Cannot install Avast 17 in XP Mode - but 12 works so 17 is bad

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

You jest? If not shame on you!

Google for heaven's sake.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8002

XP Mode is a free from MS optional download (<500MB) allowed with certain versions of Win7 like Pro to install a near enough full WinXP 32Bit OS on a virtual machine. You have the choice of what virtual machine software to use.

As an effectively separate OS it should have separate anti-virus/anti-malware protection particularly if used online.

IMHO installing AVAST or any other full AV suite is overkill and will just slow down the VM. As long as you're not using it for casual browsing and risky downloading a lighter weight alternative which doesn't have any issues when running on a VM installed Windows OS should be OK. At least that is the information I gleaned from my researches before installing it.

The VM is just a program which runs on the host machine so AVAST will include it and any shared drives/volumes during a Full System Scan. As long as you do that regularly I would have thought that made it a pretty safe set up. Isn't scanning from outside an OS, usually via disc or USB, one of the primary techniques used for finding and dealing with malware anyway?       

[glnz]

Thanks to Mr. Bone in another thread - I have successfully downloaded and installed Avast AV Free 12 in my XP Mode, was able to update definitions ONLY, and it's now running a boot-time scan.

Proof positive that Avast 17 is faulty.

Many thanks to all for suggestions !!!  Avast 17 still needs to be fixed.

[DavidR]

@  Cluster-Lizard2014
Never ever heard of it; you would have had to have had some need of it before you ever went looking for it, but then if don't even know you need it you are hardly going to know of it.

A bit like the chicken and the egg which came first, the knowledge or the need.

I have had XP Pro for many, many years a legit retail license and disk so I have never needed it even if I knew about it.

[glnz]

David R - One of the reasons I use XP Mode is to test the ongoing updates of XP using the POS hack before I inflict those updates on my real XP machine.

Anyway, XP Mode was a hugely promoted feature of Win 7 when 7 first came out.  And it's my personal introduction to virtual computing.

You should try it - it's fun.  (But first you have to turn off Enable hardware-assisted virtualization in Avast - Troubleshooting.)

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

Glad to read the glnz problem has been resolved.

It would help if there was a link to the thread with the solution mentioned. 

XP Mode: There is hardware and software that even with Win7's good backwards compatibility that will only run under XP and XP Mode on a VM is the easiest way of doing this.

Having said that I've still found stuff, mostly games, that despite being made for use with XP for some reason don't like XP Mode and need to be run on a full XP installation. I've even found others for earlier Windows OS like Win98 that won't work using XP Mode even using Win98 the compatibility option but will run pretty well using Win7 Pro 64Bit with nothing more than the resolution fixed to 640x480.

In short XP Mode gives you more options but it certainly is not a guaranteed solution for all legacy hardware/software. Of course like anything else it pointless installing unless you do have a specific need for it.   

[glnz]

C-L - The "glnz problem" will never be resolved.

[DavidR]

David R - One of the reasons I use XP Mode is to test the ongoing updates of XP using the POS hack before I inflict those updates on my real XP machine.

Anyway, XP Mode was a hugely promoted feature of Win 7 when 7 first came out.  And it's my personal introduction to virtual computing.

You should try it - it's fun.  (But first you have to turn off Enable hardware-assisted virtualization in Avast - Troubleshooting.)

I avoided win7 for some considerable time, so I wasn't subjected to the feature/hype, I only got win7 (a little over 3 years ago) when I bought a netbook as a backup system and that was already on SP1 by then. My netbook wouldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding so I wouldn't even try setting up XP Mode.

Acer Aspire One, Win7 Starter (32bit) SP1, 10.1", 1024X600 screen, 2GB DDR3 RAM, Intel Atom N255 (1.5GHz dual core) CPU and 250GB HDD.

[REDACTED]

I tried installing Avast 17 in XP Mode today and the installation failed several times. Then, when I shut down and restarted XP Mode, it had to recover from a serious error. So the attempted Avast 17 installation rendered serious damage to my XP Mode.

I am giving up on Avast 17 for XP Mode. I will download and run MS Security Essentials and then keep XP Mode disconnected from the internet.

I use XP Mode only for an application which is not internet dependent. I don't think there is ever a need to use the internet with XP Mode. It has SP3 and as far as I can tell is fully updated as of the end of XP support.

[glnz]

Infti - thanks for your post.

So Avast STILL needs to be fixed !!  Incredible.

Avast is spending lots of money and attention on marketing and NOT fixing these issues.

Infti - by the way, you can continue to get updates for XP by doing the POS hack.  Google it.  MSFN has the best thread on this by far.  I'm up to date as of this morning (which was a time zone change in southern Chile - was very funny.)

[Eddy]

glnz,

so you are able to install avast in the XP vm, right ?
No clue if it will make a difference as I can't test it.
(Don't have W7 system at the moment.)
But does it makes a difference if you disable HW VM in the bios/uefi ?

[glnz]

Eddy - why would I disable hardware virtualization in BIOS/UEFI if I want to use it?  Why should I disable a feature of my PC because Avast isn't set up right?

Not only that, but if you read up a bit, you'll see that I'm leaving ON Avast's "Enable hardware-assisted virtualization" when I'm not using XP Mode.

What's your point?

[Eddy]

Because it sometimes is causing problems.

[glnz]

Eddy - you mean "Because Avast sometimes is causing problems".

And to clarify - Avast 17 does not work in a virtualized OS.  12 does.  But 17 doesn't.  So 17 is broken.

[alicia.rose]

Some unpleasant posts here.

People are trying to help - no need to be unkind.

If someone doesn't know something - politely explain.

No need for tactless words - makes unpleasant reading for others.

Treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself.

[glnz]

Alicia - you may have a point.

But Avast is not staying on top of tech complications.

Another thread explains how Avast 17 hogs the hardware-assisted virtualization on many PCs, when this problem was fixed before and was not happening in 12.

This thread explains how Avast 17 does not work INSIDE a virtualized OS but 12 does.

The big story here is not whether I use a nasty tone in these comments, but whether Avast is falling behind the curve.

If Avast can't handle virtualization outside or inside, how can we be confident that it is doing its job and protecting us from malware?