Solved SDD Showing Fuller All of a Sudden

[DavidE]

I know i wasn't given the option when updating from 2014 to 2015.
And I didn't have it installed in Avast 2014.
As far as I know, i shouldn't even be able to get that tool with the free version.

They try to sneak Chrome in, but that is the only option i could opt out of...

 

[DavidE]

SFC? Meesa no unnastand.

sfc /scannow at a command prompt to check integrity of system files.

Yup
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

SFC? Meesa no unnastand.

sfc /scannow at a command prompt to check integrity of system files.

Yup
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

I'll have to check that out at another time. I don't think anything is broken since it all seems to be working alright.

 

[DavidE]

If I were to be smart or dumb enough to try Avast, is there a way to NOT install that virtual machine thingy at all, at the time of first installation?

Or do you have to install it and later try to uninstall it?

I should probably stick with MSE, but I have this overwhelming urge to not leave well enough alone.

If you do a clean install of Avast you should get a screen where you can select or unselect all the optional "Bloat".
I would unselect everything, i don't want any of the extra stuff, but that's my personal choice.
I feel i have other programs to do what i want, i don't want my AV doing all kinds of other things...

Doing an in-program update i didn't get that screen...

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Doing an in-program update i didn't get that screen...

??

Meaning that if you do a clean install on March 20, with no bloat, and then accept a "program update" (not a definitions update) at some later time, you may nonetheless get the bloat you don't want, purely because you said "yes" to program update?

 

[DavidE]

Yup, that's what happened to me and it seems the same thing happened to LF.
Avast SHOULD carry forward settings and options when doing a program update (imho), but ...

Anything new or different, the user should be given a choice (imho).

I guess there are 3 scenarios:

A new clean install
Running the latest installer to install a new version "over-the-top" of an existing version.
Doing an in-program update from within Avast while Avast is running
​

I decided to try the in-program update for my last version update...and that's when it installed the "NG/VM/Sandbox" tool.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I guess there are 3 scenarios:

A new clean install
Running the latest installer to install a new version "over-the-top" of an existing version.
Doing an in-program update from within Avast while Avast is running
​

I decided to try the in-program update for my last version update...and that's when it installed the "NG/VM/Sandbox" tool.

Looks like I'll use a 4th option: Avoid Avast until and unless they sober up.

Honestly---what's the thought process of programmers who would not carry over old config settings---unless of course an order came down from on high to drive people toward a paid product or? Certainly it's intentional, not a mistake/bug.

 

[DavidE]

I can't argue with you on any of that.
When I saw what happened to me updating the other day, my first thought was get rid of Avast.
I decided to try uninstalling the VM/NG tool, and that was an easy fix that works without issue for me so far ...

I've used Avast for many years, so I'm stubborn or leary of replacing it completely ...
I use/test other AV's on some of my test systems, but i don't want to get into a "what's the best AV".

I've read some people think Avast is now being "controlled" by marketing.
That's why they are adding all these features (bloat), and not concentrating on "basic AV" as they did in their younger days.
The new features increase sales and profits ...

 

[TVeblen]

For what it's worth:

I maintain 4 PCs here. All have Win 7 HP, all have Avast Free. All Avast settings are identical.

2 PCs developed the 50% System restore "bug". 2 did not. Deleting all restore points and setting System Restore back to 3% worked and has stuck on both (going on 4 weeks now).

Probably not as simple as it JUST being Avast. Like many computer issues the problem is most likely a combination of things.

Still, not as serious a bug as the current Panda Free Antivirus issue.
http://www.sevenforums.com/security...stakenly-flags-itself-malware-bricks-pcs.html

 

[whs]

0% does not work but 1GB should work. Use the proposed 3%. You want some restore points after all.

Why would I want restore points if I don't use System Restore (imaging is far more reliable)?

Yes, imaging is more reliable. But unless you make daily images, you can still lose work when you have to set back to last weeks image. In that case a quick system restore is helpful (if it works).

It is also useful for retrieving lost files with Shadow Explorer. That's why I also have restore points in my data partitions.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Still, not as serious a bug as the current Panda Free Antivirus issue.
http://www.sevenforums.com/security...stakenly-flags-itself-malware-bricks-pcs.html

Yeah. I'm still shuddering and cringing over having considered switching to Panda.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

0% does not work but 1GB should work. Use the proposed 3%. You want some restore points after all.

Why would I want restore points if I don't use System Restore (imaging is far more reliable)?

Yes, imaging is more reliable. But unless you make daily images, you can still lose work when you have to set back to last weeks image. In that case a quick system restore is helpful (if it works).

It is also useful for retrieving lost files with Shadow Explorer. That's why I also have restore points in my data partitions.

I don't save work to my C: drive; that's why I'm able to get by comfortably with only 128GB, even with a humongous hyberfil.sys file. I routinely do a system image every week on Friday after running my scans. I also make an image just before making any system changes (such as yesterday before dealing with the Avast bug) so I'm not likely to lose any settings, etc. I backup my data daily (more often if I dump something critical into my computer). Using a folder/file syncing program for backing up data is much faster and more efficient than imaging. I even save and backup deleted data.

Btw "if it works" is a key phrase. I've never been able to get System Restore to work on any of my Win 7 machines; it was hit and miss on XP.

 

[TVeblen]

...Still, not as serious a bug as the current Panda Free Antivirus issue.
http://www.sevenforums.com/security...stakenly-flags-itself-malware-bricks-pcs.html

Yeah. I'm still shuddering and cringing over having considered switching to Panda.

I did!

Based on high recommendations from a thread in this forum I decided to give Panda a try about 6 months ago on one of my backup PCs.
When I read that post above I was sweating bullets as I turned it on. Started up into Safe Mode, uninstalled Panda, cleaned up, and restarted. All was cool.
Avast is now installed on that box and the birds are singing.

 

[whs]

What was wrong with Panda.

 

[TVeblen]

Take a look at the link in Post #49 (and #51 above)

 

[Layback Bear]

Repeating my self again.

One can make backup and should but to me that is no reason not to use Restore Points. I choose to use both. Backup and Restore Points both have there place but don't replace each other.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Repeating my self again.

One can make backup and should but to me that is no reason not to use Restore Points. I choose to use both. Backup and Restore Points both have there place but don't replace each other.

I used System Restore with XP; most of the time it worked but I don't consider "most of the time" to be very reliable. In Win 7, I've never got it to work on the three machines of mine I've actually used (one desktop, one notebook that needs a new Wi-Fi card, and the note book I'm currently using when traveling; I have a third notebook but I haven't fired it up yet). Using Macrium Reflect, I have yet to have a verified image fail to restore (and only one image ever failed to verify; I just reran MR again and that image verified). There is no way to verify a restore point. Because of my lousy track record with System Restore in Win 7, I turned it off and shrunk my pagefile to 800MB.

 

[DavidE]

If I were to be smart or dumb enough to try Avast, is there a way to NOT install that virtual machine thingy at all, at the time of first installation?

Or do you have to install it and later try to uninstall it?

I should probably stick with MSE, but I have this overwhelming urge to not leave well enough alone.

I don't remember if I was given that option or not (at my age, the only thing I retain well is water!). Uninstalling the little bugger was easy once David pointed out where it was and how to get rid of it.

I've used Avast for several years now and this is the first real problem I've had with it (of course, it had to be a really sneaky one).

Want to hear about another sneaky one i found LF ?

Recently one of my test systems started having a 1-2 second delay before the mouse would move on reboot.
The delay was on the Windows logon screen where i click on the User.

I had recently updated this OS to the latest Avast free, latest MBAM paid, and any other programs i found out of date...

So I looked though Avast settings and found Enable Hardware-assisted virtualization was checked in troubleshooting settings.
I unchecked that, and that fixed my 1-2 second delay problem.

Why should this be checked if Avast Virtualization is not installed, and show a warning if unchecking it ?

This is why i don't recommend Avast for folks I help, there are too many settings scattered around that can make a difference.
Other AV's are simpler imho ... Panda or MSE ...


I still use Avast on 2 systems, been using it for many years, it just gets very complicated/confusing to make sure all settings are "correct".

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

If I were to be smart or dumb enough to try Avast, is there a way to NOT install that virtual machine thingy at all, at the time of first installation?

Or do you have to install it and later try to uninstall it?

I should probably stick with MSE, but I have this overwhelming urge to not leave well enough alone.

I don't remember if I was given that option or not (at my age, the only thing I retain well is water!). Uninstalling the little bugger was easy once David pointed out where it was and how to get rid of it.

I've used Avast for several years now and this is the first real problem I've had with it (of course, it had to be a really sneaky one).

Want to hear about another sneaky one i found LF ?

Recently one of my test systems started having a 1-2 second delay before the mouse would move on reboot.
The delay was on the Windows logon screen where i click on the User.

I had recently updated this OS to the latest Avast free, latest MBAM paid, and any other programs i found out of date...

So I looked though Avast settings and found Enable Hardware-assisted virtualization was checked in troubleshooting settings.
I unchecked that, and that fixed my 1-2 second delay problem.

Why should this be checked if Avast Virtualization is not installed, and show a warning if unchecking it ?

This is why i don't recommend Avast for folks I help, there are too many settings scattered around that can make a difference.
Other AV's are simpler imho ... Panda or MSE ...


I still use Avast on 2 systems, been using it for many years, it just gets very complicated/confusing to make sure all settings are "correct".

View attachment 354055

Curious that. I still have it checked and haven't encountered any mouse delay. In fact, Avast has been behaving quite well since the shadow storage affair (btw, thanks again for your help with that).

 

[DavidE]

I checked another system with Avast that didn't have the mouse delay.
I unchecked the Enable Hardware-assisted virtualization because to me this setting seems inappropriate if Avast virtualization is not installed, and on my Test Box it did cause a "minor performance issue".

It may never make a difference on any particular system, but I prefer it unchecked in case it might cause some other problem updating to a new Avast version later on...