Windows 7 - Avast does not start on startup

[MidnightVoyager]

Let me clarify.

I have three Avast services running. However, if I right click any given file to scan it, it says Avast is not running. Avast's tray icon does not appear. There are no update notifications. I have to actually start the program itself for this aspect of the program to work.

I have done absolutely everything I have been able to find to fix this. I checked the registry (There's an entry there for the program, but it apparently doesn't fire), I uninstalled with the uninstaller and reinstalled, nothing has worked. I've messed with the various troubleshooting settings, none of which has helped. I've searched the internet, only finding unrelated problems and problems answered with "it works for me."

ANY help would be appreciated. I am at my wit's end.

[Pondus]

have you uninstalled any previous installed antivirus program ?
have you run a removal tool to remove any leftovers ?
you can find one here http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/

[MidnightVoyager]

I installed it on a clean PC, so I had no previous antivirus programs. I ran a removal tool, yes.

[Tarq57]

Installed using an admin account?

[MidnightVoyager]

Yep. Admin account.

[Tarq57]

Check the system time and date is correct.
Sorry, just throwing ideas out there; this one is often a problem. Another stab in the dark, though, really.
OEM installed AV is commonly the problem with this sort of issue, but you say it isn't there.

[MidnightVoyager]

System date and time is correct, yeah. And this isn't an OEM, so to speak. I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 on a clean hard drive.

[SafeSurf]

Did you reboot after doing your install of Avast?

Do you have any other security software on your machine either currently or previously including firewall (FW)?

You state that you went out on the Internet...was your AV working at the time?  If not, I suggest checking for malware with MBAM (Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware) just to be sure:
·   Download free http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for an on-demand scanner.
·   Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
·   After install, click update so you have latest database before scanning.
·   Under Settings:
o   General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o   Scanner Settings:  Check all boxes
o   Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
·   Once the program has loaded, select "Perform FULL Scan", then click Scan.
·   The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
·   When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
·   Click the “remove selected” button to quarantine anything found.  You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
·   The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
·   Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply.

If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts -- Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process; If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.

[MidnightVoyager]

I also stated that I had no other antivirus software installed beforehand, as it was a clean install of Windows 7.

And yes, I rebooted.

And yes, I've been manually turning Avast on every time, since I apparently have to. So I've not been unprotected. Seeing as how I spotted this problem before I went onto the internet, it can't be my problem.

[SafeSurf]

You may want to run MBAM (on-demand) scanner to see if it picks up anything else since you have Win7 you cannot do an Avast Boot-scan with this version, this will give another opinion.

What is your FW?

[MidnightVoyager]

I use the Windows firewall, but here's the thing. It has been doing this since the first second I installed Avast on a clean system from a clean disk that contained only Avast. If it is Malware, it is malware that somehow sneaked onto a reformatted system that was not connected to the internet.

So I really do not think that malware is the problem, especially since I have run plenty of scans and followed plenty of precautions since I found out that Avast would not start with Windows 7 properly.

I would really like to find the actual problem. Starting Avast manually with every boot is annoying.

[Lisandro]

I would really like to find the actual problem. Starting Avast manually with every boot is annoying.

Of course. It is not supposed to work that way...
I suggest an installation from scratch:

1. Download the latest version of avast! Uninstall Utility and save it.
2. Download the latest avast! version and save it.
3. Uninstall avast from Control Panel (if possible). If, for any reason, you can't run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after that.
4. Run the avast! Uninstall Utility saved on 1. If, for any reason, you can't run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after you've run it.
5. Install avast! using the setup saved on 2. Boot.
6. Register your free copy or add the license key for Pro.
7. Check and post the results.

[MidnightVoyager]

I've done that already, too. Thus why I'm rather at my wit's end.

[Lisandro]

Please, attach the avast log: C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast5\Setup\setup.log
(or the shorter C:\Users\All Users\Alwil Software\Avast5\log\Setup.log).

If the file is too big, select the latest 500 lines for example...

[MidnightVoyager]

Hm. The log seems to be small enough, but I'm having troubles uploading the file. I'll try again later. Might be because of other people on the network downloading things.