To see if you have the Package installed on your machine, look in Add/Remove Programs to see if you have
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package listed. If not, download the file (see below for links) and
restart your machine.
When people are having trouble with Avast installs and similar it could also be a dependency problem. Make sure you have Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package installed and updated BEFORE you attempt to install Avast. Actually this is good general advice anyway, for maximum compatibility and in order to avoid problems with applications written in Visual C++ it is always a good idea to have all the C++ redistributables installed and fully updated. Many programs require them to function properly; one important example is ATI drivers. It is often seen when the installs went bad or were unable to install the drivers because of either missing or not updated C++ Redistributable Package.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=2051a0c1-c9b5-4b0a-a8f5-770a549fd78c&displaylang=enMicrosoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x64)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=bd512d9e-43c8-4655-81bf-9350143d5867You can also install the first link, then go to "Windows Updates" to see what other updates you are missing and they will be installed for you. I suggest you do this PRIOR to reinstalling Avast.
How to uninstall and do a clean install of Avast:
1. Save a copy of newest version of Avast (5.0.677)
for the product you need and save it to your HDD:
Free –
http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free_eng.exe - (English only)
Free –
http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe - (multi-language version)
Pro –
http://www.avast.com/pro-antivirus#tab4AIS –
http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_ais.exe2. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility, aswClear5.exe
http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility and save it to your HDD.
3. Disconnect from the Internet at this time.
4. Go to Control Panel and uninstall Avast through Add/Remove Programs if possible and reboot.
5. If Step 4 fails, boot into
Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool.
Uninstall BOTH 4.0 and 5.0 at this time.
6.
Reboot.
7. Install the newest version of Avast and
reboot.
8. Get Internet access and register your copy or add the license key for Free, Pro, or AIS.
Free –
http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php9. Update the Avast definitions.
Let us know how this works for you. Thank you.