Friday, December 3rd 2010

AVG Update Cripples Windows

Dec 3rd, 2010 19:12 Discuss (79 Comments)

Yesterday an update to the popular antivirus suite AVG left many users computers unable to boot. After rebooting, as requested by the AVG updater, Windows crashes while trying to load certain AVG drivers. The error message reads "STOP: c0000135 The program cannot start because %hs is missing from your computer". Since the culprit drivers load even during safe mode there is no way to boot Windows. AVG recommends using the AVG rescue disc located here. After booting from the disc users should use midnight commander to rename their AVG folder, usually located at C:\program files (x86)\AVG, to any other name and then booting windows normally. However, any bootable flash drive or CD with an OS that can access NTFS file systems can be used to accomplish this task. I used a bootable Ubuntu flash drive.

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79 Comments on AVG Update Cripples Windows

#26

W1zzard

VanchaSwitched to Avast! around a couple of months ago and it's been incredibly well behaved. I suggest it to anyone looking for a new anti-virus.

same here. switched from avg to avast and never looked back

#27

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

W1zzardsame here. switched from avg to avast and never looked back

I can't stand Avast's UI. Plus it used to break the 16-bit sub-system on 32-bit machines(not sure if it still does) but that was extremely annoying back when I still had to maintain 16-bit POS systems. The poor UI and breaking parts of Windows was actually what made me switch from Avast to AVG. Now it looks like MSE is the way to go, IMO.

#28

Lionheart

gunsmokeWhen i herd that voice i had my sound on full on boot up,
It made me jump out my skin.

Lol yeah thats happened to me plenty of times as well, scares the shit outta ya :)

#29

HossHuge

This scared me enough to switch to avast. I've been using avg for years. The one function I like that avg has is the auto shut-down.

#30

tomkaten

Gigabyte misnamed my board. It's called P55, but it's actually a H55. So what can you expect from a smaller company ? I know that's a bit random, it just goes to show how much they care about us. The general feeling you get from such errors is "let's get this out fast, they'll never know we didn't even check it".

It's the second time in the past couple of years that an AVG update screws up things for some people. I know some habits die hard, but maybe this will help steer people away from a product that's been going downhill for a while.

Avast is still good, so is MSE. Maybe even Avira, if you get rid of that pesky upgrade pop-up.

#31

vanyots

I've been using COMODO Internet Security for a couple of years now. It's free and if you bear with the false positives(even the older versions of GPU-Z) is generally a great complete security solution.

#32

pr0n Inspector

Avira(scanner only) on Windows.
Nothing on Arch(obviously).

The MSE scanner is slow as slowpoke.

#33

remixedcat

nick_1992You'd think they would have tested this stuff before sending it out... Sounds similar to the EVE-O problem a while ago where the patch killed your windows.

when did this happen?

#34

Crap Daddy

We've been using Avast and it did a great job until one day when it prevented us to play Starcraft 2. It seemed that the authentication from Battle.net writes a file onto your system every time you log in and, after a patch, Avast blocked it considering it to be malicious. Switched to MSE and never looked back.

#35

mdsx1950

Updated from AVG 9 to ESET NOD and never looked back. :)

AVG was good but at one point they just started to fail for me. It had false alarms and didn't catch the viruses even. Except the AVG Virut* Tool helped me get rid of one virus which none of the other free antiviruses couldn't get rid of.

#36

1Kurgan1

The Knife in your Back

Thats hilarious, I go to work and my co-worker who I built a comp for says to me right away, "so my windows doesn't work and I think its AVG that caused it". Guess it wasn't just his, lol.

#37

(FIH) The Don

Mse <3

#38

claylomax

DaveKMakes me glad I don't use AVG, stopped using it a long time ago because it felt bloated.

I was gonna say that. I used it in the past but now it's just a big piece of bloatware, a big failure. I use Avira or Avast instead.

#39

cmanning27

I switched to Norton 360 v4 from AVG.. So glad I did lmao..

(New forum member) Hello all!

#40

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

cmanning27I switched to Norton 360 v4 from AVG.. So glad I did lmao..

(New forum member) Hello all!

greetings.

#41

_JP_

mdsx1950Updated from AVG 9 to ESET NOD and never looked back. :)

AVG was good but at one point they just started to fail for me. It had false alarms and didn't catch the viruses even. Except the AVG Virut* Tool helped me get rid of one virus which none of the other free antiviruses couldn't get rid of.

Same here, except for me was more like AVG7.5 -> Avast! -> ESET+NOD32. AVG 8 just didn't work for me. Plus, when I get asked what's the best free security suite I always reply MSE or Comodo, but this last one is only if that person has a grudge on Micro$oft...
I can say I'm very happy with my choice. Not going to change it in the near future.

#42

KainXS

hahahahahaha a friend of mine kept saying AVG is better than AVAST for years and he woke up this morning and got a suprise:laugh::toast:

but us use MSE now

#43

claylomax

This is the kind of thing that pisses someone off; I mean, the fact that you cannot even reboot in Safe Mode and have to go through all that procedure to fix it, let alone you cannot use your computer in the meantime. Like my boss says sometimes: "It's an absolute disgrace mate".

#44

MrAlex

Musselsand this is another good reason for why i tell people NOT to use the free AV's. MSE is the only exception, since at least its been tested decently.

avast! Home edition is the best free AV. They get they're money from businesses, not home users. That's why its free for one user. Also, it is the second best AV according to the November 2010 AV tests.

#45

CounterZeus

Glad I use MSE. Although it's slowing my pc down sometimes, it's probably my outdated hardware ^^ will buy a new one this summer I think

#46

jpierce55

normally I don't use an av, but I had downloaded the new AVG when it came out and it would not let my wireless printer work...... plus a couple years back I had to spend a couple of hours cleaning up somebodies computer when an AVG update included a virus. It is unfortunate it went downhill, but it seems all virus software does once it gets established.

#47

TheLaughingMan

Mine didn't brick my system. It just bricked itself. I booted the system up after the update and it told me AVG was not working. I then got a windows warning about not having an active virus scanner and that I should address this issue.

I ran the install fill, clicked repair and the issue went away.

#48

Mescalamba

Yea thats what you get when you use crappy antivirus software. Get Avast! ..

Both are "Czech made" (along with NOD I think), and only Avast! is decent.. rest is pure crap.

#49

TheLaughingMan

MescalambaYea thats what you get when you use crappy antivirus software. Get Avast! ..

Both are "Czech made" (along with NOD I think), and only Avast! is decent.. rest is pure crap.

Czech made! That explains way too much. Glad I switched from that mess.

#50

mdsx1950

_JP_Same here, except for me was more like AVG7.5 -> Avast! -> ESET+NOD32. AVG 8 just didn't work for me. Plus, when I get asked what's the best free security suite I always reply MSE or Comodo, but this last one is only if that person has a grudge on Micro$oft...
I can say I'm very happy with my choice. Not going to change it in the near future.

Yeah ESET NOD32 rocks! My PC hasn't had a single virus yet! :rockout: :respect:

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AVG Update Cripples Windows

79 Comments on AVG Update Cripples Windows

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