I was doing a virus/spyware/adware scan on my computer, but now I can’t run avast! I downloaded updates for SpyBot, AdAware, and avast! before I ran them. SpyBot found some entries with the name Ceres in them. I’ve come across this before and know it can infect System Restore files. I turned off System Restore, rebooted, and ran Spybot and AdAware in Safe Mode. After they were finished removing what they remove, I rebooted, but none of my avast! icons appeared by the clock in the taskbar. I hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and it showed Ashmaisv and Ashwebsv running. I double-clicked the avast! icon on my desktop to start it and it brought up a message saying “License key is not entered” along with an OK button. I didn’t have my original key written down, so I went through the registration process and got a new one. I clicked the OK button and a space appeared to enter my license key. I copied and pasted the key from the e-mail and hit OK, but it says “Invalid license number!” I was careful not to include any extra spaces before or after the key when I copied it.
Thinking it might be some unusual problem with avast! itself, I downloaded the avast! uninstaller and removed avast!. I then downloaded avast! Home and reinstalled. My license key still did not work. Any ideas as to what’s going on? Help would be greatly appreciated.
I thought of both of those. I did get another license key, but it did not work either. Got the same “Invalid License Key” message. Thinking that something did get removed by the adware/spyware programs, I downloaded avast! and the uninstaller. I uninstalled the original and installed the new one. The same thing happened. Neither license key would work.
Are you sure that your system date/time are correct?
Are you sure your entering the correct key (copy & paste without the ‘last’ hidden blank space at the end of the line)?
Yes on both counts. I searched some of the other threads here before I posted and found both of those suggestions made to others. My clock was off, but only by a few minutes. That wouldn’t cause a problem, would it?
No, sorry, I’ve understood bad the word ‘off’ (translation error of mine).
No, I’m not talking about an off (delay) of some minutes, but change in the month or year number, I mean, it’s a problem of date and not of time of the day.
So, did you install the Trial version and then start to use the Home version?
Did you install the Professional version at any time?
Can you confirm that you’re using ‘copy & paste without the ‘last’ hidden blank space at the end of the line’ ?
I only remember using the Home version. I know for a fact that I have never installed the Professional version. I just tried both license keys again, being very careful to highlight only the letters and numbers of the keys and nothing else, but it still says they are invalid.
Well I don’t know what OS you’re using (either I didn’t see it or you didn’t post it yet) but I’ll guess that you’re using Windows XP:
Click Start>Click Control Panel>Click Add or Remove Programs>Click over to avast! and click on Change/Remove> Scroll down till you see repair> After repair try restarting your PC and enter the Key once more.
In one of my previous posts I stated I am using WinME.
I opened the Add/Remove Programs, but something strange has happened. There are no programs listed. Not a single one; the list is totally blank. Therefore, I cannot do a repair. A couple of months ago, I had to reinstall WinME. I think I remember reading somewhere that if you do an OS reinstall, the Add/Remove Program list can be cleared. I do not know if this is something that has just happened or not since I can’t remember using the Add/Remove Program function since I performed the reinstall.
Another problem has come to my attention as well, but it doesn’t concern avast! My sound card has stopped working. I checked the Device Manager and there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation point next to the entry for ATITuneP, WDM TVTuner. I listed the Driver Details for this item and two of them come back as “Not Available”. The bad ones are listed as follows:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32.VXD (ntkern.vxd)
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\iyuv_32.dll
This seems to point to my video card (32 MB ATI All-In-Wonder PCI), but I have no idea how it would have got involved in this mess.
I think I remember reading somewhere that if you do an OS reinstall, the Add/Remove Program list can be cleared. I do not know if this is something that has just happened or not since I can't remember using the Add/Remove Program function since I performed the reinstall.
Since I can’t use Add/Remove Programs, I downloaded the avast! removal program and avast! setup. After removing and then reinstalling avast!, I still receive the same “Invalid License Key” message.
