Avast Free Antivirus keep breaking after restart

[Ferrara]

Today (eight days since the last time it broke and I had to reinstall) I got the "Avast needs to be restarted" prompt. I ignored it. So I used Windows control panel to repair Avast and after doing that I got another restart prompt, and I selected "Ignore" instead of "restart later". I went into settings and update and made sure I have the latest version and definitions. At this time, after selecting "ignore" I am not getting the restart prompt in Avast. If I do get it again during the course of the day I will continue to select "ignore". At the end of today I will shut down the PC and see if Avast breaks again when I restart it the next morning. Fingers crossed. I just do not trust it anymore when Avast tells me it needs restarting. User panel and system tray icon both indicate "You are protected" so I can't see a real need to restart and break it again. Even after checking version and definitions in the update settings, it confirms I have the latest updates and is not requesting a restart.

I will report back here if it breaks again, and check back here periodically to see if there is any news. Thanks to those who continue to report and to those who are taking a concern in this matter.

[bob3160]

Did you just re-install or, did you do a clean install
Why are you not restarting the system. Shutdown and start is not the same as a restart.

[Ferrara]

I thought I had made it clear in my last post. I did a full clean install eight days ago. Avast has run without issue since then. Today I got a restart prompt first thing after starting my computer. The last four or five times Avast has given me that restart prompt it has resulted in Avast being non-functional after the restart. So I am choosing to ignore the restart. After checking to make sure both the version and the definitions are up to date, and ensuring that Avast is showing the "You are protected" message when I mouse over the icon in the system tray, it seems like I will try simply ignoring the restart prompt. I am trying to save myself the time and trouble of doing a clean install. I can't keep my PC on forever, so I will shut it down at the end of the day as usual. If Avast is broken when I start my computer again after shutdown, then I will be forced to do another clean install. Probably that is what will happen.

As I wrote before: When I go to the update panel in Avast settings it says my application is up to date, with a release date of September 19, 2019, version 19.8.2393 - build 19.8.4793.544. That is the version that I downloaded from Avast on Saturday, Nov. 16, and installed that morning after the last failure. It seems like the problems started about a month after that release date, for unknown reasons. But I hope that the next version will remedy these annoying issues.

[Ferrara]

The good news is that Avast has not failed since I chose to ignore the most recent restart prompt. Either the bug has been fixed, or this is the best way to prevent Avast breaking again: by simply ignoring it when I get the message saying Avast needs to restart your computer. All functions and features appear to be working now, and working again when I start my computer at the beginning of the day after shutting it down the previous night.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating the holiday...

[bob3160]

The good news is that Avast has not failed since I chose to ignore the most recent restart prompt. Either the bug has been fixed, or this is the best way to prevent Avast breaking again: by simply ignoring it when I get the message saying Avast needs to restart your computer. All functions and features appear to be working now, and working again when I start my computer at the beginning of the day after shutting it down the previous night.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating the holiday...

Sorry but that makes absolutely no sense.

[Ferrara]

And it makes no sense that I would get an Avast popup saying "Avast needs to restart your computer" and that it would repeatedly fail to work after restarting. Let's hope the tech support people who investigate such bugs are able to make some sense of it. I have shut down and restarted my PC many times since the last Avast restart prompt, and after ignoring the restart request on Sunday I have not received another restart prompt from Avast. I daily check for updates to both Windows and Avast, all showing that I have the latest versions and that things are working. I'm thankful of that, for the time being.

[bob3160]

And it makes no sense that I would get an Avast popup saying "Avast needs to restart your computer" and that it would repeatedly fail to work after restarting. Let's hope the tech support people who investigate such bugs are able to make some sense of it. I have shut down and restarted my PC many times since the last Avast restart prompt, and after ignoring the restart request on Sunday I have not received another restart prompt from Avast. I daily check for updates to both Windows and Avast, all showing that I have the latest versions and that things are working. I'm thankful of that, for the time being.

" I have shut down and restarted my PC many times"
I'm sure you meant you have shut down and started your PC many times. Not restarted because a restart would have allowed avast to do the updating it was requesting.

[Ferrara]

Yes, that is what I meant. It is puzzling that Avast has not requested a restart again, even though I have checked for updates daily and it shows I have the latest version and definitions. In the past, ignoring or postponing a restart would result in repeated and ongoing reminders to restart the system and that hasn't happened. Makes me think that all these recent "Avast needs to restart your computer" prompts have been the result of a bug in the software rather than an actual need to restart in order to configure updates. I will know that a restart request is for real when I can see that an update to the version has been made and it is no longer showing the version with a release date of September 19, 2019, version 19.8.2393 - build 19.8.4793.544.

[Asyn]

Hi Ferrara, you could try the latest beta: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?board=15

[Ferrara]

Do I need to uninstall my current version to launch the exe file for the new Beta?

[Asyn]

Do I need to uninstall my current version to launch the exe file for the new Beta?

Nope.

[bob3160]

Do I need to uninstall my current version to launch the exe file for the new Beta?

Once you've changed to beta, you will need to totally remove the beta if you intend to go back to the regular build.
Beta testing also has some drawbacks.

[Ferrara]

Yes I am always reluctant to test beta versions though I know it helps the developers. Is it easy to remove the beta version if I run into problems?

[Asyn]

Is it easy to remove the beta version if I run into problems?

Yep, it's pretty easy to switch back.

[bob3160]

Is it easy to remove the beta version if I run into problems?

Yep, it's pretty easy to switch back.

It's basically doing a clean install of the current version.