Unable to start Avast Antivirus

Whenever I try to open AvastUI.exe, an error message will pop up, with the error code 0xc0000142. Same thing happens when I try to open it in safe mode, and I’ve tried scanning my system with MalwareBytes and the same error continues.

Even when i try to run the Setup.exe to reinstall avast, an error message saying “HTMLayout.dll cannot be loaded to properly start GUI. Therefore process cannot continue.”

So basically I’m stuck in a position where I can’t run/remove/reinstall avast. I’ve even tried refreshing my computer, but that only managed to solve the problem for a few days only.

I’m currently running windows 8.1 on an acer laptop I just bought recently. Any help would be appreciated.

have you just installed avast?

what AV did you use before installing avast?
did your computer come with a preinstalled AV from factory?

if so this must be removed according to the vendors instructions before avast install…see here http://www.avast.com/en-eu/faq.php?article=AVKB11

if still problems try a new clean install

follow instructions and remove with this http://www.avast.com/en-eu/uninstall-utility

install again http://www.avast.com/en-eu/download-software

FAQ section http://www.avast.com/en-eu/faq.php

also search the forum for HTMLayout.dll as this has been reported before

My computer came pre-installed with McAfee antivirus. I uninstalled it immediately and installed Avast antivirus. It worked for a few days, and this problem surfaced. Same thing when I tried a refresh of windows 8.

Thanks for the help, I’ll try out your solutions and get back with the results. Guess I’ll have to look at HTMLayout.dll problem first.

have you run McAfee removal tool to clear all leftover files? http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?lc=1033&id=TS101331

tool here http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe

I uninstalled Avast completely with the tool, and also removed all the leftover files using the McAfee removal tool too.

I downloaded a fresh copy of the installation file, and when I try to run it I still get the HTMLayout.dll error. I’ve searched on the forum, and seems like the only solution I can find is to copy the HTMLayout.dll from the setup folder into the system folder. I tried it, and it still didn’t work out for me.

Any other solutions?

Aye, this question has been reported in the forums many times, but google is spammed with questions that trail off with no answer. This question should also get answered, or at least get a link to a good answer, as it’s showing up on googles from page on web searches for this problem.

Topic reported to the Moderators.