UPDATE: 06/23/20 1:30PM DST
Booted from a Windows 7 Recovery CD I burned from downloaded ISO file. From the Repair Console I was able to get a Command Prompt.
Launched Avastclear.exe but got message indicating not all required system components or something were not available.
I can run "regedit" from this environment so did a test and was able to load the software hive file into the editor renamed "avastkill" but exited without changes. Hoping someone can guide me in what keys to delete to keep avast from loading at startup. I did note that avast does have recorded the computer ID (not sure where it comes from), but this is obviously changed since running on a different computer so the processor/mother board are different. Could this be causing avast to error out??
So looks like best choice I have short of re-installing windows is trying to kill it in the registry.
However, I did not try to run "msconfig" from the repair console Command Prompt to see if I could modify startup from there, since some threads I read indicated that doesn't work.
Saga continues.
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Original Post (06/23/20)
Have an issue with my Dell Laptop which was running Windows 7 Pro (64bit) and had Avast (free) installed. My laptop just died (power input shorted). I ordered an identical laptop Dell Precision M4600 with i7 dual core processor. However it came with windows 10 (all they could provide). My intent was to simply move my SSD (1TB) with Windows 7 Pro and all my programs and data over to my new laptop. I fully checked out the new laptop running windows 10 to make sure it all worked and ran all tests from bios.
I also connected my win 7 SSD to my USB port and ran chkdsk on it. All good and do not suspect my startup problem is do to my disk or any windows files.
I have tried booting into all the options besides normal and can't even get to safe mode. I see a typical blue screen before windows reboots. When I selected "boot to command prompt", even though windows never got there I was able to see the drivers as they were loaded, and long enough for me to take a pic. The last 4 drivers loaded were a windows driver and then 3 avast drivers (aswxxxx.sys). So I suspecte avast is having issues with new hardware it is seeing. I tried just removing the avast drivers from their installed folder, but when I did that, windows stopped loading at the last windows driver as noted above and just stopped when no avast drivers were found.
I have downloaded the avastclear.exe file ver. 20.4.53120 but problem is, I can't boot to Safe Mode to run it.
I do not have any Win7 install CD's and now recovery disk (but it would need to be pre Avast install anyway).
I did download and boot from Hirens Boot CD, and got it it's Mini-XP OS but when I tried launching avastclear.exe from it, I got a window saying it could not be run in 32bit OS.
So I need some options. I read some of the horror stories of some that used the avastclear.exe program on Windows 7 Pro specificallly and worked for some and not others. So I am a little reluctant to try it so as not to do more damage.
However if the version above is best there is I will try it (out of options) but would need to get a 64bit psuedo OS booted to run it from. I have downloaded a Windows 7 Repair ISO and put on DVD so I will try that but the best I might do with it (since there is nothing to repair on my disk or windows files is to get to a command prompt.
Can I launch avastclear.exe from the command prompt???
Other resort is to try to edit the registry (hive files), but seems avast is in a lot of keys, so I would need to ones to stop it from loading at startup so I could delete those. I tried to see if I could open my System hive from Win7 using my Win10pro regedit, but would not let me load to do my editing??? May be operator error, so does anyone know if I can use my Win10 regedit to modify my win7 registry (hive files), they are backed up but a little hesitant to go start modifying if I find a way to do so unless there are some instructions on which keys I need to delete. I have also downloaded the FRST64.exe file but again, not a lot of instructions on how to use it, and if I can run it on my offline disk plugged into my USB port.
I've read other posts that you can not use "msconfig" to disable avast from being loaded at startup, is this true?? Again a lot of the posts I have read relating to avast causing startup problems are old.
Any advise or help offered would be appreciated. I've been reading various forums and posts relating but no clear cut methods. Whatever I do, it needs to be done to my disk either thru my USB port, or plugged into my laptop but not booted.
Thanks for any advise or direction offered.
