Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: _lexi on February 08, 2018, 01:48:00 PM
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Hi all
I'll keep things brief: here's the description of the issue I'm having:
OS: Win 8.1, fully updated
Avast version: Internet Security, activated and fully updated
Issue:
1. On Sunday 04 Feb my computer threw up a DPC Watchdog Violation shortly after login.
2. The comp restarted automatically and when I cleared the login page I received a warning from Windows Action Center that Avast's anti virus component was inactive. Avast reported that all of its shields, save the firewall, were not present.
3. To resolve, I uninstalled Avast IS and reinstalled using the offline installer.
4. Yesterday, I decided that the custom Avast set up I'd installed wasn't working out, so I uninstalled Avast again and then reinstalled using the standard set up.
5. After this second installation completed, Avast failed to do the following:
- It did not display the "You are protected" and data privacy post install windows
- It didn't ask me to set Avast firewall's public/private option for my internet connection
- It didn't launch the Avast interface
I waited for approx 20 mins after the install progress bar in the bottom right of the desktop disappeared, but Avast did not go through any of the usual post-install behaviours.
6. I restarted the computer and found that Avast was already activated (and was displaying my name and subscription key in the Subscription menu) and apparently behaving as normal.
7. I uninstalled Avast IS, repeated steps 4, 5 and 6 using the online installer and got the same result.
7. I have now uninstalled Avast IS using the AvastClear.exe until I can confirm the cause of the installer's unexpected behavior.
Information/solution needed:
Could someone explain why the installer failed to launch the Avast interface and how it was able to retrieve my subscription data without asking for a licence file or my subscription key?
Are there files or registry entries that the uninstaller failed to remove that I should delete myself?
Is there a more significant issue with my computer related to the DPC Watchdog Violation that is interfering with the Avast installer?
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See if this helps:
How to Successfully Install Avast http://goo.gl/VLXde
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The steps set out in that GoogleDoc are essentially the steps that I've followed, although I haven't yet attempted to reinstall Avast IS.
Additional information: The "ProgramData" folder in my C:\ drive still contains a folder named "Avast". There are only two files in this folder - one appears to be an Avast Licence file. The other is called something like "Avast Backend", and when viewed in notepad seems to contain a number of Chinese characters.
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First, be sure to get rid of all remnants of your prior installed AV(s)..!!
-> https://support.avast.com/article/11/
Then:
1. Download Avast Internet Security: https://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avast_internet_security_setup_offline.exe
2. Follow instructions: https://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility (Run this tool for all prior installed Avast versions..!!)
3. Reinstall Avast with the downloaded installer from point 1.
4. Reboot.
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First, be sure to get rid of all remnants of your prior installed AV(s)..!!
-> https://support.avast.com/article/11/ (https://support.avast.com/article/11/)
Then:
1. Download Avast Internet Security: https://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avast_internet_security_setup_offline.exe (https://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avast_internet_security_setup_offline.exe)
2. Follow instructions: https://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility (https://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility) (Run this tool for all prior installed Avast versions..!!)
3. Reinstall Avast with the downloaded installer from point 1.
4. Reboot.
That information was already supplied in my post. :)
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Yep, but the OP didn't do it yet...
...although I haven't yet attempted to reinstall Avast IS.
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Yep, but the OP didn't do it yet...
...although I haven't yet attempted to reinstall Avast IS.
So posting the instructions again in a different way will make him do that ??? :)
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Well, let's see... ;)
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Reinstalled Avast IS last night, after deleting the Avast folder stored in C:\ProgramData that I mentioned earlier.
Results:
I used the offline installer; the standard install progress bar appeared in the bottom right of the screen and disappeared when it had filled up. This was followed by a few minutes of network and HDD activity, presumably caused by Avast IS grabbing definition and VPS updates.
A window then appeared which stated that my Avast subscription had expired. Clicking through this took me to the usual purchase options window. I clicked the "I have already purchased" button and input my activation key in the "Subscription" menu. Avast accepted the activation key without any problems. I closed the menu and waited for a further twenty minutes.
Aside from the subscription warning, Avast did not display any other messages indicating that the install had been successful. It didn't launch the front page of the user interface, as it normally does after a fresh install.
Crucially, Avast did not prompt me to set the public/private option on my firewall connect, nor did it prompt me to run a network scan. Again, this is normal behaviour after a fresh install.
I checked both Avast and Windows Action Center after restarting the computer and both report that Avast IS is running without problems. Avast IS ran a smart scan and a network scan without complaint.
Conclusion
I'm going to leave this install in place and watch it closely for anything unusual.
Would it be possible to forward this thread on to the developers? I've never encountered such inconsistent behaviour in an installer. The lack of feedback to confirm that the install process has finished is especially worrying, and leads me to believe that the Avast uninstall is failing to tidy up its registry keys and licence files.
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Thanks for the feedback. You can contact support here: https://support.avast.com/contact