v5 - Slower and slower Updating/Initialization (after a while)- Timeout request

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Is it just me that is getting incredibly slow update downloads compared to v4? (v5.0.462 currently under XP SP3) :cry:

I love the new v5 in most areas: UI, memory conservation and its all-round super value. :wink:

However, ā€¦there is just one crucial glitch I am finding (and I have now gone through all the hoops for the cleanest install). It is incredibly slow updating which is a nuisance as the CPU utilization remains high while it stays in update mode. Even to find out if a download is needed can take an eternity with no guarantee and no timeoutā€¦as it struggles to Initialize. It doesnā€™t like it if you set to manual update and gives you an ugly icon to add insult to injury ???

After a reboot things improve for a while but nothing like as fast as v4 but then goes back to slower and slower update process.

Maybe this will improve as I would rather stay with the hitherto trusty Avast. If I could find v4 installer then Iā€™d go with that until enough folk report similar problem that it gets flagged up by Quality Control (assuming it is a wider problem). Also if there was a configurable timeout setting for auto updates that would be really useful imo. That way when the updating started to hog the CPU (without actually updating) it would just stop updating and I could do a manual update after the next reboot or let it do it automatically then.

2

What is the process using the CPU?

3

2 processes:

avast.setup 25% average(ish)

AvastUI.exe 50% average(ish)

avast.setup only starts using CPU if the AvastUI.exe actually manages to get beyond initialization and connect.

As well as a timeout option it would be good to have an option for the SystemTray icon to rotate when updating is being attempted.

v4 took up a lot of memory after updating but it was fast updating. Is there any way I can downgrade to it until I find v5 updating usable?

4

Downgrading to v4.8 is certainly possible but it would be very helpful if you could help us troubleshoot the issue first. I mean, you seem to be the first to report this issue so itā€™s possible itā€™s e.g. caused by a conflict between avast and something else running on your system.

Weā€™re not able to reproduce the problem here. E.g. pressing the ā€œUpdate engine and virus definitionsā€ is usually a matter of a second or two here (to find out thereā€™s no new updates; it takes slightly longer if thereā€™s an update available).

So, how long does it typically take on your system?
And how many CPU cores does your system have? (i.e. how many CPU Usage charts do you see in the Task Manager, Performance tab?)

Thanks
Vlk

5

It varies. Lets just focus on Stage 1 initialisation : connecting and finding out if an update is necessary. Since that is the problem. That can take like forever and ever unless I manually stop it. Which is why I am asking for a configurable timeout option.

If successful and it actually connects and obtains the necessary info to determine if an update is needed then the rest of the process is quick. It can then take from between 55 secs and 4 mins. Otherwise, which is most of the time, it would go on forever and ever stuck in initialization unless I intervene.

I have a laptop with single core. But 48 was fast enough. I only manually updated to see if the new version didnā€™t have a memory leak, which it doesnā€™t. (4.8 grabs and doesnā€™t release memory after update, but my workaround was to just update before I got around to rebooting every few days. Otherwise it was fine).

v5 is I guess a major new revamp and this feels like beta testing phase :wink: