Avast doesn't start even after reinstall with avastclear.exe

[taksteinfloyd]

I'm at my wit's end on this one. Since the latest update, Avast does not run at all. It gives various errors when I try to run its components manually. At first, it couldn't find vcruntime140_1.dll. After using avastclear.exe and reinstalling in safe mode still gave the error, I did some searching and found that a lot of old version files and folders were still on my computer in system folders and the registry. I deleted all I could find and used CCleaner to fix the registry. That fixed the missing dll error, but new "Side By Side Errors" took its place. I learned that these are usually caused by missing or corrupted Microsoft Visual C++ packages, so I uninstalled and reinstalled the entire suite of C++ versions, to no avail.

An example error as seen in Event Viewer is:

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Aavm4h.dll".Error in manifest or policy file "C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Avast.VC140.CRT\Avast.VC140.CRT.MANIFEST" on line 4. Component identity found in manifest does not match the identity of the component requested. Reference is Avast.VC140.CRT,processorArchitecture="amd64",publicKeyToken="fcc99ee6193ebbca",type="win32",version="14.0.24210.0". Definition is Avast.VC140.CRT,processorArchitecture="amd64",publicKeyToken="fcc99ee6193ebbca",type="win32",version="14.0.23918.0". Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

I tried manually changing the manifest file version in notepad to match the other version, but predictably that didn't work, although it got rid of this particular error message.

Another error I got was

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\AvastUI.exe".Error in manifest or policy file "" on line . A component version required by the application conflicts with another component version already active. Conflicting components are:. Component 1: C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Avast.VC140.CRT\Avast.VC140.CRT.MANIFEST. Component 2: C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Avast.VC140.CRT\Avast.VC140.CRT.MANIFEST.

I don't know what's going on here. The problems persist through repairs and reinstalls. If I use the online installer, it doesn't even finish installing, the installer just stops and disappears without warning halfway through. The offline installer lets me finish installation(only giving an error message at the time the online installer quits completely) but the program never runs.

Malwarebytes doesn't report any issues. I'll install a different antivirus for now and see if it can find anything. But I honestly think it was just the update in the start of June that broke something. I didn't restart my computer after the update until weeks later, which could have helped things go wrong. If anyone knows of a utility that actually completely removes all trace of Avast, please let me know, because I think that might be a fix since the errors complain of mismatched settings and I suspect old version data is causing problems somehow.

[Asyn]

- Which Avast..? (Free/Pro/IS/Premium)
- Which version/build of Avast..?
- OS..? (32/64 Bit..? - which SP/Build..?)
- Other security related software installed..?
- Which AV(s) did you use before Avast..?

[taksteinfloyd]

Ran a full scan with Kaspersky AV, it turns up no infections. So Avast itself is the problem.

Free version of Avast, latest one as I already said. Windows 8.1.

More detailed troubleshooting information:

Issues were at first caused by several obsolete Avast .dll folders in C:/Windows/WinSxS, with names like "amd64_avast.vc140.crt_fcc99ee6193ebbca_14.0.28127.0_none_5e69e83710ea31f5". Some of these were from really old versions and lacked the .dll file that Avast reported as missing, and the most recent folder was almost empty, suggesting a faulty install.

There were also multiple Avast files in C:/Windows/WinSxS/Manifests which caused problems as well.

All of these files persisted after running avastclear.exe in safe mode. Meaning this utility is basically useless. I had to change file ownership and permissions in Windows to be able to delete all these old junk files, removing some of the errors, but giving me the ones reported in my first post instead. The manifest version mismatch error suggests that some hidden away setting or file somewhere is still stuck thinking I have an older version of Avast.

I suggest the developers quickly provide a way to completely cleanse your system of Avast so that it can be freshly installed. This kind of hard-to-remove junk file pileup is not acceptable from any program. I will be using a different AV and no longer recommend Avast to people until such a time as these issues are fixed.

[bob3160]

Never attempt to run two resident AV at the same time.
You need to decide if you want Avast or Kaspersky.
And you need to totally remove the one you don't want.

[taksteinfloyd]

Never attempt to run two resident AV at the same time.
You need to decide if you want Avast or Kaspersky.
And you need to totally remove the one you don't want.

Classic case of "helpful" forumite who doesn't read the posts he responds to, doesn't understand the context, and just posts stock replies that are irrelevant to the query. I see your kind every time I browse a technical help thread like this about any topic. It's ever so tiresome.

I have never had two antivirus programs installed at the same time, not counting the inactive Windows Defender. And completely removing Avast is what this thread, which you didn't bother reading, is partially about. Next time, try actually being helpful.

[bob3160]

I believe you stated that you ran a scan with Kaspersky.
If it was an online scan, you neglected to state that little fact.
Good luck.

[taksteinfloyd]

I believe you stated that you ran a scan with Kaspersky.
If it was an online scan, you neglected to state that little fact.
Good luck.

Should be blatantly obvious that Avast was uninstalled when I installed Kaspersky.

[Asyn]

Update to the latest version (20.5.2415): https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=235204.0