Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: petero on June 05, 2008, 02:14:22 PM
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Vista has a long history of problems with AV programs, and it appears Avast is the latest victim.
After this morning's automatic update, my computer hung up. I manually restarted it, but after about 5 minutes it hung again. This is the problem I was having:
http://www.vistaforums.com/Forum/Topic13079-9-1.aspx
The symptom is that the system gradually hangs up, with the disk activity light continuously on. If you press <ctrl-alt-delete>, after about a minute an error dialog appears with this title:
"Login process has failed to create the security options dialog." and dialog message "Failure - Security Options".
My solution was to boot to Safe Mode and uninstall Avast. This has apparently cured the problem, with no hangs in the 1.5 hours since I uninstalled.
Obviously having no AV program isn't an option, so I'll reinstall Avast without the latest update.
I'm running a Dell Inspiron 1525, Vista with all updates (but not SP1), Avast setup file version 4.8.1201.0 and today's update.
Peter
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Two days ago I had problems booting Vista... tried twice... the logon screen does not appear.
I've choosed 'Last known good' configuration and now seems ok.
Which firewall do you use?
Can you check your Windows Update history to see which were the latest updates that could, eventually, bring some trouble to avast?
Did you have any other antivirus is this computer in the past?
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I reinstalled Vista from the Dell factory image partition two days ago, then applied all available Vista updates, except one (KB943899) that causes problems on Dell PCs. So the installation is very new and fairly clean.
The factory image included McAfee, which I uninstalled using McAfee's uninstall tool.
I'm running the current version of Zone Alarm.
After posting, I reinstalled Avast, but did not see a way to prevent it from updating. The system hung again within a few minutes. I've now uninstalled it again.
Peter
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After posting, I reinstalled Avast, but did not see a way to prevent it from updating.
Program settings > Update (Basic) > set to manual.
The system hung again within a few minutes.
Did you use this tool to remove McAfee?
This article provides the steps to remove SecurityCenter from your computer.
http://ts.mcafeehelp.com/faq3.asp?docid=71525
Also for direct download: http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/VSCleanupTool.exe
and http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe (2007)
If you need, you can find many free versions of these registry cleaners here:
http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/system/fwregtools.html
Sometimes, McAfee won't be completely removed if, before, you do not uninstall Avast, including the use of its "Uninstall Application" if necessary (www.avast.com/eng/faq-install-uninstall-avast.html).
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Yes, I used McAfee's tool to uninstall all McAfee applications.
Thanks for the Avast uninstall tool. I happened to find it after posting, and I've just run it from Safe Mode.
However, after rebooting, my system has the original error again - continuous disk activity and the <ctrl-alt-delete> error message. That's very strange, since removing Avast the first time solved the problem. Apparently removing it the second time didn't solve it.
I have to say that Vista has been a nightmare for me. I've got over 20 years experience as an IT manager and network administrator, and have never had this many problems with any other version of Windows. I've had more problems with Vista in the three months I've had this machine, than I've had with XP since it was released. Much as I hate to move backwards, I'm starting to lean towards installing XP Pro.
Peter
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However, after rebooting, my system has the original error again - continuous disk activity and the <ctrl-alt-delete> error message. That's very strange, since removing Avast the first time solved the problem. Apparently removing it the second time didn't solve it.
Did you try to uninstall avast from Control Panel before using the tool?
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I'm running the current version of Zone Alarm.
Sorry for the intrusion, but I had a similar situation due to ZoneAlarm.
The current version of ZA is bloated with its' own anti-virus and anti-spyware.
Are you certain that you just have the firewall? ZA became so conflicted for me that I ended
up removing it and all its' components, then I found just a lite firewall and installed it.
Seemed to cure my troubles. There were no more conflicts. This is just my experience but
it may be worth checking.
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However, after rebooting, my system has the original error again - continuous disk activity and the <ctrl-alt-delete> error message. That's very strange, since removing Avast the first time solved the problem. Apparently removing it the second time didn't solve it.
Did you try to uninstall avast from Control Panel before using the tool?
Yes, I used Control Panel first, then the Avast tool you pointed me to.
Because the problem would not go away (whether caused by Avast or not), yesterday I once again did a clean factory partition reinstall (the second one this week >:(), then loaded all the Vista updates including SP1. I'm going to load Zone Alarm and Avast, then let the system run for several days to see if the problem recurs.
A search of Dell's or MS's support shows that nearly every AV or firewall vendor has some history of problems with Vista, so it's hard to pin down what causes a problem. Avast is my prime suspect because the problem occurred after the usual daily update, and disappeared after the first uninstall. But Vista has so many problems that I could easily be wrong!
PapaSmurf:
Yes, I'm definitely using the free firewall-only version... although Zone Labs is making it more and more difficult and confusing to do that.
Peter
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I have Vista Ultimate SP1 and installed Avast two weeks ago after removing AVG. My firewall is Vista's. I installed Avast without the mail options. I have had no problems at all including the automatic updates. I even just rebooted and there was no problem.
The only caveat was that it did take about an hour to build manually the VRDB.
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Avast is my prime suspect because the problem occurred after the usual daily update, and disappeared after the first uninstall. But Vista has so many problems that I could easily be wrong!
The last years the problem was always with bad driver function of ZoneAlarm.
They have acknowledge once but not all the times.
If you uninstall ZoneAlarm you will see that avast won't be guilty.
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Avast is my prime suspect because the problem occurred after the usual daily update, and disappeared after the first uninstall. But Vista has so many problems that I could easily be wrong!
The last years the problem was always with bad driver function of ZoneAlarm.
They have acknowledge once but not all the times.
If you uninstall ZoneAlarm you will see that avast won't be guilty.
If I didn't use any software that's had problems with Vista in the past year... there wouldn't be anything left to run! ;D
What firewall do you use? I've used Zone Alarm for years, so I don't know what else is good.
Peter
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What firewall do you use? I've used Zone Alarm for years, so I don't know what else is good.
I've tried Comodo and PCTools into Vista. Neither of them run smoothly...
I gave up to Windows Vista firewall itself.
I've blocked some outbound connections this way:
Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
While providing complete inbound AND outbound protection, by default, the Vista firewall does not contain any rules for controlling of outbound traffic. That is, every program is allowed to go out.
Configure Vista Firewall to support outbound packet filtering: http://searchwindowssecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid45_gci1247138,00.html
Or use Vista Firewall Control 32-bit: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Vista_Firewall_Control_32-bit_d5578.html
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Thanks, Tech! I'll stick with Win Firewall for now and see how it goes. Maybe I can make it all the way through the weekend without a factory restore.
Peter
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Thanks, Tech! I'll stick with Win Firewall for now and see how it goes. Maybe I can make it all the way through the weekend without a factory restore.
Peter
You're welcome. Feel free to come back any time you need help or just to change experiences 8)
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This is a very nice software to handle Windows Firewall -> http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html)
Choose the free version :)
edit//Oh I see it has been posted and I can't finde the delete button :(
Anyway, Vista firewall ctrl!
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Vista has a long history of problems with AV programs, and it appears Avast is the latest victim.
Interesting. I'd restate this a little more broadly: "Programmers have a long history of thinking they know what they are doing, but usually they can't, don't, or won't test thoroughly to prove it. It appears that Avast programmers fall into this trap also."
I've used Vista Ultimate 32 bit on a laptop for well over a year now. I'm quite happy with the operating system and its performance. It seems to be resilient and resist problems fairly well, where XP would just hang. I suspect I pay a bit of performance penalty compared to XP, but that performance goes into a considerable amount of background monitoring of events and diagnostics that are relatively easy to find and interpret and that I never had with XP. I had a few driver issues early on with external devices, but those manufacturers caught up. The only serious problem I have had is with the Vista built in backup. It worked great for a while then stopped. I gave up on it and purchased a highly rated 3rd party product for $35 to solve that problem. I wish all my problems could be solved for only $35.
I use Avast because I have had poor experience with purchased A/V products. McAfee seems to be indistinguishable from adware, Symantec is prone to crashing the machine, TrendMicro seems to be leaky, Panda duns you with e-mails, etc. I'd pay for reliable, trouble-free A/V software that leaves me alone and does its job, but I haven't found it. I turned to free A/V software like Avast because it was highly rated and it irked me to pay for trouble with purchased A/V products.
Avast, amazingly, seemed to be both reliable and trouble-free, or at least it did until the 4.8 update. Since then, I have had recurring, intermittent problems. If I turn off Avast, the problems go away. If I turn it on, they recur. Vista has been out for a couple of years, 4.8 has been out for 2 weeks, and it seems pretty clear that the new problems I've been having in the past 2 weeks are Avast's, not Vista's.
My problems seem to be:
1) Sometimes, when I start up Outlook the first time after startup, I can't get Outlook to run normally. If I switch folders, there is an indefinite waiting period of several minutes before loading the folder seems to complete. If I restart, Outlook may or may not (but usually will) run properly. When Outlook runs slowly, if I halt Avast, close Outlook, and restart Outlook, Outlook works fine. If I restart Avast without rebooting, usually Outlook will run slowly again. I have a sense that there is some timing relationship between system start, Avast start, and Outlook start that has to be just right.
2) Sometimes web pages load very slowly. Sometimes it is certain web pages, sometimes it is every web page. If I stop Avast, then close and restart the browser, any pages that were previously slow will now load quickly. When I restart Avast, things seem to continue to run at the expected speed rather than becoming slow again. It's taken me a while to learn the trick, but now whenever my browser runs slowly, I turn off Avast.
This is not a criticism of the original post or the author. I used the opening quote because I don't want the spotlight to be redirected away from Avast (our dear friend) to Vista (a M$ product, therefore bad). I do think there is something that has changed for the worse in 4.8 and needs to be fixed. Everything I see tells me this is a problem with Avast and not with Vista. I like Avast and would like to see them fix the problem.
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skyguy
You have not mentioned doing so - so I have to ask ...
To improve the performance on starting Outlook have you tried the simple expedient of turning off the scanning of archived messages on the startup of Outlook (In the Outlook Exchange provider > Customize > General tab)?
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I'll try that. Thanks.
Meanwhile, I've attached a screen shot of the task manager during my most recent Avast incident. This shows one of about 4 screens full of duplicate web scanner processes.
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And I forgot to mention - these multiple copies of this service don't go away after I stop all providers. They are protected, too, so I can't kill them manually - understandable, since I wouldn't want some malware stopping them, but a nuisance when apps go wild.
Update: they did go away when I closed the browser.
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skyguy,
is the issue of multiple instances of the ashWevSve.exe process a persistent one?
Whether it is or not it would probably be worthwhile to see if the following steps might overcome the problems you are seeing with avast 4.8
1) the repair option (in Add/Remove programs) of avast.
it that does not help then
2) a full uninstall and reinstall of avast.
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Wow, I need to report a problem - Skyguy has been using my Wife's new Toshiba laptop. OH, wait a minute - no I must be mistaken. Just because I'm running Vista and avast! 4.8 and I'm experiencing the EXACT same problem as Skyguy - it must be just a coincident. Again, Skyguy's description of Outlook and the web page loading problems is perfectly in snyc with the issues I'm experiencing with my wife's laptop.
Here's what I also find strange, my new (6 months old) Lenovo laptop running XP (with all the latest updates) is not having ANY problems with avast! 4.8 ???????
Question, did Skyguy or anyone else find a simple cure for this - maybe a simple setting that would eliminate this Vista problem? I'm currently just shutting down avast! 4.8 on my Wife's computer since trying to explain all the options for working around this issues just confuses her - I'm in the process of switching all my computers (4 of them) from AVG to avast! 4.8 due to all the negative reviews on AVG's new interface.
any help is appreciated.
Palmpilot
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Hi everybody,
I've been running Vista 64 bit since 10/2007 without any kind of problems, until last may, 20.
That day I made several changes in my computer: changed the case, the graphic card and its drivers (a new 8800 GTS 512), a new power supply, new HD Audio drivers for ASUS Maximus Extreme mobo, installed SP1 and changed from AVG7 (because bad news from AVG8) to Avast 4.8.
And problems began to pop up daily: many crashes and hangs in Windows Mail, IE, others applications and many, many BSOD with several stop errors.
Since then I've been methodically disabling and reverting every change made (less the case change!).
As I used Avast before, with XP, with very good results and without any glitch, removing it was the last thing I did, and was the cure for all problems I had.
Immediately after removing it the rate of errors dropped greatly, but no one error occurred only when I manually removed (because they were leftovers of uninstallation) 4 dll Avast files (asw files)from C: Windows>system 32>drivers.
One of the files was aswSP.sys, the others I don't remember.
Since then, 5 days ago, everything runs smoothly, without any BSOD, errors or hangs until now.
I hope this could help somebody.
valdir
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uhm i have tested last version of avast on vista ultimate 32 bit and i see that bug of lags is NOT fixed -.-
and i think that there is a conflict between avast 4.8 and spybot. also when tietimer option on spybot is disabled...
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I am using Vista Home Prem, 32bit and am experiencing similar crashes since 4.8 update. Have had no problems with Vista previous to update. Always seems to freeze computer during IE usage post Avast updates of virus data. Also when installing Windows updates, Avast icon is active and comp freezes up as well, not allowing update to install. Often have to push power button to shut down as softboot won't work. Screen becomes faded and totally frozen. Otherwise loved Avast prev to 4.8!
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Should have mentioned that post Avast regular virus data updates, computer freezes upon IE7 use, but once I reboot (which is sometimes not easy), everything works fine...i.e seems to be immediately following updated files, needs a reboot for things to be OK. ???
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I am using Vista Home Prem, 32bit and am experiencing similar crashes since 4.8 update. Have had no problems with Vista previous to update. Always seems to freeze computer during IE usage post Avast updates of virus data. Also when installing Windows updates, Avast icon is active and comp freezes up as well, not allowing update to install. Often have to push power button to shut down as softboot won't work. Screen becomes faded and totally frozen. Otherwise loved Avast prev to 4.8!
Really? ??? I don't have such a trouble with almost the same computer configuration...
Which other security programs are you using? Any other antivirus preinstalled (OEM)?
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No other AV, came with Norton but uninstalled it (also used Norton Removal tool) and all was well for months before 4.8 update. Have Ad-Aware and Spybot installed as well but run manually. Since last post I have stopped Avast auto update and update manually, have had no problems since doing manual updates. Sooo...seemed to cause problems when I was online using IE7 and auto update took place. As long as I'm not multitasking I guess things may be OK?? I'll see how things work and try auto update in a week or so. Thanks for listening!
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Wish you luck TroubledSoul... I wish your name would be HappySoul ;)