XP problem

[Cortina]

Hi there,
I've just uninstalled/reinstalled Avast Home after repeated RPC problems (tried following the advice in the FAQ's but with no success)
After rebooting and memory test I'm now getting

Error 0x000000C1
Splash cannot execute.....ashSimpl.exe

In event viewer (system) I've got the following:

The avast! Antivirus service failed to start due to the following error: 
avast! Antivirus is not a valid Win32 application. 

and

The avast! iAVS4 Control Service service failed to start due to the following error: 
avast! iAVS4 Control Service is not a valid Win32 application.

Any ideas appreciated?
Cheers
Rob

[RejZoR]

Did you have a Norton Antivirus installed before avast! ?

[Cortina]

Nope, never used Norton.
I've been using Avast for months without problem until yesterday. I've not installed any new software or made any system changes either.
Cheers
Rob

[techie101]

Cortina,

One of the Dll files in your computer may have become corrupted.
Since you have XP, you can try an Avast Repair.

Go into Control Panel, Add/Remove and check Avast.
It will not remove it, but give you a Repair option.
Click on Repair.  When you are informed the Repair is complete, reboot the computer and try again.

Let me know the results.

Thanks,
Techie

[Cortina]

Cheers for the suggestion, but I've already tried that (both before uninstalling and since reinstalling). Repair completes ok, but I've still got the same issue on reboot.
Still no joy.
I've just double checked that RPC is running too (since I can still generate the RPC error, as per the FAQ) - it is.
Any more takers?
Cheers for the advice so far guys.
Rob

[techie101]

Cortina,

It is not abnormal for you to see an RPC process running.  Avast does use it to connect for updates.

I will do some research and see if anything comes up.  You have tried all the past recommended solutions.

In the meantime, send a request to support@asw.cz so the Team can work on it from the office end.

Thanks
Techie

[Cortina]

Will do, cheers for now.
Regards
Rob

[RejZoR]

I would recommend to use Windows Repair function since avast! is not recognized as Win32 application.

First you shuld uninstall avast! before repairing Windows.
You can start Windows Repair by inserting WinXP CD into drive,boot PC with it,select the same partition on which Windows is currently installed and select Repair when installer asks you if you want to delete current installation or to Repair it.
After this it'll replace all missing registry entries and files but you'll still have all the settings and files you had before Repairing Windows installation. After everything is finished,install avast! again and it should work like new

[Falkirk]

I guess I am having the same problem.

I installed it and it seemed to be just fine. However when clicking the icon it pops up with an RPC error. The RPC is set to start automatic so the FAQ hardly helps on that.

I also get the "non valid win32 app." in the services log.  And when I try and start the 2 services manually it returns error 193 (not valid win32)

[Vlk]

What folder is avast installed to?? (full path please).

Thanks
Vlk

[Falkirk]

D:\Program Files\Avast4

[neal62]

Wonder if disabling XPs "Sytem Restore" first thing off would help in getting things back to normal?

[Vlk]

Make sure there is no file called D:\Program.exe, D:\Program.com, D:\Program.scr etc. etc.

Due to the space in the path (between "Program" and "Files"), if there was a file with such a name, it'd actually be executed INSTEAD of the service...

Also, try opening regedit, going to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services and in the "avast! Antivirus" and "avast! iAVS4 Control Service" keys, enclose the ImagePath value (that holds the pathname of the service) in quotation marks.

You'll then need to restart the machine.


Thanks
Vlk

[Lisandro]

Vlk, am I reading well or this behavior (about quotations) could be corrected in new version of avast?

[Falkirk]

Well I don't have "avast! iAVS4 Control Service" in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services