Help please!

[mchain]

hi Janice,

No, your network card is not old enough to qualify as an antique, not yet anyway.

Some questions I may ask because I am not in front of your computer, and I cannot see what is in there.

So, if it is the network card, then it likely was the driver that was installed that Avast! AIS did not like, as essexboy did say earlier.

BTW, do you actually see a file 'Window.old' on your main drive?  The only way that can happen is when a system is repaired or upgraded to a newer version of Windows; no wipe or format of the drive has occurred.  Or, is it possible you may think this file 'should' be there?  Remember, the clues I get here can help you fix whatever problems you may still have.

If this file is still there, then you can open it and transfer all files inside My Documents (.old) directly to your new OS if you wish.

[nanajana]

Hi mchain,

So, if it is the network card, then it likely was the driver that was installed that Avast! AIS did not like

I'm just not getting what that means, can you explain this to me?  Everytime I installed the firewall, it would detect new network, I would choose default and while I was connected to the internet I could not browse the internet from any of my browsers, IE, Firefox or Chrome.  If I uninstalled and reinstalled without the firewall I could run it after several crashes though but I could not then use browser protection.  It would work for half a day and then not work so I would have to uninstall the browser plugin.   I just never knew what was working because it always crashed before it installed.  I did get updates though so.....whatever that meant.

BTW, do you actually see a file 'Window.old' on your main drive?

Yes I actually have a file that showed up on my computer in  my C:  drive named Windows.old and it has 3 folders, called Programs, it shows all the programs that would have been on Vista, Users, with pretty much the folders empty and Windows which has lots of folders pertaining to Windows.  So after the wipe my Vista Recovery Disks were put on so I could upgrade to Windows 8 as I don't have the full version of 8, only the upgraded version and I don't have the Vista disks as Vista was installed on my computer when I bought it.  Now that I'm writing this out it is starting to make sense that this has come from my recovery disks because nothing in these folders contain anything I personally put on my computer.  Am I heading in the right direction here and this would appear even after a wipe?

Cheers,
Janice

[mchain]

hi,

A driver is software that actually runs the hardware (network card) and tells the operating system (Win8) what to do, how to do it, and AIS would have to work within these constraints to set up and initiate and run the firewall part of AIS.  If this part of AIS setup fails, then you will get the errors you have had.

So, one possible solution here is to get a network card driver specifically made for this card compatible for Win8.  Since Win8 is so new, might be a bit of time before the vendor of your card provides such a new driver.  OR, as Avast! has just become compatible with Win8, this could be an issue that originates with AIS, as your card may or may not be a common one; it may not even be in the Avast! setup database.

Hard to tell from here.

So, a solution to consider is to either get a newer driver for Win 8, while still using your original network card, with it matching the new requirements above, or replace the network card with a new one, and a driver known to be compatible with Win8.  I am not saying this would definitely work here, it might, is all I can proffer here.

Not sure if this might even be worth considering, as it does involve a bit of work with no certain guarantee, and you do now have a setup that is working for you.

Avast! team member pk seems good with these sort of issues, thinking about asking him or someone similar to come in and assist you.  pk actually works for Avast!, just so you know.

As for the file Windows.old being present, that is proper.

You have an upgrade disk (Win8) that required Vista to be installed in order for the upgrade to happen and successfully complete.  Windows.old is the original windows installation left behind when the os is upgraded.  No worries there at all about this one.

[nanajana]

Hi mcchain,

This problem though is not specific to Win 8 as it started with Vista but the common denominator I guess is the network card as its still the same.  I also tried to install AVG 2013 which has a firewall also but I couldn't even connect to the internet until I uninstalled it so I don't know what that means in the scheme of things.

Cheers,
Janice

[nanajana]

Hi,

Where would I look to find out what network card I am running to see if it is compatible to AIS?  I have looked in my System and find Network adapters but nothing that says Network card so I don't know what to look for.

Cheers,
Janice

[essexboy]

Go to control panel > Device manager and open network devices..  The fact that AVG failed as well could point to the card drivers

[mchain]

hi,

In Win XP, the location of the network card is in Device Manager.  See attached below.  Information about your card will be present there in Win8, but may be called something different for you.

Another way to do this is to open your case after powering down completely, and temporarily pulling your network card out.  This card will be the one that the network CAT5 or CAT6 cable will plug into from your router or modem if wired, or the one that has an antenna for wireless connections.

Handle any electronic part inside your computer with care, as static electricity can/will be an issue.  Grounding yourself with a wrist strap to the computer when removing or installing the card is sufficient protection against any static discharges.

Once the card is out, look for information on the card itself as to the make/model and part number.  Google that information to see who makes it and what it is.  Go only to the vendor site and nowhere else as it is not uncommon for malicious sites to pretend to have the information you want or drivers you need.  Go only to known trusted sites such as your vendor to get these drivers. 

What you will need is the driver for the exact make and model of your card that is compatible with either Win 7 or Win 8.  (Win7 seems to work in most cases)

If you did pull the card out, repeat your steps as above using a static wrist strap as before.  Be sure the card is seated properly, but do not press overly hard to seat it.  It should bottom out and not move easily.  Close your case and power up.

Will wait to see what the results of your investigation is.

To keep your system clean of a/v left-over remnants after uninstalling them, use this site here:  http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/  You may, however, have to go to the vendor site to get a removal tool that will work on Win8 since it is so new.

[nanajana]

Hi,

See attached for my network card.

I tried installing AIS without the firewall but all I did was crash everytime I tried to do anything.  I went back to the patch essexboy gave me above but I wasn't able to download from the link.  The hand hovered over it but it didn't go anywhere although I could download the log.  So now I have a 30 day trial of Norton and it is working with no problems.

Cheers,
Janice

[essexboy]

I am using a n adapter as opposed to your b I wonder if that is where the problem lies

[nanajana]

HI,

I see that the adaptor you are talking about (b) is on the USB wireless adaptor.  I am hardwired not wireless if that means anything.  I'm definitely out of my league here!

Cheers,
Janice

[essexboy]

Yes I was talking about the wireless one... I will have a look at the Ethernet one

[nanajana]

So where am with my network card, is in incompatible with Avast?

Cheers,
Janice

[mchain]

hi,

Where you are is that you have an Intel onboard network card that is a part of your motherboard.  Unlike the instructions given prior, this card is built-in into your motherboard and cannot be removed.

As this is essexboy's and your thread, please be patient and a solution for your problems can be found.

Just for informational purposes only, read this article linked here from Intel:  http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-006333.htm

Suggest we wait for essexboy to come back and weigh in as to what the next move should be.  Just so you know, the Intel driver for this card offered at Windows Update has been problematic for some systems, so...  Don't do anything just yet, just look at the article.

[nanajana]

Hi mcchain,

Thanks for responding I will wait patiently for essexboy to get back to me.

This is exactly what I really like about this forum, there is always someone looking out for you!

Cheers,
Janice

[essexboy]

Back again  mchain's link is a good start for updating the Intel drivers on your computer
I have moved it on one page http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect/network
This will detect your card and operating system including windows 8  and then download/install the latest driver.

As a side not have you tried the USB wireless to see if that makes a difference.  That will disable the wired drivers from becoming operative