ScRegSetValueExW Event On Updates

[Gene54]

I've been a happy Avast 4.8 user for a couple of years with no problems, but last Friday I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to Avast 5 Home. While at first it seemed to be running as good as 4.8, Sunday morning I discovered every time I updated this alert appears three times in XP Event log:

The ScRegSetValueExW call failed for FailureActions with the following error:
Access is denied.

I've done the usual search of this forum and on Google and there seems to be no definitive answer to this problem.


My machine is pretty simple:

Windows XP Service Pack3
Avast 5 (Updated twice this morning just to check if it was the update process causing the alerts)
ZoneAlarm
Mailwarebytes
Superantispyware

Any help I could get with this problem will be greatly appreciated.

Gene

[Lisandro]

Remove the avast entries into ZA program settings.
Boot.
Allow avast entires again.

Other solution would be 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.

[superhacker]

Access is denied,okay what is your account:limited?or administrator?
if you can make a new administrator user and go there and try to update avast.
"I wish no rootkit do this for you"

[superhacker]

may be a wrong permission cause that so:
1.type those commands in your command line:

secedit.exe /analyze /db C:\WINDOWS\sectest.db /cfg C:\WINDOWS\inf\defltwk.inf /log C:\WINDOWS\security\logs\secanalyze.log
secedit.exe /configure /db C:\WINDOWS\sectest.db /cfg C:\WINDOWS\inf\defltwk.inf /log C:\WINDOWS\security\logs\secrepair.log

OR
2.copy the attached file to your desktop and show the extension of the files so you will see the name"repair.txt"then rename it to "repair.bat"then double click and wait.
http://www.fileinfo.com/help/windows-show-extensions.html

[Gene54]

Thanks for the replies

Since Avast updates twice a day I figured I'd wait to reply to all the responses after I did an update latter today.

I deleted all the Avast entries in the "Programs" menu of ZoneAlarm and then did the update. Sure enough all three events were back again just like before.

So I pasted Superhacker's command lines into a Command Prompt and let it do what it does. I'll see if it fixed the problem when I do an update tomorrow morning. Now that I've already run the commands, maybe I should ask just what they did!!! I consider myself at "Advanced" level of computer knowledge, but there are still holes in my knowledge base.

Thanks again, and I'll report back if it worked.

[superhacker]

So I pasted Superhacker's command lines into a Command Prompt and let it do what it does. I'll see if it fixed the problem when I do an update tomorrow morning. Now that I've already run the commands, maybe I should ask just what they did!!! I consider myself at "Advanced" level of computer knowledge, but there are still holes in my knowledge base.

Thanks again, and I'll report back if it worked.

It reset security permission for files and registry,since the problem is "permission related"you should search for permission problems user account or wrong permission.
We all have something to learn every day.

[Gene54]

Morning Again,

Well even after doing everything that's been suggested by the members of this forum, I just did an update and sure enough the same three errors were back as usual. Frankly I don't know where to go from here, beyond uninstalling Avast 5, and ether reinstalling it, or just moving back to 4.8. If anybody here has another suggestion for a solution for my problem, I'm very willing to give it a try.

I have to admit this the reason I was very hesitant to upgrade from 4.8 which has run flawlessly to 5, which by what I've read on this forum and now my own experience; is problematic.

[YoKenny]

Get rid of ZoneAlarm.

XP Home or Pro?
How much RAM?

Follow Tech's advice Posted on: Yesterday at 08:12:07 AM

[Gene54]

I'm running XP Pro on a T42, ThinkPad with 1280meg of ram.
I know its not the most powerful machine, but its plenty for my daily writing and web work.

Just to see if ZoneAlarm is the problem, I'll shut ZoneAlarm down before I update Avast 5 tomorrow morning.
BTW I checked another laptop I have (and old Dell C840) that's also running XP Pro, Avast 5, and ZoneAlarm. I found the same three events in its Event log also.

[Lisandro]

In such computer, I'm tempted to suggest you use only Windows XP firewall... (very efficient against inbound attacks, although no outbound protection). But I think it's enough to you.

[Gene54]

I just updated Avast 5 with ZoneAlarm shutdown and the same three Error messages are in the Event log:

The ScRegSetValueExW call failed for FailureActions with the following error:
Access is denied.

I think that since it threw the same error with ZoneAlarm not running is a fairly good indicator that its not the problem.

BTW, this T42 ThinkPad has a 1.8 Dothan, with 1.25 gig of ram. That's plenty of hoursepower to run Avast 5, ZoneAlarm and any other software I need to use. This machine runs 3D drawings in MicroStation CAD with no problem.

[superhacker]

Did you create a new administrator user and try to update?!

[Gene54]

Yesterday afternoon I totally uninstalled Avast 5. I ran the lastest uninstaller in Safe mode, and then cleaned the registries of all the artifacts that were left behind. This morning I just did an updated and guess what (!!), the same three errors are back in the Event log.

There is one other post on this forum (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=40413.0) by a user who had tis same problem and the fix was a program update. Since it still throws the errors with ZoneAlarm shutdown and even after a totally clean instillation its sounding more and more like there is a problem in Avast 5. I know at these prices we don't get too much room to complain, but free isn't very free if problems are included.

Any additional help the members of this forum could lend will be appreciated. But I'm a grad student (at 55!!!) and so joined at the hip to this laptop and despite religiously backing up my work, I can't take the chance that what is an annoying problem now will turn into a catastrophe latter.

 

 

[Gene54]

I was doing some experimenting on how I updated Avast that might be causing the errors.

In 4.8 I always used the "Program" update, this always udated the definitions and insured I would get any program updates if available. Yesterday morning I thought I'd try to update using the "Engine and Definition" and no errors. This morning I did the "Program" update and got the error messages again.

I hope this might help anybody who's more knowledgeable than I am to help ma solve this problem.

[SafeSurf]

Hi Gene54 and welcome to the forum.  

We have seen a number of people on the forum with conflicts with ZA and Avast. That is why it was suggested above that you uninstall ZA (not disable it) from your machine, then boot.  This will free up much memory.

You also don't need both MBAM (Malwarebytes) and SAS (SuperAntispyware).  Everyone has their preference, but most prefer MBAM since SAS clears many cookies and CCleaner (see below will do that for you anyway).  So by deleting one of these, you will also free memory.  Also, don't save any .exe files, documents, pictures, or music on your machine; put them on a flash drive to save memory instead.

After doing the above, use a cleaner to clean out your system with CCleaner Slim version: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds - scroll down to 4th download option.  It removes unused files (cache, temporary Internet files, etc.) from your system allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.  It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history.  Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner (if unsure of cleaning registry, make a backup folder in My Docs temporarily prior to fixing).

In addition, since you did an upgrade from 4.8 to 5.0.594 and you are having problems, it is suggested that you uninstall and do a CLEAN (fresh) install of Avast:

1. Save a copy of newest version of Avast (5.0.594) for the version you need and save it to your HDD:
Free – http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe
2. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility, aswClear5.exe http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility and save it to your HDD (it has uninstall tools for both 4.0 and 5.0). You will need to uninstall BOTH from your machine.
3. Disconnect from the Internet at this time.
4. Uninstall Avast through "Add/Remove Programs" through Control Panel if possible.  
5. Boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool.
6. Reboot twice - esp. for XP machines.
7. Install the newest version of Avast and reboot.
8. Get Internet access and update Avast definitions.
9. Register your copy for Free – http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php.  Reboot.

After this, run CCleaner again, then defrag your machine.  If you don't have a good defrag and memory is now improved, free Puran Defrag offers a defrag as well as a boot-time defrag, which works well: http://www.puransoftware.com/Puran-Defrag.html.

Let us know how this works for you.  I've tried to give you suggestions for your problem but also to help you with your limited memory resources.