End of support for Windows XP/Vista

[the-kiwi]

I ran a search inside the forum, and didn't find a message thread I'd seen using Google's Search (I think I know why, now, though).  I have a second computer, not the one I'm using to visit the forum today.  This one has both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. 

Th old computer is going to be running old games using DOSbox atop of Windows XP, and I wanted to use the Avast Free Offline Installer.  The second machine will actually seldom be physically connected to the Internet, nevertheless, I will have exposure when locating and installing the games themselves. 

Both copies I have tried of the Offline Installer have been rejected by the Windows XP / SP3  on the old PC, with the report that it isn't a "valid Win32 file" (or very similar compaint.  It might use the term "application".  Interestingly, an AVG offline installer ran, although THAT one now tells me it will have expired in December, 1969, twelve years before any IBM-PC / X86 desktop existed, and seventeen years before Windows 1 existed. 

I'd thought I might have preferred to have found one of the message threads already about the Avast error situation, since that's the AV I'm using on this, my primary system.  Perhaps you can direct me to a better choice than this thread is.

P.S. I'm editing this.  I looked again at what Google found, and it was mostly threads in here from 2008, with a couple of them only as recent as 2013! 
Thank You in Advance, 

Kiwi

[rocksteady]

@the-kiwi. Have you seen this post:
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=220639.msg1533473#msg1533473

Note you maybe also should also download the specific Avast uninstaller (avastclear.exe) for this old XP/Vista version.

Some of us have had cpu load problems running 18.8 on WinXP and have rolled back to 18.5.2342 which seems better in that respect.
18.5 is not abvailable on Avast website, but can be found on filehippo. See link in this post:
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=220639.msg1488900#msg1488900

[the-kiwi]

Thanks, @Rocksteady, however, the version at File Hippo is the ONline one, and the older PC hasn't yet been attached to my Internet Connection, hasn't yet run the connection wizard at all.  It's a brand new install a couple of days ago. 

I obtained a copy of the Offline Installer from Avast and attempted to run that file.  It failed when Windows reported the "Not Valid Win32 Application" error.  In case it was a corrupted download, I got a fresh download, but it has failed the same way. 

In my initial post to this thread, I had included the "fresh install" phrase, but during an edit, I was adding italics to the two words, and it seemed to work fine, but they are no longer in the current version! 

Appreciate your comment, and my apology for wiping out the "fresh install" part! 


Kiwi

[DavidR]

@  the-kiwi
Try this link for downloading avast 18.5.xxxx https://www.filepuma.com/download/avast_free_antivirus-2/versions/ that should give the full off-line installation file.  If you want 18.8.xxxx that too should be available there, though as this topic mentions some have experienced problems with that.

I'm sure this link has been posted in this very large topic or another topic.

EDIT:  Set Program updates to Manual after that or it will try t update to 18.8.xxxx which could lead to issues.

[the-kiwi]

@DavidR: Thanks a lot!  I have downloaded it to this computer, and copied it to a thumb drive.  I've let Avast scan the thumb drive nearly every time I plug it in here, in case anything new sneaked aboard, but I really think it will be best if / when both the primary and the older PC are protected! 

Kiwi

[rocksteady]

Damnn..got my Hippo's and Puma's mixed up.
Thanks @DavidR for the correction.

[the-kiwi]

@DavidR and @Rocksteady:  The install aborted very early in the setup, demanded that I restart Windows.  I haven't uninstalled the goofy AVG that claims it expired December 31, 1969.  When I initiated that, it offered to "Repair" itself, and changed nothing I could see. 

After reloading the OS, and attempting the install again, it tells me about a problem in the Registry -- I haven't loaded RegEdit, I don't think, since Win2K was a young pup!  This is beginning, to me, to look like a boogered up install / setup of Windows XP / SP3, itself!  I'm wondering if I should put the CD back in, and install over the top, to see if it will settle things down! 

Kiwi, getting a bit aggravated

[DavidR]

Damnn..got my Hippo's and Puma's mixed up.
Thanks @DavidR for the correction.

You're welcome.

[DavidR]

@DavidR and @Rocksteady:  The install aborted very early in the setup, demanded that I restart Windows.  I haven't uninstalled the goofy AVG that claims it expired December 31, 1969.  When I initiated that, it offered to "Repair" itself, and changed nothing I could see. 

After reloading the OS, and attempting the install again, it tells me about a problem in the Registry -- I haven't loaded RegEdit, I don't think, since Win2K was a young pup!  This is beginning, to me, to look like a boogered up install / setup of Windows XP / SP3, itself!  I'm wondering if I should put the CD back in, and install over the top, to see if it will settle things down! 

Kiwi, getting a bit aggravated

I would say reinstalling windows would have been using a sledge hammer to crack a nut an there would be potential for issues even then as you have experienced  Even with the original  disk, there would be a shed load of updates and SPs to install. 

The first port of call would have been to ensure that AVG is uninstalled, before trying to install any new AV you should always uninstall your previous one.  Even if it is a very old installation, if still installed it would need to be removed rebooted, but that probably isn't an issue now if you have reinstalled the OS.

Without saying what that registry it would be hard to guess at a resolution.  So I did a search for fix registry issues after reinstalling windows XP and came up with this.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fix+registry+issues+after+reinstalling+windows+XP
The very first hit may well be a good start point or the two following that.

Avast 18.x would require at the very least you have XP SP2 installed.
And your CPU chip had support for the SSE2 instruction set.

[the-kiwi]

@DavidR:  AFAIK, the AMD A64 X2 has SSE2, and the install CD has SP3 already merged into it by Microsoft.  Meanwhile, I had errands between visits here to the forum, which seems to be in Britain?  The CD is still stored away where I put it earlier this week (Monday?  Tuesday?) when I finished the install. 

I'd only written the first half of the registry error message location down; I've now seen it once again:

Cannot create a sub-key in the services registry.  Adjust access rights for 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services"

The Neo Page your search went to had a broken link for the NTFS reference (MS has killed it off).  I don't have access, not even from the Administrator Account, to the contents of the System  Volume Information folder. 


Kiwi 

[the-kiwi]

@DavidR:

The Neo Page your search link took me to had a broken link for the NTFS reference (MS has killed it off).  I don't have access, not even from the Administrator Account, to the contents of the System  Volume Information folder.  I'll see what another source offers .. still at it out here. 

The Kiwi

[DavidR]

@DavidR:

The Neo Page your search link took me to had a broken link for the NTFS reference (MS has killed it off).  I don't have access, not even from the Administrator Account, to the contents of the System  Volume Information folder.  I'll see what another source offers .. still at it out here. 

The Kiwi

Not really sure which you are referring to, I only went to the first 3 hits in the main search, I felt the first appeared related followed that link to https://neosmart.net/wiki/fix-registry/ and that worked just fine.

All of the links on that page are internal and the XP one is also working for me.  So you would have to be more specific.

That said it isn't my intention to give complete information on how to do this, but to give you a search string that picks up several registry fix options that could help resolve a broken/corrupt registry in XP.

[Dix Huit]

The Kiwi, if you are going to use the old computer only to play old DOS games and in light of all the problems you have had thus far, it seems to me that it would be simpler to forego connecting to the Internet and to download whatever you need to the new computer, scan the files using the antivirus installed there, and then transfer them using a flash drive.  I would be comfortable doing that, but of course it all depends on your experience and how you feel about it.

If you still experience problems related to the Windows XP installation, an alternative solution could be to install FreeDOS (http://www.freedos.org) on the old computer.  I have not tried it myself and there may be advantages to using Windows + DOSBox (I assume DOSBox uses the Windows sound drivers, which could be more straightforward for some games than trying to get sound working under FreeDOS), but I just thought it might work better for you.

[the-kiwi]

Thanks, Dix Huit!  The audio emulations are a key component of the Windows plus DOSbox matchup.  I've been too busy today to pursue sorting the permissions for the services folder in the Registry, I'll get to it eventually.  Since I retired, things are backwards.  I have more places to go and things to do weekends than during the week! 


Kiwi

[Dix Huit]

Yes, I did a little more looking into FreeDOS, and having audio will usually require the original DOS driver for the sound card being used.  So it's really only suited to hardware of the DOS era.

That Registry problem sounds serious - you might try using XP's "Administrator" account to do the installation but as you suggested, it seems more like a problem with the installation of Windows itself.

Anyway, I wish you luck.