Avast Configuration

[Night-Walker]

 :)Hi Everybody! I'm newbie here and I need a support on Avast 4 Free Home Edition.

Unlikely others Antivirus, this one seems to make the boot runs faster. I log myself and then, the "welcome" screen appear, no problem...
Everytime I'm enter in the Desktop, I've noticed the blue icon of Avast! is not activated yet. It takes 3~4 minutes until I see that "blue-ball" spinning on the system tray. But there's a problem: I cannot start any Internet connection until  AVast is fully operational.
Is there something I can do to fix this?

Thanks!

[RejZoR]

Hm. Was there the same issue without avast! installed? Make sure you don't have too many programs in startup section.

[Night-Walker]

No, the boot is normal, without Avast. I can even make a Internet Conection. No problem.

THe second thing I forget to mention here it's this program sometimes cause my firewall block the internet conection, when I try to start, due his automatic update.

Another Information: Win XP HOME + SP2.

[RejZoR]

Which firewall are you using and what are your PC specifications(CPU,RAM,disk etc) ?

[Night-Walker]

Windows SP2 Firewall
Avast 4 Free Home Edition
Browser Internet Explorer 6
Resolution 32 bits, 1024 x 728 pixels
Automatics Updates and Firewall Activated

128 MB RAM
39 GB of ROM
 
Well... that's it.

[Night-Walker]

Just one more thing:
Main Processor - Intel Celeron 2.0 Ghz

[RejZoR]

Is there lots of disk activity during these slow bootups?
128MB of RAM is a bit small amount for Windows XP system.

[Night-Walker]

No... It's just the operational system and the Antivirus. 

The problem wasn't refered to the boot, but after you logged into the Windows XP  the "Welcome" appears and you enter in the desktop.

I've saw that Icon of avast with a red signal (that means the Antivirus wasn't activated yet). Then after 3~4 minutes it starts to spin.

I can't start any Internet conection (Internet Explorer doesn't start anything) if this icon of avast still not activate.

[inthewildteam]

As RejZor said, 128 mb of ram is close to bare minimum for xp.  Windows is probably paging out to load your o.s. and programmes.  You can check this with task manager after you log in.

If you haven't already done so, it's probably best to switch to windows classic and remove the load that xp's default theme puts on your system.

[DavidR]

Also winXP's firewall is not a full firewal, it provides inbound protection but not outbound, so you should consider a software firewall.

[Night-Walker]

well, the Antivirus hasn't specified this aspect when I first installed it... Anyway,  256 MB should be the "ideal" for it?

[szc]

No, even 256 Mb is not enough to run Windows XP. Also, it depends which memory do you use. Is it still SDR or DDR, slower or faster ? 512 Mb is recommended by many for smooth running of Windows XP, and believe me even that sometimes isn't enough. For some graphical demanding operations, especially if you need to have more than 5 huge programs open in the same time (CorelDraw, Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Flash etc.), going below 1 Mb of RAM is waste of your as well as porcessor's time.

256 for sure is not "ideal", it's not even "optimal". "Optimal" could be 512, but as we all know... never enough RAM.

It's well known that Windows XP takes forever to load with 128 MB of RAM only. As soon as you upgrade your computer with more RAM, you'll see noticeable increase in speed... not just loading of Windows, but also, processing some tasks, and many other operations.

Cheers !

[radicalb21]

I'm a BETA Tester for Microsoft OS's and applications. I agree with what Craftec has told you. More memory is a must in your case. I would recommend either Kingston Memory, Corsair  Memory, or Crucial Memory. These are the three best memory manufactures I know of and use myself. If you are going to be just emailing and surfing the web I would suggest 512 - MB of RAM. If you are going to be doing stuff like video editing, photoshop, or gaming I would start with at least 1 GB of RAM. Here are some links to help you:

http://www.kingston.com/

http://www.crucial.com/

http://www.corsairmicro.com/

You can also buy memory from these two online stores as well

http://www.zipzoomfly.com

http://www.newegg.com

I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can either IM or email me through my profile or through my website or forum.

[Night-Walker]

No, even 256 Mb is not enough to run Windows XP. Also, it depends which memory do you use. Is it still SDR or DDR, slower or faster ? 512 Mb is recommended by many for smooth running of Windows XP, and believe me even that sometimes isn't enough. (...) 256 for sure is not "ideal", it's not even "optimal". "Optimal" could be 512, but as we all know... never enough RAM.
It's well known that Windows XP takes forever to load with 128 MB of RAM only. As soon as you upgrade your computer with more RAM, you'll see noticeable increase in speed... not just loading of Windows, but also, processing some tasks, and many other operations.

Well, the information I've just saw at the left side of my Gabinet shows 128 MB of DDR. Althought I plan to increase the memory of my computer, but they're plans ($$$) for the future, not now...
Unless this harms my computer, so I'll do start to worring

[Eddy]

Before you decide to buy more memory, make sure the one you want to buy is supported by your motherboard. You can see what is supported in the manual of it. If you don't have the manual, you can find one at the website of the manufacturer.

About your startup problem:
I would say don't worry. In fact it is a good thing you can't get connected till Avast is fully started, otherwise you would have a moment of unprotect net access. And that can get your system infected. Besides that, it is not that you boot every 5 minutes or so

I agree with the others.
- more memory (512 recommended. If you do much graphical stuff, more is advised)
- get a good firewall. (Recommended a router with build in hardware firewall)