Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: john36 on February 12, 2010, 01:33:38 AM
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Hey guys,
I just updated Avast from 5.0. 396 to 5.0.418 and have some problems.
The problems are very similar to when I first updated to Avast 5 over top of 4.8.
Whenever I boot the PC, it's taking longer to get to the desk top and seven out of ten system tray icons fail to appear.
The only icons showing in the system tray are Avast, ZA Pro, and my printer icon.
I have rebooted three times and still have this problem.
Version 5.0.396 was working fine.
What would cause the missing tray icons to fail to appear?
Their processes seem to be showing up in the task manager, just not the system tray.
Thanks.
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imo i would use the avast removal tool and then reboot. run something like ccleaner for the registry and then try a fresh install of 418. i have seen 0 issues with the upgrade myself though
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zfactor,
Thanks for the suggestions.
I think I found out what the problem was. This latest 418 update doesn't play well with Prevx 3.
At least not in my case.
I rebooted a few more times and every time there were seven missing tray icons. I did a repair of Avast and still had the same problems.
I then went and (don't ask me why) set the service for Prevx from automatic to manual.
I rebooted and all the missing icons were back.
I tried several more reboots and again, all icons were back.
I then went back and set the Prevx service to automatic and started it and rebooted.
Guess what? The seven missing icons were missing again.
So, I don't know where to go from here. For now, I have reset the Prevx service to manual and all icons are back. Maybe head over to the Prevx forums.
Anybody else using Prevx 3.0.165 and having problems since the latest Avast 418 update?
Thanks
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Never heard of Prevx.... :/
I looked at their site and I'm unsure considering the FUD that is on the front page about other products. User habits and how savvy they are determines more how many infections a system may have more than the anti-virus itself . Once you are infected anti-virus can only do so much to protect you.
I would guess that those numbers are worst offenders (shields off or no longer getting updates due to expired subscriptions).
I dunno if it works cool. But this looks like another full featured Anti-viral/Anti-Malware program when you should have one or the other.
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Try this one.
- Check it in the Control Panel
- Taskbar and Star Menu
- Customize
- Look the items missing in your system tray and change it to always show.
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Hi coolsilver,
As I said, Prevx was working fine with the 396 version and only after this latest update of 418 did a conflict arise.
I believe Prevx claims you can use their product along side of any other AV program.
I had been using Prevx along with Avast 4.8 for some time with no problems at all. And also with 5.0.396.
The boys over at Wilders turned me on to Prevx a while back.
I'll keep plugging along here and see what shakes loose.
Thanks
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No problems running .418 with Prevx 3.0.5.67 (see configurations in signature). What version are you using? And OS, version of ZAP, etc. Did you do the uninstall and clean reinstall?
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Hi sded,
Using Prevx 3.0.165. OS is Windows XP MCE05. SP3
ZA Pro 8.0.298
I updated from within the Avast program by simply clicking on "update" then "program".
Do you need to do a clean install with each new program update?
Thanks
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Maybe try a later version of Prevx first-yours is quite out of date, and they have made a bunch of compatibility type changes since then. The clean install is just because there have been a few update problems in previous Avast! 5 versions, but Alwil has seemed to have fixed them-just maybe only "most of them". :)
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XP MCE.... I like to think that is a ignored step child of XP family. XP Tablet is almost like a cat. It does it's own thing.
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Maybe try a later version of Prevx first-yours is quite out of date, and they have made a bunch of compatibility type changes since then. The clean install is just because there have been a few update problems in previous Avast! 5 versions, but Alwil has seemed to have fixed them-just maybe only "most of them". :)
The reason I'm using the 3.0.165 version is because I don't want to get the "safe online " feature with the newer versions.
I have read that there were problems with this feature, and I believe Prevx is not actually asking users of 3.0.165 to up date. In fact, trying to update within the Prevx program, says that I have the latest version.
I use Sandboxie and I'm afraid that might conflict with that feature also.
And then again, maybe I'm all too confused..........................
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just tested for you on one of my test systems. i installed prevx trial and then avast 5. i had a similar result to you!!! with prevx removed and or disabled or set to manual problems go away. so yes it seems something is either being triggered by avast or by prevx causing this. i did use prevx 3 and avast is5 for testing fyi.
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Thanks zfactor.
I guess I'm not crazy after all!
Jury is still out on that................
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Try the avast-setting to load after all other processes have loaded - I don't know the correct expression in the settings right now.
This setting will delay the loading of avast services so other services have enough time to load and set up their tray icons. The symptom is a known XP behaviour and a timing problem in the startup sequence.
Even though the icons don't show: the services are working correctly,so no harm is done.
8)
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Interesting. I just don't see how this new build could cause any new compatibility problems (compared to v396). Pretty much all the changes are very conservative.
I'm afraid it may just be some ghost bug that will appear with build 396 eventually...
Please keep us posted.
Thanks
Vlk
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Vlk, it's most probably not a compatability prob.
When I was running WIN XP Pro, this happened quite often after software installations, it is, as I posted above, a kind of timing problem in the WIN startup sequence and discussed in many forums.
Many "solutions" to this behaviour have been posted throughout the web, but to my knowledge none of them work for every machine, thus there is no panacea to cure it.
I just ignored it.
Sometimes this worked for me: went to sys control, sound options and turned off the volume control task bar icon. Rebooted. All icons appeared (miraculously). Then turned on again the volume control icon. Rebooted. Everything fine.
As said: worked only sometimes. Sometimes the behaviour cured itself after any windows update...
Again, the missing of icons does not effect the actual services: everything is working as it should.
Thx
Zyndstoff
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Thanks guys for your input.
zyndstoff, You say it's probably not a compatibility issue, then why did everything work fine under 396 and as soon as I updated to 418 the problem started?
I agree, it's probably a timing issue, but I still don't understand why that timing issue wasn't there with 396.
Oh well, it's a puzzler.................
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To what Zyndstoff describes ( if that is the problem ) maybe this article can be of any help :
http://winhlp.com/node/16
Greetz, Red.
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Thanks guys for your input.
zyndstoff, You say it's probably not a compatibility issue, then why did everything work fine under 396 and as soon as I updated to 418 the problem started?
I agree, it's probably a timing issue, but I still don't understand why that timing issue wasn't there with 396.
Oh well, it's a puzzler.................
Possibly because the load time of the new avast version is just milli-seconds longer? All this timing takes place in time-frames well under a wink of the eye, so the ever so slightest changes can make a difference.
As I said: I observed this behaviour many a times on my machine back when I was still on XP.
Try to disable the nvidia/ati icon in the tray (according to your driver ati or nvidia) via the ati/nvidia settings. That's something nobody really needs, and it just might solve your problem. Most of the icons in the tray aren't needed anyway (like Logitech's Setpoint icon, the ATI/Nvidia Icons e.g.). But they take time to load, millisecs only, but time.
8)