Boot time scan doesn't run at next start up whenscheduled

[mrcoffeee]

Title says it all.

I set Avast (free version) to run a boot time scan, as I have done numerous times in the past, and when I re-start Windows 10, it goes right to the sign-in page... doesn't offer to run a scan, nothing. Like I never set it to run the boot time scan in the first place. Smart scan and full scan doesn't find anything.

It this some wiley virus or rootkit?

Suggestions?

Thanks for replies in advance!

[DavidR]

There has been a change to the Avast Boot Time scan, in that it runs under the Windows Runtime Environment (WinRE), so I don't know if that is your problem not knowing what the WinVer build is.

However you can disable this WinRE boot time option and it should just fall back to the old style boot time scan

This is in the geek:area (something undocumented) for many settings.  To access the Avast UI > Menu > Settings > Search and enter "geek:area" without the quotes and enter.  That should open the Geek Area, scroll, or hit search again and type "boot" (without the quotes) and you should now see the boot-time options, uncheck the Boot-Time Scan: Run in Windows Recovery Environment option.  See attached image, click to expand.

Exit the geek:area and restart your system, after that you should be able to do the boot time scan as you used to do (assuming that the problem you had was this).

[mrcoffeee]

Thank you SOOO much! I don't know what you are asking when you say "what Winver I'm running." I'm running fully updated Windows 10 pro if that is what you mean.

I was able to run the boot time scan (the way I am used to seeing it run) after following your directions. I'm feeling much relieved.

Perhaps the RE version doesn't work right on my system for some reason - I had loaded AVG and tried to run their boot time scanner before I read your reply, and since I hadn't removed Avast, the AVG went into "passive" mode. Then when I tried to schedule a boot time scan, a dialog popped up during the reboot saying Avast was loading. The dialog box never got beyond "loading..." despite my waiting for quite a while, and never did run.

I'm fine with doing it the old way

[DavidR]

If you tap the Windows key (bottom left), type "cmd" (without the quotes), that is for the command screen, it opens another window type "winver" (without the quotes) and hit the enter key.  That will open a popup your your windows version details.

I guess AVG if it ever worked (without avast installed) would have the same issue.

[mrcoffeee]

I'm running Windows 10 pro 22H2.

64-bit on an older (2016)  Dell Latitude E6430 laptop with 16 gb ram. Disks are Samsung SSD formatted GPT and NTFS.

Trying to understand what

There has been a change to the Avast Boot Time scan, in that it runs under the Windows Runtime Environment (WinRE), so I don't know if that is your problem not knowing what the WinVer build is.

means.

I looked up Windows RE, and google calls it "Recovery Environment", kind of like PE (Preinstallation Environment), which I have a vague idea about from experience with BartPE a long long time ago.

I also googled and found "Windows Runtime Environment" which google links abbreviated as "RTE", though it wasn't really clear to me what that actually meant except something a bit earlier in the boot process of Windows 10.

Pardon my ignorance here, but isn't a rootkit something that runs before windows gets going and hides itself so windows can't detect it?

I assumed that the Avast "boot scan" ran on a really basic tiny OS (like a 3 command, really-limited DOS or something) so it could see the entire disk and check out what was going on in the REALLY early boot section.

Does this new "RE" version of the boot scan have that capability? Why the change? Wouldn't that be less capable?

Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, but I don't really understand what this RE is and what it's advantages and limitations are - and I'm trying really hard to not get any funky stuff into my bare metal backups since I have pretty limited storage space and I don't do daily backups to an external drive or anything.

Thanks again for your help with this. I about freaked when I saw the boot scan just not happen. LOL ---NOW 

[DavidR]

Essentially the new boot-time scan is able to run outside of that black screen interface of old. Also in the old boot-time scan it was limited on what it could do.  I suggest you check out this topic https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=320488.0 when this version included the ability to run the boot-time scan in the Windows Recovery Environment.

The abbreviation in brackets is mine in this post "Windows Runtime Environment (WinRE)" e.g. rather than have to type Windows Runtime Environment every time I refer to it, I use the WinRE abbreviation.  So my apologies if it caused confusion.

What I don't know (as an avast user) is exactly what Operating System versions/builds support it.  You should notice, in my screenshot and my version of Win10 is the Home, 64bit version of the OS even though receiving regular windows updates is only on 21H2 (not 22H2).  I don't know if that is the norm from Microsoft or not.

I have never been a fan of running on-demand scans (including the boot-time scan, unless there is a specific issue that would require it) when you have an active on access antivirus.  So for the most part the on-demand scans would be scanning all of those files again and all of the ones that haven't been active previously.  I have no knowledge of why you felt the need to run a boot-time scan.

[MrDJ]

@mrcoffeee

been an issue for months.
they thought they had fixed it but still issues for some.

you can revert back to the older version of boot time scan where you have the black screen

you have to go to the hiiden geek section to untick a box as David has shown in his post above.

have a look here https://forum.avast.com/?topic=320945.0