Like some other posts on this forum, yesterday I suddenly started having trouble with high CPU usage from the free version of Avast. Even after disabling virus protection and rebooting, processes named "Avast Service," "Avast Antivirus Installer," and "Avast Antivirus" show up immediately in Task Manager, and together take about 75% to 90% of CPU resources. I've tried the fix in this thread:
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=238475.0 But no matter which version of Windows I try to run AvastClear with, it does NOT run and won't get past the logo / loading screen. (I'm actually running Windows 8.1. I tried Troubleshoot + running as Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8, and waited a few minutes for each).
Some more details:
- I can't stop or kill these processes through Task Manager, rebooting, or any other trick I've tried.
- In Windows Safe Mode, these processes don't show up, and the CPU usage is normal.
- I can't uninstall, repair, or update Avast (for example, in Safe Mode, trying to do these things starts the"Avast Antivirus Installer" process, which then just keeps running).
- Windows Restore Points won't work. I get a message that the Registry files weren't copied successfully.
- I haven't tried Windows System Refresh or Reset yet. (Maybe as last resorts?)
Thanks very much in advance for any help!!