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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: YSB on March 10, 2005, 11:06:43 PM

Title: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 10, 2005, 11:06:43 PM
I just installed Avast! on my Win98 system and it is causing a couple of problems.

Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast! or it will cause a complete system freeze or it will generate the menu but cause one of the above problems if you highlight the Avast! menu item even if you don't click on it. One of the above three things will happen EVERY time you right click on any file and generate a context menu.

Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven't had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!

I have tried to un-install Avast! and then re-install but the problem persisted. Of course the problem did not exist between the un-install and re-install when Avast! was not on the system.

System information is as follows:

PII 400Mhz.
320 MB Ram.
4 Hard disks sized at 25GB, 20GB, 11GB and 50GB. System drive has about 15GB free.
Win 98.
Avast! version 4.6.603
VPS 0510-0

There is no other anti-virus program installed on the system.
Ad-Aware is installed but is not running.

I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can't be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.

Thanks for your help!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: Eddy on March 11, 2005, 03:04:57 AM
Quote
Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast!
Not likely this is caused by Avast. More likely is a bad registry. Or better said a bad registry entry. Avast is working without any problems with Windows 9.x

Quote
Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven't had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!
This can be caused by the fact that Avast is still scanning while you are trying to shutdown. Check what is still running and close it before trying to shutdown to see if this is the case.

It can also be caused by a bug in Windows 98(se), did you apply the shutdown patch from MS?

Quote
I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can't be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.
Again? Do I understand correctly that you have tried several and none settified your needs? No need to switch in my opinion. Just relax and trouble shoot is the way to go and we are here to help you in the best way we can. You are not on your own ;)
The problems you have are (although inconvenient) minor ones and I believe we will be able to track down the cause of it and solve it.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: igor on March 11, 2005, 09:35:52 AM
The exact text of the Explorer fatal error may tell us more, but it may simply be a low-resource condition of Windows 9x (which is hard to do anything about it).

As for the shutdown problem - it may be caused by MS Jet drivers. I suggest to download the latest MDAC package from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/data). For the Home version, you can disable using the Jet drives by changing the line Database=ODBC into Database=XML in avast4.ini, but it's not an option for avast! Professional, unfortunatelly.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: YSB on March 11, 2005, 09:56:11 AM
Code: [Select]
Right clicking on any file will either cause a fatal error in Explorer when the system tries to generate the context menu item for Avast!
Quote
Not likely this is caused by Avast. More likely is a bad registry. Or better said a bad registry entry. Avast is working without any problems with Windows 9.x

First, this problem only happens when Avast! is installed. After I found this problem I uninstalled Avast! and everything was fine. After I reinstalled the problem was back.

Second, when the computer crashes you can see the context menu come up with all the entries until the place where Scan With Avast! should be. From that point down the menu is blank.

Third, when the menu does actually come up without crashing, hovering the mouse over the Avast entry for more than about half a second will cause a system crash. This does not happen with any other item in the menu.

It could be a registry issue but it must be coming from something that Avast! is adding since the problem does not exist anywhere else.

Quote
Next, since I installed Avast! the system hangs on the shutdown screen. I haven't had this problem for several years and it seems Avast! brought it back!
Quote
This can be caused by the fact that Avast is still scanning while you are trying to shutdown. Check what is still running and close it before trying to shutdown to see if this is the case.

I can try that but I was not running a scan when I shut down. This now seems to happen every time I shut down or even restart. Is Avast! always scanning?

Quote
It can also be caused by a bug in Windows 98(se), did you apply the shutdown patch from MS?

I don't have SE. This computer originally came with Win 95. Since I bought it right before Win 98 came out I got a free upgrade to 98 from Dell when it came out. When I first upgraded I used to have this problem all the time. Several years ago I got a new hard drive and I did a fresh install of 98 and I haven't had the problem since. This is going back now several YEARS. Now since installing Avast! the problem is back. It seems pretty clear to me that it has something to do with Avast! since this is the only system change that has been done now.

Quote
I would consider upgrading to the Pro version but if these problems can't be resolved I will have to switch again to a different anti-virus.
Quote
Again? Do I understand correctly that you have tried several and none settified your needs? No need to switch in my opinion.  Just relax and trouble shoot is the way to go and we are here to help you in the best way we can. You are not on your own ;)
The problems you have are (although inconvenient) minor ones and I believe we will be able to track down the cause of it and solve it.

I've been using EZ-Antivirus from CA for several years. I started with them back when they were still InoculateIT and free. I was very happy with their product through version 5 or 6 but they really messed up with their latest version. Then after making an inferior product they had the nerve to raise the price. Avast! is the first program I've tried since. I have mixed feelings in general about Avast!. As a tech guy I prefer a more simple but more functional interface than a more graphic but less informative one. I like the features that it has though and it seems to do a scan in decent time.

It identified a few files as trojans and I am strongly suspicious that at least two are false positives but I can't be sure. If they are in fact trojans then it is already showing improved detection from EZ-AV. If they are false positives then that could be problematic.

I also can't seem to find an option for the program to make intelligent choices automatically when it finds an infected file. I've serviced systems that had over 1,000 infected files on them. Could you imagine having to specify manually what to do with all those files? I'm glad I don't have any major infection on this machine!

I still have to hunt some more through the options. If this option exists let me know where I can find it.

I also emailed support a few days before starting this post and I still haven't heard from them. I'll cut some slack here since this is a free program but I would expect better if I buy the Pro version.

In short, I haven't removed Avast! yet. I'm still giving you a chance. If you can resolve these problems I will be very happy and very inclined to go Pro. If I find myself running around in circles and getting nowhere then I'll have to give AVG a try.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that there is someone out there to help that really tries. My biggest gripe with CA was that their tech support clearly did not read the questions you asked and just shoved out standard replies. If they want to charge for their program they have to do better than that. It seems that here I at least have you guys and that's a good thing.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: YSB on March 11, 2005, 10:11:41 AM
When I do get an error message it is an Illegal Operation error caused by Explorer. The details are Explorer caused a GPF in module glint.drv.

I don't always get a message. Sometimes the screen will just get messed up and the system will completely freeze forcing me to do a hard reset. I keep Resource Meter running in my system tray and when I tried it now to get the exact error message for you I had over 60% resources free or more in all three catagories.

I have the latest Jet drivers. I'm not sure if I have the latest MDAC drivers but I think I do. I believe I have 2.6. The newest I think is 2.8 but 2.7 and 2.8 don't support some of the functionality that I need. I don't remember exactly but I went through those files when I reinstalled Visual Studio on my newest hard drive.

Again, I did not have these problems at all before installing Avast!.

Thanks for your help. I'll be checking back soon if you can find a solution. Thanks!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: igor on March 11, 2005, 10:22:05 AM
GLINT.drv seems to be a graphics card driver. I really don't know how avast! could cause this kind of error. Google shows quite a few other problems with these drivers on Win9x (such as this one (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/212433/en-us)).

I'm certainly not an expert on Jet drivers, but could you tell me what functionality do the new versions lack, in comparision to 2.6?
If you want to check if the shutdown problem is really caused by Jet, switch the Database to XML, as described previously. As I said, it's not a good setting for the Professional version (working with tasks in Enhanced User Interface behaves strangely and lacks some functionality), but at least we would know if they are the cause.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: YSB on March 11, 2005, 11:12:02 AM
It would make some sense if this is related to the graphics driver. Several years ago I had frequent problems with crashes that resulted in a messed up screen and the problem was traced to the video driver. I updated the driver back then and the problem went away. There are still some programs that won't function properly if the video settings are at full acceleration but there are a lot more that won't function if it isn't so I can't keep it below full acceleration all the time. Are there any graphical nick nacks programmed into the Avast! context menu item that could be interfaring with the graphics card?

MDAC version 2.6 and up do not come with ODBC support for Jet or Foxpro databases. I did install 2.6 so I guess I may as well install 2.8. There may have been some other system requirement or problem with 2.8 that held me back from installing it but now I can't find any reference to it so maybe I'll try installing it.

I'll try changing the .ini file after I do that and I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: Eddy on March 11, 2005, 12:29:17 PM
Quote
I also can't seem to find an option for the program to make intelligent choices automatically when it finds an infected file.
With the home version you can put a checkmark in front of "don't show this screen again" if the 1st malware is found. Than select in that screen "delete" and in the next screen that pops up also select "delete".

In the Pro version you have extensive options to set on how to behave when something is found. You can even create events like "if.... then".

Back to your problem. Have you already checked if there are newer graphic drivers or tried older ones?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: YSB on March 11, 2005, 12:59:14 PM
Most anti-virus products allow you to set up in your options what to do when a virus is found. In EZ-AV it was set to attempt to repair and if repair was impossible it would delete on the older versions and quarentine on the newer versions. If I'm going to run a full thorough scan I will usually do it before I go to sleep or leave the house when the computer is not otherwise being used. The last thing I want is for the scan to stop and wait for instructions if something is found. I may not be back at the computer for several hours and I want the scan to be done by then.

As to the problems, I installed MDAC 2.8. It didn't help any for the context menu issue and I won't know if it helped for the shutdown issue until I shut down later.

I have the latest drivers for my video card. A new driver hasn't been made for this card for several years. It is a Dell modified card with imperfect drivers that were never perfected. Almost everything else works fine though. There are only one or two programs I encountered that don't show video correctly if full acceleration is enabled. All other context menu items work without any problems. This is the first time I've had a context menu problem like this and this computer isn't exactly new.

Thanks for helping. Keep trying and maybe something will work!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: Eddy on March 11, 2005, 01:09:15 PM
Quote
Most anti-virus products allow you to set up in your options ...........
Avast does allow that also, but you need the Pro version to have extended options.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash
Post by: YSB on March 13, 2005, 04:31:04 AM
Updateing MDAC did not help the shutdown problem. I tried changing the Database setting in the .ini file to XML but I couldn't tell you yet if it helped with the shut down. It definitely did NOT help with the crashes.

Any more ideas?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 13, 2005, 11:00:49 AM
If you disable the avast icon on the explorer extension (details here: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=1647.0), would it help?
If you use ContextEdit you can see what is wrong with your system at 'all files' (http://www.pcmag.com/utilities/)
Hope this helps.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 13, 2005, 11:56:48 AM
That did it!   ;D

Without the icon it no longer crashes on right click. Any idea why the icon was causing the crash?

I still have to update you on the shutdown issue. Changing the Database entry to XML may have helped but I'm not sure yet. It also won't help if I go Pro and if I keep Avast! that would be my intention.

Thanks Technical!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 13, 2005, 01:57:18 PM
I can't imagine what is the real trouble.
But I'm very happy that the information could guide you to the solution.
It's not all the times that we shot that good  8)

But, what did you do to solve the problem?
1. Remove the icon on context menu
or
2. Remove all the line (icon and text) with that application?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 13, 2005, 02:01:36 PM
Thanks to Eddy that found the download link for Context Edit:
http://www.ramlende.com/downloads/contextedit11.zip  ;)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 14, 2005, 08:56:45 AM
I removed the icon using the .ini file. The menu item works fine once the icon was removed.

The computer still seems to be having some shut down problems even with the Database=XML setting. Now it doesn't happen every time but it still seems to happen. Any ideas on that one?

Thanks guys!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 14, 2005, 03:01:11 PM
Are you using a firewall? Which one?
Which programs (or processes) are opened when you start shutting down?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 16, 2005, 05:30:51 AM
I'm not using a software firewall. I have a router and a dynamic IP and for now I'm relying on that (yes I know it's probably not enough).

The programs running on my system at any given time including shutdown as listed in Task Manager (Ctl-Alt-Del version) are as follows:

Winfax MOD - USR 56k ..... (The part of Winfax that monitors the modem for incoming calls)
Explorer
Hotsync (For my Palm Pilot)
wfxctl32 (The Winfax controller)
Cliptrack (A clipboard utility that saves your last 20 text clipboard entries so you can use them again)
Rsrcmtr
Point32
Loadqm
Mswheel
Rundll
Mixghost (a utility from my soundcard)
Stimon
Systray
Upsd (My UPS monitoring software)
E_S10ic2 (Printer software)
Ashmaisv
Ashwebsv

The only thing that's different here from before I installed Avast! is that now Avast! is running instead of EZ-AV. Nothing else has changed.

The shutdown now is unpredictable. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. With the Database=ODBC setting I don't think it ever worked. Before installing Avast! it always worked.

What's next to try?

Thank!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 16, 2005, 08:37:25 PM
The only thing that's different here from before I installed Avast! is that now Avast! is running instead of EZ-AV. Nothing else has changed.

Are you sure that you remove completely EZ antivirus?
Do it have a 'external' removal (uninstall) stronger than the Control Panel Add/Remove applet?
In fact, it's beyond my imagination what is going on in your system...  ::)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 17, 2005, 09:42:17 AM
Well let's put it this way. I recognize everything in the Ctl-Alt-Del list and none of those files are EZ-AV related. The uninstall from control panel started the EZ-AV uninstall utility which removed all the files from the EZ-AV folder. (I checked. Nothing is there.) If anything was left behind it can't be doing much.

Like I said before, the only thing that has changed on the system that I am aware of is the anti-virus. If you want I can uninstall Avast! and test the shutdown but since the problem doesn't happen every time it may be hard to prove anything that way and that would mean running without virus protection for a short time. I don't know what else to tell you. I would surmise that something in Avast! is not shutting down correctly or is preventing something else from shutting down but I'm not sure how to even test that.

If there is any other info that you think could be helpful I'll do my best to supply it. Aside from that I'm afraid that the ball is in your court now. If I am going to keep Avast! the problems will have to be solved somehow. You did a good job on the crashing problem. If you can solve this one you'll have one very happy guy here.

Thanks for your help!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: frankzen on March 17, 2005, 10:23:35 PM

I still have to update you on the shutdown issue. Changing the Database entry to XML may have helped but I'm not sure yet. It also won't help if I go Pro and if I keep Avast! that would be my intention.



I just uninstalled Avast for the exact same reason - my system with Win98 never shutdown and I have never had this problem before with any software.
Too bad - I liked the scan speed although I could do without the overkill skins.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Aenea on March 18, 2005, 01:10:35 AM
I am using Windows98SE and for a very long time I have been experiencing shutdown freeze problems.  Someone said that it was a memory related problem, yet increasing my RAM to 256Mb did not help.  Installing the microsoft patch that delays shutdown by a few seconds also didn't help - so I thought perhaps my system needed more than just a few seconds. So I started waiting for a full minute before clicking on the final shutdown button and find that 9 out of 10 times, my pc shuts down fine.  It may also help closing down as many programs as possible before final shutdown. 

I realize the above is not the answer to your problem, but offer it in the hope that it may prove a temporary remedy, till the solution is found.

Regards - Aenea
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: joeloucyn on March 18, 2005, 04:05:42 AM
I am using Win 98 second edition and have shutdown problems since I installed Avast!
If I start up with my printer (on parallel port) turned off (and leave it off), my computer shutdown perfectly everytime, but if I start up with my printer on then I have shutdown problems !
I think Avast! must be scanning my parallel port causing the shutdown problems ! And yes I do have all the shutdown patches installed ......
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 18, 2005, 07:27:40 AM
I guess it's good to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. That doesn't help me directly but at least it shows that there is something of a pattern that could hopefully be addressed. For the record, I tried waiting for the computer to shut down. I came back after an hour and it was still frozen so that doesn't seem to be the answer.

The shutdown problems happen now about 9 times out of 10 so this is becoming a real issue. I sometimes work from remote and it's important for me to be able to reliably restart my computer when no one is around to do a hard reset.

Guys, keep working on this one. You can do it! We're counting on you.  8)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Aenea on March 18, 2005, 01:45:48 PM
  "For the record, I tried waiting for the computer to shut down. I
   came back after an hour and it was still frozen so that doesn't
   seem to be the answer".

After clicking START and then SHUT DOWN, you are presented with the small SHUT DOWN WINDOW with options to SHUT DOWN, RESTART, etc - the additional waiting I suggested in my previous posting is to be done between the first SHUT DOWN and 2nd (and final) SHUT DOWN click.  I do hope this helps, as I know too well the frustration of shutdown freezes. 
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 20, 2005, 05:39:29 AM
Tried that, no dice. I waited over 5 minutes before clicking the second shutdown and it still froze.

Technical, have you come up with anything yet? Eddy? Igor?

Thanks again!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on March 20, 2005, 04:43:38 PM
Technical, have you come up with anything yet?

No... I had few problems at shutdown, very very rare... I didn't even troubleshoot them because they went away...
Besides, I use XP. Igor will be the man for this.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 21, 2005, 06:41:28 AM
Maybe this piece of info will help. If I disable Avast protection before shutting down then it shuts down fine. Could it be that Avast is trying to scan files as they are shutting down and locking them in the proccess causing the big freeze? :-\

Thanks guys. Keep trying. You can do it!

Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 21, 2005, 06:50:38 AM
At least I thought that helped. It did yesterday. I just tried shutting down right after that last post. I shut down Avast! On-Access scanning and it froze anyway. Now I'm REALLY confused.  ???

Any more ideas? Should I try to uninstall Avast! and see what happens?

Thanks again guys!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 22, 2005, 09:33:13 AM
Any news? I'm just bringing this one back to the top.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: joeloucyn on March 23, 2005, 06:24:35 AM
YSB did you see my previous post above ? I have been using Avast! for nearly two years and the only way my Win98 will shutdown is by starting up with my printer off then start my printer after start up and turning printer off before shutdown. Works everytime , so Avast! must be scanning my printer port !
This problem with printer port scanning causing shutdown problems on Win98 has been mentioned quite a number of times in this forum over the last few months ! Check in "Search" Win 98 /Windows 98 shutdown problems/printer
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 23, 2005, 07:51:32 AM
I saw it. My printers are off all the time unless I'm printing so this shouldn't be an issue for me. I do have some other USB devices running that I can't shut off, namely my UPS and a USB hub. I could try disconnecting them and see if it helps but I need to get behind my computer to do that which is a pain. Maybe I'll try it though just in case.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Anymore ideas out there? Igor?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: RJARRRPCGP on March 24, 2005, 12:44:06 PM
Windows 98 first edition is your problem. Windows 98 SE contains some bug fixes for bugs that exist in the original Windows 98 version.

Look for an update at microsoft.com. It's possible to apply an update that will make it turn into Windows 98 SE.

FYI, Windows 98 SE is the same as a Windows 98 SP2.

With Windows 9x based operating systems, the updates are usually NOT called "service packs" and usually, ONLY hotfixes exist for bug fixes.

Back in the Windows 95 times, Microsoft would call the bigger updates "service releases".

Microsoft usually only uses the term, "service pack" for Windows NT-based operating systems only! (Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP).



Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on March 27, 2005, 07:02:54 AM
You can blame it on Microsoft if you like but that doesn't change the fact that trouble seems directly linked to the installation of Avast!.

To be honest, I haven't had the time to continue my hunt for a satisfactory antivirus. I'll probably have a little more time this week and the hunt will have to go on. I'd love to keep Avast! but I really can't if I continue to have problems. You can't say I haven't been patient. This thread is already a couple of weeks old. I'll keep checking back here for a solution and I'll post any updates if there are any but as soon as I have time the hunt will have to continue.

Thanks guys.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: fokkie on March 31, 2005, 02:34:51 PM
From another topic:

add the following line to the [AAVM] section of the file <avast>\data\avast4.ini:

GracefulRpcShutdown=1

I am using avast home on my home win98 pc, and so is my dad on his win98 pc.
Both pc's have shutdow probs. Maybe this helps, let it know if it does  8)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on April 01, 2005, 10:11:44 AM
Thanks for the tip! I'll try it and let you know what happens.  :)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on April 02, 2005, 12:07:20 AM
 :( No luck. I tried adding that line to the .ini file but the computer still won't shut down properly. Thanks anyway for the reply.  Any more ideas out there?

Thanks.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: fokkie on April 02, 2005, 03:27:17 AM
Strange, i believe it does work here. At least till now it goes off the way it is supposed to.
I also noticed that the swap file may have something to do with it, or it felt that way.
I set the swap file to let windows decide, and file caching to server setting.

Also try checking "check floppy/cd/other media" in avast program setting.
My dad said that helped  :-X
He also chooses right mouse button on 'the a' and clicks "stop on-access protection" before shutting down windows. Might help :)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: joeloucyn on April 03, 2005, 06:00:05 AM
To RJARRRPCGP, you might have noticed that I am using Windows 98 SE (second edition) and also have shutdown problems.
Thanks for the tip fokkie, I also tried your idea with adding GracefulRpcShutdown=1 to [AAVM] of avast4.ini, but unfortunately it didn't help.
I guess it is time to upgrade to XP (and probably new problems :) ) !
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on April 03, 2005, 09:35:40 AM
Also try checking "check floppy/cd/other media" in avast program setting.
My dad said that helped
He also chooses right mouse button on 'the a' and clicks "stop on-access protection" before shutting down windows. Might help

I've tried both those ideas but neither helped. I thought that stopping on-access protection helped a few posts back but it turned out not to be the case. If I shut down right after start-up it usually works regardless but once the computer runs a little it doesn't work regardless.

The computer surprisingly did shut down properly on Friday. No clue why but We'll see what happens when I shut down tonight if we can repeat that.

Thanks for the tips!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Starfighter on April 04, 2005, 12:16:19 AM
I have 2 computers: 

  One with Win 98 First Edition
  The other with Win 98 Second Edition

My Win 98 First Edition computer needed the GracefulRpcShutdown=1 in order for it to shutdown properly with Avast (it works perfectly now)

My Win98SE system required the MS "Fast Shutdown" patch from the MS Windows update site in order for that computer to shutdown properly with Avast.   It works great now with Avast.

So if I can get my Win98 systems to work fine with Avast, then you should be able to as well (with a little bit of luck).

You may want to sure that your computer isn't hanging at shutdown because it has too many Windows temp files etc...

Good luck!   :)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: joeloucyn on April 05, 2005, 04:03:05 AM
Well Starfighter I have all the Microsoft shutdown patches and I have been using Win 98 second edition from day one, but since I installed avast (now 2 years) I have had shutdown problems ! The odd thing is that on my computer if I boot-up with my printer turned off.....it shutsdown properly.......I learned to live with it ......but I just would like to find a solution! Any more ideas are welcome, I really hope to find the solution.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on April 05, 2005, 04:26:40 AM
But since I installed avast (now 2 years) I have had shutdown problems! I learned to live with it.
You're patiente is very huge... Congratulations...
But it will be better if Igor could help you here...  :-[ :'(
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Starfighter on April 05, 2005, 04:16:28 PM
Well Starfighter I have all the Microsoft shutdown patches and I have been using Win 98 second edition from day one, but since I installed avast (now 2 years) I have had shutdown problems ! The odd thing is that on my computer if I boot-up with my printer turned off.....it shutsdown properly.......I learned to live with it ......but I just would like to find a solution! Any more ideas are welcome, I really hope to find the solution.


Hmmm, sorry to hear   :(   ....  Did you try changing the printer's port resources which can often be changed from within your motherboard's BIOS settings  i.e. by changing the printer port's interrupt, dma, mode i.e. ecp etc  etc...   failing that try the the windows system settings for the printer port...

Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: joeloucyn on April 07, 2005, 01:31:05 AM
Quote from: Starfighter [quote

Hmmm, sorry to hear   :(   ....  Did you try changing the printer's port resources which can often be changed from within your motherboard's BIOS settings  i.e. by changing the printer port's interrupt, dma, mode i.e. ecp etc  etc...   failing that try the the windows system settings for the printer port...

Quote

I have tried changing BIOS settings re: interrupt,dma, etc ....but no difference . I will be upgrading to XP (after I do my taxes with QuickTax  ;) ).....but still as I would like to find out.....the WHY  ;D .
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on April 07, 2005, 08:23:15 AM
This is interesting! For the past few days the computer has been shutting down properly! The first few times after I added GracefulRpcShutdown=1 to the .ini file it didn't work but now it seems to be working. Could that line be working after all? Did something else change? Will this last? Stay tuned! We'll find out!  8)
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: fokkie on April 14, 2005, 12:57:13 AM
and? :-)

With my fathers win98 pc it didn't help, but with mine it did.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 08, 2005, 03:00:16 AM
Any update on this issue?

I've recently started using Avast.  Just installed it on two  PC's (both Dell Optiplex GX1 P2 350Mhz 256Mb) and had the same problem with both!  You can shutdown fine from the start menu but when you select restart they both just hang at the, Windows is shuting down screen.  Tried all the suggestions listed here, (adding the line to the ini, downloading patch from microsoft etc) but nothing works.

Both machines are running Win98SE and both have had fresh reinstalls of Windows on wiped and reformated Hard drives.

 ???
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 08, 2005, 12:03:58 PM
Both machines are running Win98SE and both have had fresh reinstalls of Windows on wiped and reformated Hard drives.
Any firewall installed?
Any error in the avast! log files?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 08, 2005, 03:28:35 PM
Any firewall installed?
Any error in the avast! log files?

Hi Tech,

No Firewall and nothing in the log. 

The problem is somewhat intermittent, occasionally it'll restart fine but usually not.

Both 'puters were previously on an office network and worked fine for several years without any probs.   With  Avast uninstalled the problem goes away?

Thanx
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 08, 2005, 03:53:13 PM
Both 'puters were previously on an office network
And now?

With Avast uninstalled the problem goes away?
Are you asking or making a statement?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 08, 2005, 03:58:23 PM
No longer on network.

It's a statement. Remove Avast and problem solved.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 08, 2005, 06:14:49 PM
No longer on network.
But I suppose they're not at the office... as avast! Home is for Home non-commercial use only.

It's a statement. Remove Avast and problem solved.
If you could give us more info when the crash occurs again. Like the BSOD text message, or the dump files to be analised, etc.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: igor on November 08, 2005, 07:24:22 PM
Try to switch avast! to XML storage (in program Settings / Troubleshooting) and restart. Does it help?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 09, 2005, 01:03:15 AM
Hi Igor,

Tried switching to XML, didn't work.


Just to clarify......

The computers are no longer on a network, I inherited them from the office when they upgraded.  I'm fixing one up for the kids and one for my dear old mum.

When I shutdown from the start menu the PC turns off no problem.  When I select restart the system just hangs at the, 'Windows is shutting down' screen and just sits there.  I then have switch off and on again manually.  On startup Microsoft scandisk kicks in and has the audacity to tell me off for not restarting properly.  ::)

At no stage is there an error message or the dreaded, 'blue screen of death'.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 12, 2005, 03:59:19 AM
Anyone else have any ideas?

Anyone else having the same trouble?

Anyone know of any compatability problems with Dell PC's?

 :'(
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Starfighter on November 12, 2005, 04:09:16 AM
Monkeycustard (banana food?),

On my old backup computer which runs Windows 98, avast! shutsdowns fine with the database set to XML (as opposed to ODBC) and gracefulrpcshutdown=1.     

However, if I have a USB memory stick plugged in my pc, then my computer can hang on shut-down... so in my case I always unplug the mem stick before I go to shutdown...  and then it works fine.   

So... by chance do you have any USB devices plugged in?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 12, 2005, 12:57:32 PM
Hi Mr Starfighter,

Thanks for the suggestion, no USB devices connected though.  No joy with the XML setting either.

Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Starfighter on November 12, 2005, 04:02:24 PM
Okay... no usb devices...

Another thought... disable fast shutdown (if you haven't already).
To do so: go Start, then Run, type in msconfig.  press okay

Then a menu pops up.  Under the General Tab, click "advanced"
put a tickmark in disable fastshutdown... press apply/okay, then reboot computer, see if that helps.

Also, make sure you windows temp folder is empty.

good luck! 


Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 12, 2005, 05:31:15 PM
Howdy,

I'm using Win98 SE and it doesn't give me that option in msconfig.

Emptied the Temp and Temp Internet folders, problem persists.........
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: alanb on November 12, 2005, 08:16:21 PM
Try setting the following (98SE is notoriously bad in these areas):
Settings -> Control Panel -> Power Management:-

   System Standby:  Never
   Turn off Monitor: Never
   Turn off Harddisks:  Never

HTH
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 12, 2005, 08:34:36 PM
and gracefulrpcshutdown=1
Monkeycustard, did you follow Startfighter suggestion and added this line into avast4.ini file settings?
Click Settings in my signature and search for section [AAVM]
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=1647.msg10268#msg10268
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Starfighter on November 14, 2005, 01:32:42 AM
Monkeycustard,  (I like that name!!!!)

Ahh, I thought (silly me) that you were running plain ol' Windows 98 (no SE).  Well, I know that on my other computer (has Win 98SE and dual boot with XP) there is an important update to Win98SE which is known as the shut-down patch (available on Microsoft's update website).  It's imparative to get that patch in order for avast! to shut-down properly -- in conjunction with the GracefulRpcShutidown=1 line added under the [AAVM] section of the avast data file known  as: avast4.ini
It is located in the following path:
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA

I know for sure, based on my personal experiences  that avast! should work perfectly fine either with Windows 98 and 98SE.  If it doesn't then there must be something else wrong with your system causing it to hang on shut-down.



Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 25, 2005, 09:33:48 PM
Hi guys

Many thanks for the advise it's greatly appreciated.


Try setting the following (98SE is notoriously bad in these areas):
Settings -> Control Panel -> Power Management:-

 System Standby: Never
 Turn off Monitor: Never
 Turn off Harddisks: Never

HTH

This didn't work I'm afraid.




there is an important update to Win98SE which is known as the shut-down patch (available on Microsoft's update website). It's imparative to get that patch in order for avast! to shut-down properly -- in conjunction with the GracefulRpcShutidown=1 line added under the [AAVM] section of the avast data file known as: avast4.ini


Tried the patch and the GracefulRpcShutidown=1 line but also did not work.

I've since reinstalled windows (too much free time on my hands). The first thing I reinstalled after that was Avast and the restart problem was still there. 



disable fast shutdown (if you haven't already).
To do so



The disable fast shutdown option is there in SE but disappears after the patch is downloaded.  Since the reinstall the AAVM section has disappeared from the ini file. ???


 ???
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 25, 2005, 10:04:30 PM
Since the reinstall the AAVM section has disappeared from the ini file. ???
Are you sure? All section is not there? Of just the line you've added? Of course, that line is not there by default and should be added in each new install (not upgraded or updated).
But, like we can see, this did not solve you're trouble... sorry...
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: monkeycustard on November 26, 2005, 01:12:44 AM
Are you sure? All section is not there?

Def not there. I can cut and paste it here if you are curious
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on November 26, 2005, 01:57:43 AM
Def not there. I can cut and paste it here if you are curious
No... I believe you...
I just can't imagine avast4.ini file without [AAVM] section... Maybe for me it's created soon as I always change the default settings of this section...
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on December 12, 2005, 09:11:01 AM
Has anything changed in the latest Avast update? Since my last post on April 7 things have been pretty good. Since the last update of Avast trouble seems to have come back. At the same time as the shutdown problem came back I've also discovered that Freecell doesn't work anymore and Winfax keeps crashing.  This all seems to have started right after the last program update. I want to try un-installing Avast and seeing what happens but I haven't had time to do that yet. Any ideas?

Thanks.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on December 12, 2005, 09:44:25 AM
Ok, I just confirmed it. I un-installed Avast and Freecell came back to life. Then I re-installed Avast and Freecell stopped working. All this just started with the latest release of Avast.  I can't test the other issues since they are intermittent and it would take a few days to test for them.

I once read on MS's KB that some security programs will crash programs with small stack sizes and Freecell for Win 98 was compiled with a small stack. MS's only solution was essentially to reverse compile Freecell using Visual C++ and recompile it with a larger stack (or do some other type of binary edit to increase the stack size post-compile. I don't remember exactly). The problem is, it seems that Freecell isn't the only program with this issue as several other programs are crashing as well that didn't crash before and there's no edit given for those other programs.

In short, while the last version of Avast worked fine with Win 98, the latest version seems to be making trouble.

Any ideas on this one?

Thanks!
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: igor on December 12, 2005, 10:06:45 AM
Sorry, but I'm quite sure there were no changes to Win9x resident protection recently (or even in the last months)...  ???
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on December 13, 2005, 12:22:10 AM
I don't know where the change was or wasn't but things worked fine before the last release and now they don't. Un-installing Avast cures the problem and re-installing brings it back. Some change must have been made that is having an indirect effect on the system.

Any ideas at all?

Thanks.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on December 13, 2005, 12:31:22 AM
I went looking for that article on the MS KB and I found it. I don't kow if it means anything to you or not but here it is (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310870).
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on December 13, 2005, 01:33:57 AM
Did you install any Microsoft update lately?
Did you install or uninstall any other security software (firewall, antispyware, Spy++)?
Can you boot in Safe Mode (pressing F8 while booting)?
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: YSB on December 14, 2005, 07:48:57 AM
Did you install any Microsoft update lately?

No.

Quote
Did you install or uninstall any other security software (firewall, antispyware, Spy++)?

I did recently install an antispyware app that I didn't like and promptly un-installed it. For the life of me I can't remember which one it was. I just went through a long list of names and it's not coming back to me. It is no longer on the system (unless it left something behind when it was un-installed) and it was not on the system when I did the experiment of un-installing and then re-installing Avast.

Quote
Can you boot in Safe Mode (pressing F8 while booting)?

Yes



Thanks for your reply.
Title: Re: Avast! causes system crash [Win98]
Post by: Lisandro on December 14, 2005, 11:52:10 AM
Quote
Can you boot in Safe Mode (pressing F8 while booting)?
Yes
Well, maybe you can boot in Safe Mode and uninstall avast from Control Panel and then try to boot as usual.
You can run Avast Uninstall (http://www.avast.com/files/eng/avclear4.exe) for complete uninstallation and boot.
Maybe a Registry cleaner tool could help you on getting rid of trash left behind from that antispyware application...
Which programs are automatically started at boot time? Do you know how to get this info? (http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml)