asvwmm.sys causes BSOD

[REDACTED]

seems to be stable now. I just applied the new file and the server came up. has not BSOD again, but its only been about 15 minutes. so far so good though! thank you =)

[REDACTED]

@steve -  email sent

[steve.craddock]

... And thanks for same! Your response is appreciated.

Unfortunately I can't do anything with it, as I can't do anything to asvwmm.sys - I can't delete it, rename it or replace it - I get a Windows popup saying "permission denied". I tried to stop the services before an enforced reboot, but I can only stop the base Avast service, which stops the AV, but I can't stop either of the other two services, which appear to be monitoring or UI related, so one or other is using this file.

What's really annoying, and what I don't understand, is why this suddenly started happening when - as far as I know - nothing has changed on that machine since Avast for Business was installed.

It's looking as though I'm going to have to trash a system that has been running happily for about 7 years, which is particularly irksome; it's a bog standard Dell server running WS 2008 R2, nothing esoteric. Unfortunately it won't stay up long enough for me to get data off it, and as it's a RAID I can't just plug a disk into another machine.

The irony is that a product intended to protect my server has f- ah - broken it, and means that I won't touch this product again with a bargepole; I certainly won't be recommending it - quite the reverse - it's clearly not stable. (Consequently, I'm also concerned about the consumer version, for which I have paid, and wondering if it might do something similar to my desktop - something keeps waking it from sleep.)

[REDACTED]

... And thanks for same! Your response is appreciated.

Unfortunately I can't do anything with it, as I can't do anything to asvwmm.sys - I can't delete it, rename it or replace it - I get a Windows popup saying "permission denied". I tried to stop the services before an enforced reboot, but I can only stop the base Avast service, which stops the AV, but I can't stop either of the other two services, which appear to be monitoring or UI related, so one or other is using this file.

Shooting from my hip here since I've never ran Avasts Business. Open Avast, an in Settings or options, look for Troubleshooting and deactivate Avast self-defense module. Try to replace the file Sigmon sent you.

[REDACTED]

... And thanks for same! Your response is appreciated.

Unfortunately I can't do anything with it, as I can't do anything to asvwmm.sys - I can't delete it, rename it or replace it - I get a Windows popup saying "permission denied". I tried to stop the services before an enforced reboot, but I can only stop the base Avast service, which stops the AV, but I can't stop either of the other two services, which appear to be monitoring or UI related, so one or other is using this file.

What's really annoying, and what I don't understand, is why this suddenly started happening when - as far as I know - nothing has changed on that machine since Avast for Business was installed.

It's looking as though I'm going to have to trash a system that has been running happily for about 7 years, which is particularly irksome; it's a bog standard Dell server running WS 2008 R2, nothing esoteric. Unfortunately it won't stay up long enough for me to get data off it, and as it's a RAID I can't just plug a disk into another machine.

The irony is that a product intended to protect my server has f- ah - broken it, and means that I won't touch this product again with a bargepole; I certainly won't be recommending it - quite the reverse - it's clearly not stable. (Consequently, I'm also concerned about the consumer version, for which I have paid, and wondering if it might do something similar to my desktop - something keeps waking it from sleep.)

while yes, there was a problem with the avast .sys file, its not their fault you don't know your local admin password. you could do the replacement in safe mode if you had not forgotten it, and I am still unclear as to why you can not use safe mode with networking.  Hardly seems fair to call the product unstable due to an issue a few users had on one of many supported operating systems.

[REDACTED]

HI,

As Iroc9555 pointed out, you have to disable the self defense module to replace the file. The issue came with a windows update. If the issue appears again, check for windows updates done recently to see if any have been applied.
The next version should fix this issue.

Thanks!

Jeff

[steve.craddock]

Thanks, Jeff. Unfortunately that's simply not possible - the UI will not allow me do do that. I have cleared that check box 20 times, got the red text warning, pressed OK (and checked that I'm not accidentally pressing Cancel), but when I go back into Troubleshooting - it's checked again! Rinse and repeat until the system crashes yet again. This is self-protection to the extreme!

Once out of all my attempts I got a popup dialog asking for confirmation, which I gave. The system then crashed again shortly afterwards and when it came back up the check box was enabled again.

I've tried both updating and uninstalling, but neither gets past first base before the system crashes.

[steve.craddock]

Well, I did finally manage it on around the 30th attempt, but the timing was clearly crucial.

Unfortunately, it didn't make any difference - even with self-defence off, I still can't do anything to the file - even trying to rename it or delete it from an elevated command prompt is denied.

[steve.craddock]

For those who may be interested, I downloaded the FalconFour recovery CD, which provided tools to reset the local password, then I was able to login in Safe mode and run the Avast uninstall utility, and finally reboot to a working system.