Author Topic: Avast freezes Windows XP  (Read 8327 times)

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PeterM

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Avast freezes Windows XP
« on: February 20, 2007, 06:32:11 AM »
I've been using avast for years on a laptop with win xp with no problems. I've just set up a new desktop system with a new xp install. Everything fine until I installed avast (latest version from your site). Now windows boots ok but as soon as avast starts the system freezes. I have to restart the os in safe mode, go back to the last good state and uninstall avast to use my computer. I've tried it several times, with and without the win firewall, no difference. Any ideas please?

Offline alanrf

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2007, 06:37:55 AM »
We have avast 4.7 running on Windows XP Pro (with Windows Firewall, with ZoneAlarm) , Windows XP Home (with ZoneAlarm)  and Windows ME (no firewall) here and never a problem like this one. 

Do you have any other security software installed?

Offline oldman

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2007, 06:59:30 AM »
To add to alanrf's post, did this new system come with a preinstalled av or was it completely empty?

PeterM

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2007, 07:10:16 AM »
 Thanks, there is no other av software installed. The system was completely bare and I've installed the os and all other software myself. I've probably done something wrong but I can't see it at the moment.

talbot

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2009, 07:41:24 AM »
Hi. I have the same problem, but I do not know if it is really problem of the Avast. When I start Windows, it shows the desktop, but Avast notification Window is partially slided over the Windows system tray, above the clock in the bottom right. It is possible to see only top of the Avast notification window, not the text within it. And in this moment it is not possible to do anything in the Windows OS. It is frozen. When I open Windows Task Manager and terminate Windows Explorer (not IE) and start it from Task Manager again, the Windows unfreezes. After restart of Windows Explorer it looks like this:

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2009, 01:56:40 PM »
Can you try to delay the update of avast into a permanent internet connection (DSL)?  Change the value AlwaysConnectedWaitSeconds into avast4.ini file. Details on 'Settings' in my signature.

You could set the number of seconds to wait before attempting to update. The default is 30 but it may not be enough in some DSL systems. In this case, you can try increasing this e.g. to 60 (1 minute). That should be enough.
More details here: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=1647
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saanvi

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2009, 04:56:10 PM »
The problem in recent Avast!'s updates. Three my friends saw this problem. They solved this by a simple trick: booting to safe mode and manually update Avast! to newest VRDB.

Offline DavidR

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2009, 05:48:02 PM »
The VRDB (Virus Recovery DataBase) isn't what you actually updated but the VPS (the virus signatures).
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security

saanvi

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2009, 03:22:15 AM »
Sorry, I mean VPS instead of VRDB. :)

Offline DavidR

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #9 on: August 08, 2009, 04:05:10 PM »
No problem, welcome to the forums.
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security

gofastchickenwing

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2009, 06:34:40 AM »
Hi, I wanted to reply to this.  For several weeks Windows XP has been freezing whenever I tried to delete thumbnails (especially) or icons on the desktop.  It completely freezes.  The last few days have been even worse, where I can't even right-click to get a menu without it freezing.  I've done CHKDSK, system cleanup, removed superfluous programs, defragged, and finally, went through each and every system service, turned off and on, and by process of elimination found that it is Avast 4.8 Home that is causing the problem.  I suspect there is some problem with Avast thinking that even legit deletions are virus activity...something like that?  Anyway, I think this needs addressing.

Offline DavidR

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Re: Avast freezes Windows XP
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2009, 02:50:09 PM »
Wrong, avast scans and alerts to infection (you aren't getting any alert, so it doesn't consider it infected) but it doesn't block.

You certainly have a problem and it sounds more like a conflict, remove one part of a conflict and no conflict, but that doesn't pin down exactly what the other part/s of the conflict are and which is at fault.

Recently I have had lots of Explorer freezes when right clicking on files, commonly to delete them. Explorer is locked up but the mouse moves and other applications still work, only explorer is effected.

I spent a lot of time investigating with little success until I say a post in the forums and the problem was a shell extension (what is used in explorer when right clicking, etc.) belonging to SnagIt v9 disabling that shell extension resolved the problem. Antivirus programs also 'hook' files so that they can be scanned before they are executed, etc. and these other shell extensions can cause this type of conflict.

I had previously used a little program Shell Explorer View and disabled some of these extensions (one at a time to try and pin it down), but no joy, I hadn't even considered that my Screen Capture application (SnagIt) could even be invloved. It was only the forum topic that happened to point me in the right direction. Until I upgraded to v9 of SnagIt I can't recall ever having this problem.

You could try that program and see what other Context Menu - Shell Extensions are there.
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security