Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: rlw on January 21, 2010, 03:12:31 PM
-
Since updating to Avast Free yesterday, it has crashed 3 times. The notification area icon has a red X on it. In the Status UI, the message is "Unsecured" and the shields are all down. Clicking the "repair" button gives an error message that the services can't be restarted, but clicking OK on that dialog box returns to the Current Status page showing that the shields are started and the status is "Secured".
I'm running XP SP3 and manually disabled the Mail Shield (I use Gmail, so there's no incoming email to scan), the IM Shield, and the P2P Shield (I don't use any IM or P2P software, either). The only shields I run are FileSystem, Web, Network, and Behavior.
There are no entries for Avast 5 in the Windows Antivirus Event viewer. Additionally, the Windows Security Center does NOT detect the fact that Avast 5 is not running.
Since I can't find an Avast logfile, here's what I have in the Windows System Event Viewer:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7034
Date: 1/21/2010
Time: 8:32:55 AM
User: N/A
Computer: TOSHIBA
Description:
The avast! Antivirus service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 3 time(s).
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7034
Date: 1/21/2010
Time: 8:32:55 AM
User: N/A
Computer: TOSHIBA
Description:
The avast! Web Scanner service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 3 time(s).
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
After that, two more events showing the Avast service and web scanner were successfully started.
Anyone else having this problem? If it continues, I may try to go back to Avast 4, or give (ugh!) Micro$oft's AntiVirus a try.
RLW
-
I suppose you upgraded from avast 4. Better off uninstalling what you got completely and reinstall 377 from scratch. This should solve your issues.
ps: no need to give the MS links when the event is not more specific and doesn't lead to a detailed and known MS description of the issue. In the present case MS never heard of your problem ;)
-
Do you have any unpXXXXXXX files in
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ALWIL Software\Avast5\Log (WinXP)
or
C:\ProgramData\ALWIL Software\Avast5\Log (Vista+)
?
They could tell us more about what happened...
-
Not meaning to hijack the post, but how do you "uninstall" 4? I cannot do it via control panel, nor can I delete individual components. Disk full notice is given. I feel that unless I can completely delete 4, I'll not get 5 installed. Open for suggestions.
-
Not meaning to hijack the post, but how do you "uninstall" 4? I cannot do it via control panel, nor can I delete individual components. Disk full notice is given. I feel that unless I can completely delete 4, I'll not get 5 installed. Open for suggestions.
I think you should start another thread for this...and there must be something wrong going on on your system if you don't see the avast4 uninstall entry ???
-
"I suppose you upgraded from avast 4. Better off uninstalling what you got completely and reinstall 377 from scratch. This should solve your issues."
Just going on what you said trying to get it done. Not sure a new post would solve it, but I'll do it just the same. Explaining to the other poster how to uninstall it would possibly solve my problems, too.
-
The same thing here... win xp pro sp3 avast crashes shortly after resuming from hibernation. Once crashed it can be safely restarted though.
:-[
Just noticed that .... it crashes regulary :( in addition i've started to get a lot of 'connection reset' messages from ffox 3.5.7 not sure if it relates to avast web module or not. .. almost ready to downgrade.. :(
-
"I suppose you upgraded from avast 4. Better off uninstalling what you got completely and reinstall 377 from scratch. This should solve your issues."
Just going on what you said trying to get it done. Not sure a new post would solve it, but I'll do it just the same. Explaining to the other poster how to uninstall it would possibly solve my problems, too.
the other poster doesn't ask how to uninstall V4 ;) ... it's quite another issue that he's got.
-
Stand alone post is still unattended.
-
Stand alone post is still unattended.
link?
-
I suppose you upgraded from avast 4. Better off uninstalling what you got completely and reinstall 377 from scratch. This should solve your issues.
ps: no need to give the MS links when the event is not more specific and doesn't lead to a detailed and known MS description of the issue. In the present case MS never heard of your problem ;)
@Logos -- Yes, I *did* upgrade from Avast4. The reason I *didn't* uninstall Avast4 before installing Avast5 was that the FAQ mentioned that Avast5 would automatically uninstall Avast4. This is similar to @larrychandler's "hijack" of the thread, as Add/Remove Programs no longer shows Avast4 as being installed and the \Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4 folder is gone (so Avast5 must have uninstalled it). Perhaps the FAQ needs to be changed. Are you suggesting that I uninstall/reinstall Avast 5 at this point?
The other troubling thing I'm experiencing with Avast5 is that Windows Security Center is telling me that "avast! Antivirus reports that it is up to date and virus scanning is on.", but I didn't get an alert when Avast5 terminated. Also, Windows Security Center is still referring to it as "avast!", not "Avast Free". Seems like Windows Security still thinks I'm running Avast4.
PS: Sorry for including the Event Log entries -- the Micro$oft URLs were part of the copy/paste. I'm fully aware that they are usually useless. I included them since I didn't know/couldn't find the logfiles. :)
@Igor -- No, there are no "unpXXXXXX" files in the ...\Avast5\log folder. None of the *.log files in the folder look to have any useful information about the crashes. Here's a DOS directory list of the folder:
01/19/2010 06:31 PM <DIR> .
01/19/2010 06:31 PM <DIR> ..
01/19/2010 06:24 PM 0 AshWebSv.ws
01/21/2010 08:55 AM 88,714 aswAr.log
01/21/2010 08:47 AM 136 Chest.log
01/19/2010 06:33 PM 288 Logging.log
01/19/2010 06:25 PM 1,664 Mail.log
01/19/2010 06:23 PM 0 nshield.log
01/19/2010 06:23 PM 0 selfdef.log
01/21/2010 08:54 AM 577,954 Setup.log
01/21/2010 11:57 AM 1,278,522 usntr.log
9 File(s) 1,947,278 bytes
RLW
-
yes, don't waste more time wondering why this and why that ;) uninstall everything and reinstall V5 from scratch. You can use the uninstall utility found on avast site for this:
http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility
-
yes, don't waste more time wondering why this and why that ;) uninstall everything and reinstall V5 from scratch. You can use the uninstall utility found on avast site for this:
http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility
@Logos/SalvadorDali -- Thank you for the suggestions. There's no need for YOU to tell me what to "waste time" wondering about this and that. I've been an Avast user for many years now, and have quite a few clients (businesses, nonprofits, and home users) who use it as their primary antivirus solution. Those clients represent hundreds of Avast installations (both "free" and paying). I *am* concerned when an update doesn't seem to happen correctly, as I don't want to receive hundreds of telephone calls if/when that update fails.
I read (either in the FAQ, or on a blog) that Alwil will soon be rolling out the Avast5 update to Avast4 users. I don't want my customers to experience the problems I've experienced. For that reason, I posted here to get a sense of the problems others may be having similar to mine, and to find out the root cause of the problem.
I've uninstalled/reinstalled Avast5 via Add/Remove Programs, not using the utility (since I don't want my clients to go through Safe Mode to uninstall). I will report back here if my reinstall has similar issues to the original upgrade.
Again, thanks for your response.
RLW
-
There's no need for YOU to tell me what to "waste time" wondering about this and that.
that was kindly advised ;D ... to YOU, and your customers, unless you and them prefer to lose a few hours instead of having the new software up and running in 2 minutes of time ::)
-
that was kindly advised ;D ... to YOU, and your customers, unless you and them prefer to lose a few hours instead of having the new software up and running in 2 minutes of time ::)
I understand you meant no malice. Neither do I.
The object here is to have ME lose the two hours to avoid having hundreds of my customers lose two hours. The pertinent question is: Will these kinds of problems appear when Alwil rolls out the automatic upgrade from Avast4 to Avast5 (both free and Pro versions)?
I hope not.
RLW
-
Will these kinds of problems appear when Alwil rolls out the automatic upgrade from Avast4 to Avast5 (both free and Pro versions)?
I have no idea, I didn't even know that it wasn't done already. I've been on the beta of V5 for months before the final came out. Anyway I would never have done an upgrade between two versions of a program that are so different, this is just not the same software at all anymore, even if many components hold the same names, everything has been completely revised.
The only way out for a successful upgrade means automatically uninstall V4 first, and completely, reboot and have the V5 setup starting...You can do this manually ;)
-
Anyway I would never have done an upgrade between two versions of a program that are so different, this is just not the same software at all anymore, even if many components hold the same names, everything has been completely revised.
I'm aware of the correct way to do an upgrade, except for upgrades that are advertised as needing no user intervention. I refer you to the avast! 5.0 FAQ on the website (http://support.avast.com/index.php?languageid=1&group=eng&_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=455):
Is it required to uninstall avast! 4.x before installing avast! 5.0?
Yes, but there isn't necessary any user interaction to uninstall avast! 4.x, because installer of avast! 5.0 is able to detect previous instance of avast! 4.x and uninstall it automatically.
I read the FAQ *before* I installed Avast5. As I recall, the upgrade from 3.x to 4.x was transparent and painless. I made the mistake of assuming the 4.x->5.x upgrade would be as well.
BTW, it hasn't crashed since uninstalling/reinstalling v5 earlier today. Thanks again for your help.
RLW
-
I'm sure you're aware ;D anyway:
I refer you to the avast! 5.0 FAQ on the website
I couldn't care less, for all the reasons I explained above I just wouldn't do it that way. Microsoft also advises to upgrade from XP to Vista or Seven :D ...this is suicidal but good to promote a product. Noobs like to hear that.
-
Well, Avast5 Free ran for a couple of hours before crashing again. The indication is a red X on the icon, and the message "Unsecured" in the GUI. Clicking the "FIX NOW" button has the following effect: A dialog box that states: "The following components could not be started: Mail Shield, IM Shield, P2P Shield, File System Shield, Web Shield, Behavior Shield, Network Shield". Before I had a chance to click "OK", the GUI (behind the dialog box) displayed SECURED.
I'm not getting a good feeling about this upgrade...
RLW
-
Well, Avast5 Free ran for a couple of hours before crashing again. The indication is a red X on the icon, and the message "Unsecured" in the GUI. Clicking the "FIX NOW" button has the following effect: A dialog box that states: "The following components could not be started: Mail Shield, IM Shield, P2P Shield, File System Shield, Web Shield, Behavior Shield, Network Shield". Before I had a chance to click "OK", the GUI (behind the dialog box) displayed SECURED.
I'm not getting a good feeling about this upgrade...
RLW
this has happened to me once or twice with older builds (beta) and never again after that...well, just reboot. I don't want to insist on that but I do believe from many posts I read that Avast 5 is optimized for Windows 7. The worse issues, experienced repetitively, were found on XP and Vista systems...while stuff got always fixed very quickly in Win7. I can't elaborate about any detail, that's just observations of V5 behavior, as reported by people here.
ps: you can also, instead of rebooting, go to Avast service in "computer management" stop and restart avast services... or just start them manually if they were stopped, like it seems to be the case in your situation.
-
Still crashing, 4 days later.
I'm running this under XP Home SP3.
No notification from Windows Security Center -- I only notice it crashed when I see the red X on the Avast orange ball icon in the notification area on the XP taskbar. Windows Security Center does detect Avast as the installed AntiVirus program and the box is checked to alert me if there is a problem with my antivirus program.
Event log notes that it terminated unexpectedly at 12:35 AM this morning. Checked all log files in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Alwil Software\Avast5\log - nothing in any of the logs that correspond to that particular time.
Can anyone suggest a file viewer for the SQLite log.db file in the Avast5 folder? There doesn't seem to be any kind of log viewer like the one that was in Avast 4.x.
Is anyone else having this problem?
RLW
-
I don't want to be pessimistic but from the reports I read for a while now V5 seems to be a disaster on XP ::) ... with a few exceptions.
ps: there's this add-on for firefox. I don't use it...Should work ;) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5817
-
I don't want to be pessimistic but from the reports I read for a while now V5 seems to be a disaster on XP ::) ... with a few exceptions.
Well since XP is still the most widely installed Windows OS.. and will be for quite a while.. I think it would behoove Alwil to fix the bugs.
-
I don't want to be pessimistic but from the reports I read for a while now V5 seems to be a disaster on XP ::) ... with a few exceptions.
Well since XP is still the most widely installed Windows OS.. and will be for quite a while.. I think it would behoove Alwil to fix the bugs.
the thing is I have also doubts, because as I said there are exceptions, people running avast 5 on XP with no problem... there are also people messing with their systems and they won't say it here, they just report the end result after installing avast 5. Too bad I don't have an XP system to test that myself...
-
there are also people messing with their systems and they won't say it here, they just report the end result after installing avast 5.
No doubt.
-
For the record, I have installed Avast 5 (AV only) on my test XP SP3 computer and I have absolutely no problems with it. I am running Defender and XP's firewall. I did have the beta.
-
For the record, I have installed Avast 5 (AV only) on my test XP SP3 computer and I have absolutely no problems with it. I am running Defender and XP's firewall. I did have the beta.
OK so that's already good news, or better news ;)
-
I'm running XP SP3 and have no issues except the exclamation point over the taskbar icon for a few seconds on boot. Although I wouldn't call that an issue since it's waiting for all of the shields to kick in or waiting to connect to the network I assume.
-
...there are also people messing with their systems and they won't say it here, they just report the end result after installing avast 5....
FWIW, my XP SP3 system is about as clean as it can be. My system is fully updated (as of today) to XP SP3 (including IE8, which I rarely use). I've got most of BlackViper's list of non-essential system services set to "Disable" or "Manual". The file system is about 99% defragmented (I use the excellent free defrag program "MyDefrag"). I only have 2 "crapplets" running in the notification area - Process Explorer and Taskbar Shuffle. The Windows Firewall is disabled (I use a hardware firewall, haven't had a virus or malware in years). The bulk of my web browsing is via an up-to-date Firefox 3.6. I don't run a mail client, I use gmail. Don't run Outlook or any other calendar, I use Google Calendar. I don't use IM or P2P software (I don't even have anything like that installed on this PC), so, for that reason, I've disabled the Mail, IM, and P2P shields (even less system services to run and clog up my PC).
Avast 4.8.xxxx ran pretty much flawlessly with this same setup - giving me great confidence in Alwil's software. That's why I *believed* the FAQ when it said the upgrade to Avast5 would cleanly remove Avast4.
My concerns are as follows:
- Windows Security Center detects Avast 5 as the resident AntiVirus program, but does NOT raise an alert when the Avast service fails/terminates.
- The log viewer from 4.x is either missing, or I can't find it. It was VERY helpful in determining problems on the rare occasion I had one with Avast4.
- At some time in the future, I'm guessing Alwil will auto-update Avast 4 users with Avast 5. I hope the issue of the service dying and lack of communication between Avast 5 and Windows Security Center is resolved before then.
- Avast 4 updated its own event log that was visible in the Windows Management Console Event Viewer. Since installing Avast 5, that log is no longer available -- another troubleshooting tool missing from this version
Even though my profile says "Newbie", I'm just a noob to THIS forum. I've been an independent (one-man shop) computer consultant for over 20 years, supporting a wide range of OSes (Windows 3.0 to 7, NT3, 3.5, 4, Server 2000, 2003, 2008, Mac OSX, SCO Unix, IBM AIX, every Linux since it came out on diskette, etc.), designing advanced LAN and VPN solutions, and providing custom data conversion services for medical offices. I've used Avast (and recommended it to my customers) since back in the days of Avast 3.
I'm hoping some of the Alwil development team are monitoring this forum, and will provide fixes for the problems I'm having with Avast 5. I'm more than willing to work with them to help troubleshoot this issue, as I'd like to head off problems for the hundreds of users I support who are currently using Avast 4. My guess is that the Alwil folks can contact me through this forum if they'd like my help.
BTW, @Logos -- thanks for the link to the SQLite viewer add-on for Firefox. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the log.db file that provided any clues to the root cause of the problem.
RLW
-
I have no problems with Avast Free 5 on my WinXP Pro SP3 fully patched. I'm running the old Sygate software firewall and am behind a NAT router.
I did the overinstall over Avast 4.8.1368 without incident. Almost all of Avast 4 was removed (except for the two new files added just before the release of Avast 5. I've since deleted the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4 folder that was left behind and it's few remaining contents as the system wasn't accessing them, and then ran CCleaner. The hardware is a Pentium4 3.4GHZ with 2Gig of memory. I'm very pleased with the way everything went. I use Firefox 3.6 as my default browser, but Opera 10.10 and IE8 also have no problems.
-
I have here the same problem on windows 7 US x64 N version.
Started the pc this morning with Event error 7044 "The following service is taking more than than 4 minutes to start and may have stopped responding: Avast Antivirus. Contact your system administrator or service vendor for approximate startup times for this service.
It was an Clean install from Avast 5.0 running for the last three days, i also created an password for it can't use it Avast says wrong password.
Regards
-
Hi,
Remove the Avast by Programs / Uninstall a program and reinstall it again Reboot pc and everything looks to be working but for how long.
Regards
-
Hi. I have upgraded my Avast 4.8 to this 5.0 version on my Win 7 32bit. Everything went ok and it worked for some hours. Then it started to crash.
I red about uninstall the old version and did that. Then reinstalled this new version and then worked for some 15 minutes to 1h. After that period of time it has red x across tray icon, and when i press the icon this is what i get
http://i50.tinypic.com/6fz702.jpg
I press fix now and then it's up again
http://i48.tinypic.com/15zr4m0.jpg
Then the same circle every 15min to 1h.
I downloaded that little program that removes all that avast has, and deleted it from safe mode, every folder, every file, even registry things.
After a clean install and registration new problems, after 30 minutes it pops this
http://i49.tinypic.com/2re09du.jpg
There is no online solution, and after closing the program it removes tray icon, there is no windows notification about that.
When i start avast again it crashes instantly and repeats the pop-up message. Then i have to restart my computer for the next 15-30 minutes of protection ???
Please help, i don't like being without constant protection.
PS. I have 2 more computers that both have SP SP2 and there is no problem with this new version, everything was and is just fine.
-
Hi,
I'm back again put my pc 5 minutes ago on, same problem again, services are not started. This version 5.0 is not good >:( button fix now is not working :-[
Gonna remove it and go back to 4.8.
Hope they find an solution for this
regards
-
5.0.377 has been running all day, now (2157 EST/0157 GMT), after disabling the Behavior Shield. We'll see if it continues to work through the night.
EDIT: Still working as of now (1642 EST/2042 GMT - I don't have enough posts yet to change my timezone) - no crashes. Perhaps the problem is the Behavior Shield???
RLW
-
I have now installed the latest version 5.0.396, still it looks ok.
Sandbox is also better working then before, only i do'nt understand were he put the dowloaded files.
I let know if there any problems with version 5.0.396
Regards
-
I have now installed the latest version 5.0.396, still it looks ok.
Sandbox is also better working then before, only i do'nt understand were he put the dowloaded files.
I let know if there any problems with version 5.0.396
Regards
in "safe" locations, ie the place you indicated in your browser settings where files should be downloaded. See expert settings for virtualization concerning this. That said this doesn't always work, and downloaded files can be saved without telling you in the sandbox folder (invisible, well more or less invisible). You cannot see it there but you can open it (the file) from the browser interface when a download is completed.
OK, full access to the sandbox folder should be granted, and this should happen, from what I read, in a future release.
-
Here i'm back,
5.0.936.0 is also crashing services not started. This mornig it says that my license is invalid for this product. I'm going back to 4.8 pro
Regards
-
Avast PRO 5.0.377 так же не хочет работать и Mozilla Firefox 3.6. Вещает его на глухо. тормозит. При этом тестировался на новой только что установленной системе XP SP3. и на чистом браузере а также в безопасном режиме Mozilla Firefox. Если поставить галочку (где она стоит по умолчанию) Экран файловой системы-Сканировать при выполнении-Сканировать сценарии при выполнении (файлы JS) это все браузер сдох и что самое интересное что не возможно запустить инсталляцию Mozilla Firefox 3.6 виснет. А еще круче при загрузке часто вешает машину!!!!
После отключения экранов Avast 5.0.377 и его обновленной версии Avast 5.0.396 а так же полного удаления все работает на УРА! На этой же системе. Затем опять ставился на машину опять все виснет. В общем версия сырая не доработанная ее выбросили не пройдя надлежащего тестирования преждевременно. Уважаемые разработчики доведите до ума свой продукт!!! Мы пользователи а не тестеры!!!
Avast PRO 5.0.377 just do not want to work and Mozilla Firefox 3.6. Broadcasts it to the deaf. retards. It was tested on a new system just installed XP SP3. and net browser as well as in safe mode, Mozilla Firefox. If the tick (where it is the default) Display a file system-Scan-Scan implementation scenarios when (file JS) is all browser croaked and that the most interesting thing that is not possible to run the install Mozilla Firefox 3.6 crashes. And even steeper when loading frequently hangs the machine!!
After disabling screens Avast 5.0.377 and its updated version of Avast 5.0.396 as well as the complete removal of all the works on HURRAY! At the same system. Then again, was put on the car again all crashes. In general, crude version of a work in progress its emissions without going through proper testing prematurely. Dear developers bring to mind your product! We are users and not testers!
:'( :'( :'( :'(
-
thanks for the good time reading that Google translation ;) anyway, no issue here with Avast 5 and FF 3.6