Windows hangs on initialization

[mycroft69]

Avast! seems to be associated with a unique Windows loading quirk to seems to make Windows appear to have locked up on initialization. It occurs shortly after account log on. I say that it looks like a lock-up, because animated wait cursors don't move and there's only faint activity on the main hard drive. I let one system sit for 5 minutes, and finally Windows finished loading everything. I know that Avast! is involved because everything returned to normal when it was uninstalled.

There are 2 systems that suffered from this problem; both were based on the Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 motherboard with AMD Athlon 64 Orleans procs. Further system data are Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB DDR2-800 XMS2-6400 RAM and Windows XP Professional. If more details about the systems are needed, please let me know. I built them and one is 2 months old; the other only a month.

I figured it best to report this as soon as possible. I really like the product. Avast! has been very good to me and several others in my sphere of influence, and I'd prefer not removing the product from these new systems.

mycroft69

[Lisandro]

Can you run Bootvis with the option to trace boot loading?
There we can see which driver is delaying the boot/login process.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

[DavidR]

Whilst avast might well be involved, what other security applications do you have installed that might also be running at boot, as the two may conflict ?

You could try 'Delay loading of avast! services after other system services' in Program Settings, Troubleshooting section and see if that makes any difference.

[mycroft69]

DavidR, I understand that concern and would have thought the same thing, except when reformatting, reinstalling WinXP and software and a machine that had "locked up" as described, the first security measure I installed to the system was Avast! -- and that because I consider it the most important piece of rebuild after the OS --  then rebooted. And sure enough, the hang up occurred as described. So there was nothing else starting up with it other than Windows itself.

Tech, I'll make the attempt with Bootvis, first with my own machine, which is a mirror of the other. Not familiar with Bootvis, but I'll try if it will help.

[DavidR]

Did you try the delay avast services I suggested ?

[Lisandro]

Tech, I'll make the attempt with Bootvis, first with my own machine, which is a mirror of the other. Not familiar with Bootvis, but I'll try if it will help.

It's an old piece of software from Microsoft. But, if you need help with it, just let us know.

[mycroft69]

I tried Bootvis late last night. Wouldn't install. It claimed a key file from some cab was missing or damaged. Because it was so late, I didn't record the exact message, nor did I attempt the delay. I'll try later on tonight. Is the delay feature set inside the Avast! program settings?

[Lisandro]

Is the delay feature set inside the Avast! program settings?

Yes, on 'Troubleshooting' tab of settings.

[DavidR]

Is the delay feature set inside the Avast! program settings?

Yes it is, as in my first post accompanied by an image.

You could try 'Delay loading of avast! services after other system services' in Program Settings, Troubleshooting section and see if that makes any difference.

[mycroft69]

Got it. Will attempt this evening.

[mycroft69]

Selected delay and rebooted. Whereas I usually wait a full minute to log onto my account, I logged on immediately. That seemed to do the trick.

Doesn't that impact the effectiveness of Avast!, though? Does it scan at boot?

[DavidR]

The impact is minimal avast just starts a little later but it still scans files during startup. You just need to check the scanned total: field in the Standard Shield, detailed view to see how many files were scanned during boot and start. I found on my system about 30 less files were scanned if I selected the delay avast services from 150 ish down to 120+.

[Lisandro]

Doesn't that impact the effectiveness of Avast!, though? Does it scan at boot?

They always say that the low level driver is still protecting while booting.
The scan at boot time is there. And like David said, avast scans files while making login.

[mycroft69]

Great. I appreciate the reassurance. I'm probably going to test this method on the other system. Alwil's competitors may be good, but Avast has caught stuff that got by -- dare I say it -- Norton. Therefore, my friend and I would like to stay with the product.

Thanks, guys, and have a great weekend.

mycroft69

[DavidR]

No problem, have a good weekend yourself.

A belated welcome to the forums.