Author Topic: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall  (Read 12569 times)

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Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« on: September 11, 2015, 02:38:50 AM »
I'm troubleshooting this for a friend. His gaming laptop has Windows 10 x64, upgraded from Windows 8.1. On restart today, he had to force the power off, and then turn it back on. Windows gave a critical error saying that the Start Menu and Cortana weren't working, and it would try to fix it on next sign in.

Looking on google says this is caused by avast, so I tried to uninstall it as a troubleshooting step. Now Avast uninstall is stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" and has been for more than 30 minutes.

Offline schmidthouse

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2015, 03:17:03 AM »
You could try running the Avast Uninstall tool .
Download to your Desktop, Double click AvastClear.exe (This tool will automatically reboot your system to safemode)
Let this tool reboot into Safemode and uninstall Avast  :)

http://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avastclear.exe

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2015, 03:51:23 AM »
I suggest an installation from scratch:

1. Download the latest version of avast! Uninstall Utility and save it.
2. Download the latest avast! version and save it.
3. (Optional) If you want, save your avast! settings for later restoration (Settings > Maintenance > Back up).
4. Uninstall avast! from Control Panel (if possible) and reboot.
5. Run the avast! Uninstall Utility saved on 1 in and follow the instructions. Reboot Windows in Safe Mode, uninstall avast! and then reboot in Normal Mode again.
6. Install avast! using the setup saved on 2. Register your free copy or add the license key for the paid versions. Boot.
7. Check and post the results.

Please, be patient, boot when it's said to boot...
The best things in life are free.

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2015, 03:42:54 AM »
I am having the same issue as the original poster. Neither of the above recommendations helps unfortunately as they both end up in a perpetual state of "loading" with either that orange spin or stuck at  " Uninstalling Kernel:". Nothing happens. Can't uninstall the regular way, and I can't uninstall with the Avast Tool you can DL on their website. Any solution to this?

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2015, 03:50:16 AM »
I can't uninstall with the Avast Tool you can DL on their website. Any solution to this?
Boot in Safe Mode and run the tool from there.
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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2015, 04:09:08 AM »
Hey that worked, thank you kindly. Apparently I don't know how to read your first words of advice as you did say that earlier >.>

Offline schmidthouse

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2015, 05:18:58 PM »
Hey that worked, thank you kindly. Apparently I don't know how to read your first words of advice as you did say that earlier >.>

Typically you should not have to manually boot to Safe Mode as Avastclear.exe is designed to automatically boot to safe mode.
Glad it worked out for you. :)

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2015, 01:20:57 AM »
For those experiencing this issue, here's how I resolved it:

The user had Revo Uninstaller on his machine, so this is needed for this to work! Safe mode is not needed for the following procedure!

1. Start the machine as normal, and login
2. When prompted with the critical error, ignore it (Drag it somewhere so it remains out of the way)
3. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del, and choose Task Manager
4. In task Manager, if you don't see any tabs, or menus, tap/click "More details" at the bottom
5. In Task Manager, tap/click the file menu, and choose "Run new task..."
6. enter "C:\Program Files (x86)\VS Revo Group\Revo Uninstaller\Revouninstaller.exe" (Including quotes!)
7. Place a check in the box that says "Create this task with administrative privileges." and tap/click ok.
8. In the list, double tap/click "Avast Free Antivirus" and tap/click YES on the uninstaller prompt
9. When prompted to select an uninstall mode, choose Advanced, and tap/click Next
10. When the built in uninstaller for Avast appears, simply close it with the X in the upper right corner. (Do not tap/click continue!)
11 In Revo's Uninstall window, tap/click next, wait for it to finish scanning for leftovers, then tap/click next again.
12. For found leftover registry items, tap/click "Select All" then tap/click "Delete" then tap/click YES to confirm, then tap/click next.
13. For found leftover files and folder, repeat step 12
14. Tap/Click finish, close Revo Uninstaller, and Task Manager, then tap/click "Sign out now" on the critical error window
15. From your lock screen, restart your computer.
16. After a successful login, you can either install a fresh copy of Avast, or another antivirus product of your choice.

To avoid this problem in the future, both me, and my friend have opted for a different antivirus solution for use in Windows 10, until this bug has been properly resolved.

Thank you for your time!

EDIT: Fixed the incorrect step number referenced in step 13.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2015, 01:22:39 AM by jasoncollege24 »

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2015, 03:17:31 PM »
@jasoncollege24
Revo is not the recommended tool to remove Avast or any other AV.
They all have a removal too which is the recommended way to remove an antivirus.

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2015, 03:57:38 AM »
Technically, Revo Uninstaller is not recommended way to uninstall anything. The recommended way to uninstall most apps is by using the uninstaller provided by that app via Programs and Features, or via a remover designed for it. However, Revo Uninstaller is effective at completely removing software that is malfunctioning, and is generally one of the first things I install when installing Windows on my systems, or when I'm troubleshooting someone else's computer.

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2015, 01:39:12 PM »
Technically, Revo Uninstaller is not recommended way to uninstall anything. The recommended way to uninstall most apps is by using the uninstaller provided by that app via Programs and Features, or via a remover designed for it. However, Revo Uninstaller is effective at completely removing software that is malfunctioning, and is generally one of the first things I install when installing Windows on my systems, or when I'm troubleshooting someone else's computer.
What you do privately still isn't what's the recommended procedure suggest on this forum.
Revo has been know on occasion to remove shared dll's causing problems with other programs it wasn't removing.
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Offline Lisandro

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Re: Stuck on "Uninstalling kernel driver" during Avast Free uninstall
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2015, 02:49:02 PM »
Technically, Revo Uninstaller is not recommended way to uninstall anything.
Well, for non system important apps, like antivirus, firewall, etc., Revo does its job. Even the 'moderate' level is not that aggressive and will remove startup entries and few Registry keys. Sometimes, the 'aggressive' scanning mode could bring an issue for common programs.
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