Avast is eating up 100% PC-performance so that the PC gets unusable

[Anacunga]

How to make Avast usable that it does not eat up the entire performance of a slower PC? When moving files around or doing anything else inside the file system and surfing the net at the same time, Avast eats up so much performance that the PC is just getting unusable - you can wait for at least 4 to 6 minutes just to invoke the task manager; and entering some letters in the url-line or something similar is just not possible. Stopping Avast (what takes some more 3 to 4 minutes until the PC gets responsible again) stops that whithin seconds and you can continue to work.

How to inhibit Avast from blocking the PC in that way? Is there any kind of method not to allow it more than 10% or 25% of the PC's performance?

Always a problem is downloading several files at once with a download manager: then the PC is just unresponsive until all the files are downloaded - any other work is impossible as CPU-charge is at least 100%. Is there any strategy option to tell avast not to check the files while downloading with the download-manager (but to still check web-surfing), but to block them from explorer-access until they are totally downloaded, then check them (one after the other), and give them free for windows explorer access only after having checked them?

[mikaelrask]

hey what OS you using and what version of avast you using free/pro/suite?
any other security programs installed like a third party firewall?
avast is using around 40 mb when not scanning.

[Anacunga]

OS: Windows XP (always updated)
Avast: free (latest, always updated)
Other security-software: none (besides windows-firewall)

The Problems occurs on several Note- and Netbooks, among them:
Celeron 1.2 Ghz/500MB RAM
Pentium III 1.2GHz/1GB RAM
Atom N270 1.6GHz/2GB RAM

btw: I'm not gonna install it on a Pentium I 133MHz with 40MB running Win2k, but would be nice to have a protection also on that machine ... 

[Anacunga]

No more answers? Meaning that Avast is considered unsusable for such machines, or what??

[iroc9555]

Well I can tell you that my nephew runs XP Pro in a Celeron 1.2 GHz with 500 MB ram. Also Comodo Fw & D+, and SAS Pro and his comp is trouble free. I know this does not solve your problem so I suppose must be something else in your machine.

[Gargamel360]

Have you changed any default settings?

You are probably on the right track looking at the download manager. 

If you disable the Web Shield when going about the behavior you describe ("Moving files around or doing anything else in the file system" [ ] while browsing) does the problem go away?

If yes, then I would give thought to excluding your DL manager from the Web Shield's scanning.  That will leave you with the File Shield still scanning anything that you downloaded when opened/executed.

[Anacunga]

OK, I'll test that with the exclusion of the DL-manager from web-shield. What is also really CPU-consuming is the script-shield; that's also a reason why I'm on the web most of the time without scripting. But I don't wanna disable that security.

[Anacunga]

Hmm ... does not seem to work so far; the PC is unresponsive while downloading with the download-manager and TaskManager shows AvastService eating up 98% of CPU charge as long as downloads are on the way ...

I'll try something else: declare an "unprotected download zone" that is not checked by file-system-shield when writing (but only when writing – it shall be protected (and Avast should check) when reading and executing).

Maybe that works better; adding the downloader itself as exception at file-shield seems not to be an effective solution.

[Anacunga]

I've got enough of AVAST that makes the PC totally unresponsive for several minutes when downloading several files with a download-manager. Looking into the windows task manager (that takes more than half a minute until it is started and the window is seen), AvastSvc.exe shows between 95% and 98% of CPU-charge, the notebook-fan is fully turning and making noise, and it lasts at least 20 seconds until a mouseclick for swapping between programs is executed.

THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE. Turning of Avast Shields stops that immediately and the PC is again normally usable.

Question: how to limit CPU-charge of Avast to max. ca. 25%?

If there is no possibility for something like that, I'll kick it away soon and will install a different AV-solution (agnitum outpost will be one of the first to consider, even if not playing in the uppermost category)!

[Asyn]

You could try the new beta...
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=99540.0