast has decided to join the ranks of the greedy and refuse to give just 30 days before requiring a purchase â I will say that I am impressed with their new âlookâ but now, I guess itâs time to shop for something open source. My new computers wonât run properly with Avast and I refuse to be held hostage for money. Who would have thought that Microsoft could have got something right?
I still donât understand much about Superfetch and would appreciate an explanation if someone out there knows more about it. I would also like to know why the Avast program turns it off and if there is a way it can live together with the Windows 7 operating system.
Thanks for your help!
Michael