Yes, uninstalling N0rton does make you jump through hoops! I've had to remove it from many machines and I know how bad it can be.
A good replacement to start for uninstalling SB would be MBAM (Malwarebytes) http://www.malwarebytes.org/. There is a free on-demand or a paid resident version. Many of us here use it and it is compatible with Avast.
MBAM it is. I've actually heard of it, but never used it, so I'll give that a shot.
To clean your machine, yes CCleaner Slim version http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds would be recommended. It also has a registry cleaner/fix and you can make a back up prior to fixing temporarily in Documents or on a USB. The Slim version is not on their web site now as they are updating their versions but should appear in a day or so. If you download the full version, only download it as a "Custom Install" so you do NOT download any toolbars and carefully look at what you are downloading...e.g. uncheck anything you do not want to download like ebay and any browser toolbars. The Slim version has no toolbars.
Oh yes; don't worry, I'm not THAT much of a newb, haha... I always watch for extra crap like toolbars and whatnot when installing anything.
I would suggest defraging your entire system. There are many defrag tools, but one that also does a boot-time defrag would be best. A free one that is quick and light on your system and used by our malware removal expert is Puran Defrag http://www.puransoftware.com/. You would do a regular defrag with Puran, then a boot-time defrag. Also, during the boot-time defrag, it does a system check (not a complete diagnostic check).
The program (Puran) can run both the standard and boot-time defrag? Or did I mis-read that and I need another program for the boot-time defrag?
And hm... I did a normal "Windows" defrag, but I take it this is better. Not
that surprising, really.
I suggest that you uninstall SB and TT (not disable it) since this could be conflicting with Avast, as well as running CCleaner and defragging your machine, with reboots in between. If you are still having problems after this, then an Avast Repair might be worth a try or a complete uninstall/clean install...but I will await your reply as to how your machine responds to the uninstall of SB w/TT and cleaning/defrag first.
I tend to think the root of this problem is not Avast, but something causing Avast to run slower. The only way to know is to troubleshoot. Should this fail, then I will have you submit a mini-dump file to Avast, which I will instruct you to do when we get to that point. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.
So... This may be a bit long, but I want to get all the info I can out there too see for any who might be able to help.
I'm certainly game to run a defrag with this program. As I said, you and the others posting here seem pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, certainly more so then me. But I do worry that the defrag might take...
days, potentially. I'm not even sure how long.
The problem has been with accessing data on the H drive... almost ANY data. Windows Explorer windows hang and delay, .avi's won't play without stuttering and freezing all over the place (though, bizarrely, .mkv videos stored on the drive - though they take an eternity to
start - play fine once they are going), etc. I'm just glad the problem is with H and not C, but I agree with you that the problem is likely not with Avast itself. Whatever is wrong with the H drive (and I still have no idea what is wrong or what caused it) is simply
affecting Avast.
So, should I just start the defrag, and if it slows WAY down when it hits the H drive to the point where it could take days to finish (and that it what I am expecting based on what's been happening)... well, what would you do in my position? Stop it and try something else? Let it run and hope it actually finishes, even if it DOES take days? And, as I mentioned before, I worry that there may be physical damage to the drive... would running this defrag be a good way to start diagnosing that, or is there anything else in particular I'd want to do first?
While I do want to be able to know that Avast is working properly, I think it's easily understood why finding out what is wrong with this hard drive is just as important to me. I know this is an Avast forum, technically, but I've gotten helpful and friendly responses here so far; any help on the general subject of diagnosing the drive, as well as figuring out what is going on with Avast, is greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, while I wait for further replies from this thread, I will uninstall S&D, download (and run) MBAM, try CCleaner and Puran... as I said, I'm not sure how well any process that requires accessing or scanning the H drive will
go, but we'll see.
Thanks again to all.