Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Dreadwing on December 01, 2011, 06:18:20 PM
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Booted up my computer this morning, was advised that new update for avast was available. Clicked yes, everything seemed to go OK, avast requested restart, I clicked yes.
System rebooted, got as far as showing my desktop, but icons, taskbar, etc never appeared. hit restart, but computer would not even start first time, second time was able to boot into safe mode, checked avast, warning message reads 'unsecured' and Fix Now button doesn't work
Am running windows XP SP3, ZoneAlarm firewall
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Hi
Welcome to avast forum.
Please make sure that your computer doesn't have any other security software in it.It is not recommended to have more than one security software in the computer at the same time. It will cause conflicts in your computer which will seriously compromise your computer's performance. Hope you got our point.
I recommend you to remove the Zonealarm Firewall.
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Am running windows XP SP3, ZoneAlarm firewall
Drop ZA.
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There has been discussions here on the forum with Avast and Zone Alarm firewall having issues previously, not sure if this has been fixed....I am running Avast 6 alongside PC Tools Firewall 7 with no restrictions nor exclusions on neither side, on XP SP3 ...for about 2 years now or so with no problems whatsoever. PC Tools Firewall is very simple, light on resources and a very small download, although it was 1 of the best on the Matousec Firewall Tests....Others here may suggest different firewalls that go well alongside Avast if you decide to switch firewalls.
Cheers and safe surfing!!!!
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I have the same problem. Updated AVAST rebooted and get warning message reads 'unsecured' and Fix Now button which doesn't work. No internet access now, when I check hardware in system properties there is nothing in the list, everything gone sound card, video, ethernet all gone.
Go to system restore -- All gone.
I'm only using Avast free and windows XP firewall.
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bones 1229,
Have all your system restore points vanished? after updating avast? & what sp are you on? should be SP3! FOR AVAST NOW::)
Try re booting by pressing F8 on swiching on computer and select last known configuration and restore from there.
Did you have any other antivirus previous to avast?
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Yep - another dead XP machine here after upgrading the program. Fully patched XP with Outpost Pro Firewall. In safe mode, current version, release date and number of definitions all unknown. Thanks guys....
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Same basic system spec as mine and not an issue.
If you care to expand on your problem then perhaps we can help, otherwise we are helpless.
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I have XP SP3, have tried Safe mode and Yes all Restore points have vanished. I also checked my services and they are all disabled. Cant even plug in a memory stick to the usb. And No I did not have any other A/V installed prior to this, have used Avast only for years.
Will try the Last Knonw Config now and report back.
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Well I rebooted and went in F8 and chose 'Last Known Config.' and still the same.
Maybe I'll have to save all my personnel data and rebuild the old girl.
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Please try deleting your firewall rules and reboot. Wait 10 minutes after the reboot before confirming the info about the update.
Please report back.
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When I go into Windows Firewall i get reply message " Windows Firewall settings cannot be displayed because the associated service is not running. Do you want to start it..... Yes/No...." I answer Yes and get " Windows cannot start the Windows Firewall/ICS service."
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If you can get into safe mode hitting F8 at startup remove avast, and reboot into normal mode.
1.In RUN BOX TAB. Type sfc/scannow and you may need xp sp3 cd rom to repair and rebuild the windows files/drivers.
I am on windows xp sp3 and using windows basic firewall and have no issues whatsoever.
Try a run with malwarebytes free to check for any spyware?
2. Have a look in device manager to see if any devices are in yellow ie not configured.
You should be able to rebuild windows that way
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I was able to solve my problem by booting into safe mode and uninstalling avast using 'add/remove programs'. My computer then started up normally, and then I re-installed avast, and so far no problems at all. May have just been a corrupted update.
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I'm not being smug but my Windows XP Pro SP3 runs perfectly with 6.0.1367. I had an issue with Sandboxie 3.62 which has now been uninstalled pending enquiries. I run Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro 7.5.1 and run it with realtime spyware detection and Web Control both enabled, choosing not to tick the Avast compatibility option at installation, thus enjoying the best of both the Avast! and Agnitum worlds. Will this state of grace continue? Who knows?
I have a hunch that Windows is susceptible to unrealised damage through such events as system halts during critical operations which leaves the system in an ambiguous state and thus prone to misbehaving. The blame typically falls on the first software installation to expose the effects of the problem which remains unidentifiable.
That my XP tolerates the update to 6.0.1367 when others do not reinforces my hunch. The only remedy is to reinstall the system. Strangely, my present installation of XP which dates from May 2008 has had infuriating spells of misbehaviour then suddenly seemed to pull itself together and now behaves immaculately. Windows can self heal it seems.
??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? :(
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Hake makes a very good point; it's easy to assign blame to the last remembered event before the system dies. In my case I've come to the conclusion that I have a dying hard disc; none of the recovery strategies (reinstall avast from clean, reinstall disk image, use windows restore point (spit)) wanted to work so after a fresh install of XP we have a system (runs faster now!) which is a little flaky on boot. A few tiny (and at the time unimportant) pauses over the last couple of months may be part of the issue. So fifteen quid and some disk cloning are the answer and not Avast's software update here.
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That's very kind of you to say so inspectorman.
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Drop ZA.
[/quote]
That is not a option.
Avast! free is not a firwall.
It should work with ZA!
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Yep - another dead XP machine here after upgrading the program. Fully patched XP with Outpost Pro Firewall. In safe mode, current version, release date and number of definitions all unknown. Thanks guys....
I saved both my systemes by booting into safe mode and Disable the avast! service.
BUt as soon as I start it (tried manual and started it after all other programs),
my XP systems hangs as soon as I start an .exe file (works OK until that :-)
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I was able to solve my problem by booting into safe mode and uninstalling avast using 'add/remove programs'. My computer then started up normally, and then I re-installed avast, and so far no problems at all. May have just been a corrupted update.
I have has to do that for the last 3 or 4 program updates.
1) Update avast
2) System hangs
3) Safe mode
4) Unistall avast
5) Manual registry clean up
6) Reinstall avast
7) Setup everything again
Kind of annoying after the 4th time :-(
Why isn't updating working on XP?
The next time I get a message about an update I'll try saying NO and downloding the full new avast! version in stead, and try to install that over the old on, and see if that works better
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zone alarm is garbage it takes a lot of RAM...i am running 3GB ram...
get comodo it is the best! 8)
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zone alarm is garbage it takes a lot of RAM...i am running 3GB ram...
get comodo it is the best! 8)
True for the new versions of ZA.
4.5 is the best :-)
Tried comodo, didn't like it.
Tried disabling ZA btw, didn't help.
So avast is messing up somewere else :-(
And why does it work after uninstalling, cleaning and reinstalling?
That can only point to something not done right in the upgrade process.
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Disabling won't actually make a great deal of difference as the low level drivers will still be running, some considerable time ago didn't ZA block all internet access when disabled ???
The likelihood that a clean install of avast resolves issues in the ZA Program control, that was a major issue with ZA getting digital amnesia, e.g. even though a program had permission to connect it was blocked. Deleting the avast entries in ZA program control is the first action I would try if a program/process was blocked. This forces ZA to either Ask or Allow the new entry, depending on your settings.
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5) Manual registry clean up
Why manual clean up? Isn't the specific removal utility for Avast enough for registry?
I know that some folders may be left behind, but I don't know about registry entries leftovers after http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility (http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility) when it is under Windows Safe Mode.
Deleting the relevant firewall rules after an avast update is many times all what you need (but not always).
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Check my testing/solution in this thread to save time and frustration:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=89835.msg715368#msg715368
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I do think there's a bug in the Avast update/setup process that's effecting some XP systems. My mom's E-Machines with XP SP3 works perfectly but my Dell Dimension 2400 has had nothing but problems. I finally did get Avast to work pretty good, but still every couple of days when I update definitions it looks like it's working normally, then when it's about to finish it shows an error message saying setup was unable to finish. In the Maintenance window it shows the correct definition version but in the Summary window it says it's out-of-date and displays red. When I reboot the Avast service won't start, manually or otherwise. I have to do a repair then reboot and it works. I have System Restore and Windows Firewall disabled and no other security software whatsoever. This is a secondary computer and luckily it doesn't do it every time so it's more of an inconvenience than anything.
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I have not yet had even ONE successful program upgrade of AVAST Pro on any of almost a dozen XP pro machines after AVAST was initially installed - this includes the current version as well as the previous three versions of AVAST. The program upgrade has crapped out the systems in each and every machine in a variety of ways - usually resulting in the inability to fully boot into Windows. Fortunately, each machine that I support had an image made of the active drive BEFORE trying the upgrade and a successful restoration was done in under ten minutes on each machine. Yes - Zone Alarm Pro is installed on each machine but that is NOT the cause of the upgrade failure as I had the same bad results with AVAST on a newly installed XP Pro machine that I am setting up today. Zone Alarm had NOT even been installed yet as I decided to install AVAST first resulting in the same problems of Windows locking right after logging on. This XP Pro installation today had all of the Microsoft upgrades done BEFORE installing AVAST on this new installation. I restored the image and am now looking for an anti-virus alternative - other than Norton or McAfee, much to my chagrin. I liked the OLD AVAST as I NEVER had a problem with it.
Also, the ONLY way I can get AVAST installed anymore is to install it IMMEDIATELY after the Windows new or clean installation is completed - BEFORE updating Windows and before installing any other software.
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Bad stuff, indeed!!!
Windows XP-SP3 hangs after latest Avast Update. Have to disable Avast before System can start.
Currently, Avast Free is disabled on all my PCs.
Never ever had I ever faced any problem with Avast Free, before. This is pretty bad! I have Avast Free installed on on all of my Family/Aged Relatives' PCs. They are all going to be down now.
Avast: Please HELP URGENTLY!!!
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In my case the latest Avast update broke internet connectivity. After the update, I could still connect to IRC and use various instant messengers, and https addresses would work, but regular http would not. Disabling Avast finally made the problems go away.
Win 7 Pro 64-bit, also running ZoneAlarm 10.1.065.000 - and removing ZA is not an option. If there's an unresolved conflict, Avast is the one getting the boot.
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In my case the latest Avast update broke internet connectivity. After the update, I could still connect to IRC and use various instant messengers, and https addresses would work, but regular http would not. Disabling Avast finally made the problems go away.
Win 7 Pro 64-bit, also running ZoneAlarm 10.1.065.000 - and removing ZA is not an option. If there's an unresolved conflict, Avast is the one getting the boot.
I would regard my av as being more important than the Zone Alarm firewall myself, especially when there are far better firewalls out there ( Outpost, comodo, online armor, privatefirewall ) and also the addon programs for the windows firewall.
Zone Alarm has had repeated conflict's not only with avast but numerus av's for a long time, there are people that do seem to be able to get the two to play together nicely but they are few and far between imo.
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Running 3 comps at home with XP pro Spk 3 and latest Avast. No problems here. None with ZA.
Regards
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I would just like to state that after repeated problems with Avast updates on my Windows XP SP3 machine, I uninstalled Zone Alarm prior to the current Avast update and this time, I have had no problems at all. There must be some sort of conflict between the two, so if you want to keep Avast, I would recommend getting rid of ZA which is now well known for conflicting with many av's. Your choice.