System Restore - cannot

curious
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System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Win XP Pro

Hi -

I inadvertently (of course) turned PC off just before System Restore was completed. This morning it presented me with button to hit to complete/continue. I did. Then received 'incomplete' message.

I tried 4 other dates on 4 different days, rebooting after each attempt. Still incomplete message.

Do I try to run it in Safe Mode or delete all points - or something else?

(I got myself into this mess while trying to delete Avast9 - I deleted all known files but the Tasbar icon still tells me the system is insecure. In Avast's Current Status tab I see “the program has been stopped or is an inconsistant state” Hit restart program. Nothing happened. Tried the “Fix now” button. Nothing.
This porblem should probably be moved to another Board because if doing a Restore doesn't help me, I can give a long list of things I have tried to delete Avast -- including downloading and installing 2 additional times...)

Thank you much.

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Bigaldoc
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by Bigaldoc »

The first thing I'd try is to get a copy of Revo Uninstaller Freeware (bottom of the page - the free one) to see what it says about Avast. It sounds to me like you may have done some unorthodox stuff in trying to remove it.

As for System Restore, I can't advise ya since I don't use it.

curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Thanks for your speeed! I had tried Revo but it wasn't listed there....

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Claude
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by Claude »

I found the best way to overcome these kind of problems is to boot into safe mode without networking, then try a restore point.

If that doesn't work, boot off your XP cd and do a windows repair.
Cheers, Claude.

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viking33
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by viking33 »

If you are trying to get rid of AVAST, then System Restore wouldn't help you. It will only restore System files.
How about using Windows Explorer and drilling down to the folder where Avast is located. Delete the folder using UNLOCKER if necessary. Reboot.
BOB
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curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Claude - Thank You!!!worked.

curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Evening, Bob -

I was baffled by the fact that Unlocker listed other non-Avast programs with Avast in their paths, i.e.
Winpatrol c\program files\Alwilsoftware\avast5\snxhk.dll Do I click, in lower left, Delete and then Unlock All, or do I need to select only some of the listed files..i.e., only those with the Avast icon?

Thank you.

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viking33
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by viking33 »

curious wrote:Evening, Bob -

I was baffled by the fact that Unlocker listed other non-Avast programs with Avast in their paths, i.e.
Winpatrol c\program files\Alwilsoftware\avast5\snxhk.dll Do I click, in lower left, Delete and then Unlock All, or do I need to select only some of the listed files..i.e., only those with the Avast icon?

Thank you.
You could keep snxhk.dll or delete it. It is listed as part of the Avast program so If it were me, I would select all and delete the package.
If you feel uncomfortable about it, you could temporarily rename it to snxhk.old, then try things out to see if there are any complaints without it/them. You could always rename it back to the original if need be.
I usually rename things by inserting a # sign, like #snxhk.dll. I find it easier to spot if I'm looking for any renamed files.
BOB
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Argus
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by Argus »

viking33 wrote:If you are trying to get rid of AVAST, then System Restore wouldn't help you. It will only restore System files.
True, but not the whole truth. :smile:

It will restore, or remove, monitored files in monitored areas, no matter what they are, system files or non system files. (I think I have mentioned that a couple of times in the Lounge, so there should probably be a link somewhere to MS, describing which file extensions and where.)

That could be, for example, any random EXE file in the Program files branch that has been added after the RP was created. That said, it isn't the equivalent of uninstalling, since it doesn't remove all installed files, as per above; monitored files in monitored areas. So, one should uninstall before going back. Don't use SR as an uninstall tool.

As for the real issue at hand; I have had a similar experience with another AV, in my case AVG. For a long time one could use a later setup file, install file, as uninstall tool. But then they created dedicated uninstall tools that they recommended, and in my case I was going to uninstall a version, branch, that saw no more updates; the uninstall tool didn't work correctly, didn't remove all things, and I got the same "system is insecure - AVG AV is inactivated" limbo. In the end I used the latest setup file for that branch, even though it had been updated to a later sub version, did a new install, rebooted, and uninstalled using the same setup file. I documented everything over at the AVG forum.
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curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Thanks, Bob. So the drill is to unlock everything in the Avast folder Unlocker finds, regardless of the program?

(Being so cautious so I don't want to mess up anything else)

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Argus
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by Argus »

How did you uninstall it? In the OP you say "trying to delete", I assume you used the usual uninstall feature in XP. There will usually be some files and folder left; log files, vaults, often things that have been touched or added since installation. But in this case there must be some more things, and as mentioned some software don't behave well.

Personally I don't use unlocker software (it feels like if a hammer won't do, I'll use a sledgehammer, and if that won't do, what's next, a nuke?), better try to understand why, it might help the next time. Have you read any FAQ or help files over at Avast, do they mention anything related to install/reinstall/uninstall? (It's possible some files are easier to remove in Safe Mode, but then again if you haven't checked what's running at start time it might be difficult.)

(Also what do you mean with "other non-Avast programs with Avast in their paths"; isn't "snxhk.dll" related to Avast, and isn't "Alwilsoftware" a folder for Avast?)
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curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Hi, Argus -

I tried uninstalling Avast via Control Panel. I tried Revo (Avast wasn’t listed).
I did try using WinPatrol Services to delete Avast but received ‘access is denied.’

I did read FAQ and Avast Help. I just tried running the Special Uninstaller I received: ‘Error reading product data from c:\program files\alwil software\avast5\setup\part_setup als_557.vpx. Setup cannot continue’

Re ‘what do you mean with "other non-Avast programs with Avast in their paths"; isn't "snxhk.dll" related to Avast, and isn't "Alwilsoftware" a folder for Avast?)” I meant programs such as WinPatrol, Logmein, Unlocker,Firefox, etc. As I asked in my post to Bob, I want to ensure it’s ok to delete/unlock everything Unlocker lists.

Task Manager Processes still lists AvastUI.exe. Should I try to delete it there? Should I delete everything listed in Unlocker?

My goal is to be able to remove the ‘broken’ Avast icon from Taskbar and be able to re-install Avast. When I again tried to install Avast, I received these 2 messages:
Error reading product data from "C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast5\setup\part-setup_ais-557.vpx". Setup cannot continue.
Setup Selfextract
An error 0 (00000000) has occurred. Last performed operation was: spawning

Thanks for your time.
Curious

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viking33
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by viking33 »

Curious,
Whenever I am forced to use Unlocker, I always remove all that is suggested to be removed. I have never had any problems caused by deleting all of them. The individual selection would be used in the case of renaming or moving only certain files, which Unlocker can do also.
BOB
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curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

Thank you, Bob.

Curious

curious
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Re: System Restore - cannot

Post by curious »

To all Loungers who were so generous with their time and input: I finally was able to delete Avast using their removal tool.

Thank you all!