*SOLVED* avast! 4.8 Home iAVS Update BORKED!

[eclectic]

So I turned on my pc today and was greeted with the following delightful message:

One of the files containing the system's Registry data had to be recovered by use of a log or alternate copy.  The recovery was successful.

Once fully cranked into gear I found that several of my programs had to be re-installed [YAY!] and avast 4.8 Home had not entered its License key, nor loaded its skins.  Fortunately I was able to resolve all of these issues myself but am now completely stumped with the issue of avast! refusing to update itself! 

Going into the avast Log Viewer -> Warning I have multiple entries where I have tried to update and it has failed.  I have updates set to Automatic, Normal Running Mode, Show update progress and Show sliding box after automatic update.  However it's not letting me manually update, nor is it performing an automatic update.

This is the Log Viewer text that I get when the update fails:

Function setifaceUpdatePackages() has failed. Return code is 0x0000410, dwRes is 00000000

Help please oh avast! ninjas, you're my only hope!  :'(

[DavidR]

What do you mean by "but am now completely stumped with the issue of avast! refusing to update itself!" what errors are being displayed to the screen ?

What is your firewall ?
Does it allow avast.setup internet access ?
- If it does delete the entry for it and do a manual update, this will force the firewall to ask permission again.

[eclectic]

What do you mean by "but am now completely stumped with the issue of avast! refusing to update itself!"

Well I only recently installed avast [I'm another AVG refugee] and although I have had updates set to automatic I've also been manually updating avast if I want to scan a new file I have downloaded from the internet.  However if I try to manually update avast I do not get the 'progress of the update' window and the update attempt is shown as an error in the Log Viewer, as detailed in my first post.  Also, according to the Log Viewer the last automatic update was over 24 hours ago despite automatic updates being set to occur every 30 minutes. 

what errors are being displayed to the screen ?

I'm not getting any error messages being displayed.

What is your firewall ?

Zone Alarm Free.

Does it allow avast.setup internet access ?

Yes, both to the Trusted and the Internet Zone.

- If it does delete the entry for it and do a manual update, this will force the firewall to ask permission again.

Okay, I've deleted the Zone Alarm entry as you instructed and tried to manually update by right clicking the taskbar icon and selecting the Updating option but nothing happened.  Zone Alarm didn't ask me if I wanted to allow access.  So I launched avast and clicked on the lightning icon to update but nothing happened with Zone Alarm with that method either.  I know that Zone Alarm asking for permission to grant access is working okay as it did this several times earlier when I had to reinstall some programs.

[DavidR]

Try a repair of avast. Add Remove programs, select 'avast! Anti-Virus,' click the Change/Remove button and scroll down to Repair, click next and follow.

You can't set the auto update below 120 minutes with the free home version. The log would only record the actual update and not simply checking for updates.

To check if there has been an update you haven't got, avast! VPS Updates History.

[eclectic]

Try a repair of avast. Add Remove programs, select 'avast! Anti-Virus,' click the Change/Remove button and scroll down to Repair, click next and follow.

When I click on Change/Remove, nothing happens  .  It doesn't give me the option to Repair or anything else.

You can't set the auto update below 120 minutes with the free home version. The log would only record the actual update and not simply checking for updates.

Okay, thanks.

To check if there has been an update you haven't got, avast! VPS Updates History.

Thanks, I'm missing the latest update i.e. 13.6.2008 - 80613-0. 

[DavidR]

You usually have to scroll down to see the repair, but if nothing is displayed at all then there is probably something bigger at fault, so it would probably be best to do a clean reinstall.

Download the latest version of avast http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html and save it to your HDD, somewhere you can find it again. Use that when you reinstall.

Download the avast! Uninstall Utility, find it here and save it to your HDD.
1. uninstall (using add remove programs assuming you can if not move to the next step), reboot.
2. Run the avast! Uninstall Utility, reboot.
3 Install the latest version, reboot.

[eclectic]

Thank you sir, I'll give that a try now. 

I just double checked and the Repair option isn't showing up, even if I scroll down so avast's uninstall utility it is!

[eclectic]

Mission accomplished!   

Thank you so much sir for all of your help  .

[DavidR]

No problem, glad I could help.

Welcome to the forums.