How I (finally) installed AVG 8.0...

[Broni]

For those, who are not aware of my (and others) problems with installing AVG 8.0, please, check here: http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,55750.0.html

I gave it another stab last night, and I....installed it successfully.
The main culprit, which was messing up installation, appeared to be ThreatFire.
This is what I did (on Windows XP):

1. Download AVG 8.
2. Uninstall AVG 7.5, and ThreatFire.
3. Restart computer.
Note:I tried to install AVG 8 at this point - no dice. I tried to install Avast at this point - no dice (installation started, it went half-way, and installation window disappeared - there was a folder in Program Files, but Avast wasn't even listed in Add\Remove).
4. Check msconfig (there was still one ThreatFire entry - disable it), and services.msc (there were two AVG 7.5 entries - set startup type to Disabled).
5. Restart computer.
6. Open Registry Editor, search, and remove any entry containing:
- AVG
- Grisoft
- ThreatFire
- PCTools
7. Restart computer.
8. Start AVG 8.0 installation.
At some point, installation still complains about some other antivirus installed...hmmm
I traced this warning to Windows Security Center. WSC says, that no antivirus is installed, but it still displays warning about ThreatFire being disabled. Somehow, WSC knows, that ThreatFire was ever installed, and AVG installation must be reading from there. I have no other explanation.
9. Disregard AVG warning, and it installs with no problem.

Comments:
1. I'm sure all steps regarding ThreatFire were necessary. I'm not sure, if AVG 7.5 steps regarding services.msc, and registry were necessary, but I wanted to make sure, I can install *censored* thing this time.
2. It is ridiculous for any application forcing you to take all the above actions in order to install it.
Avast was only little bit better. I installed it on Vista last night. I had to uninstall AVG 7.5, and ThreatFire without any extra cleaning steps, but my complain is, that if I didn't find out, ThreatFire was causing problems, it wouldn't install either. In this department, Avast was even worse, then AVG, because installation just stopped at some point without any information why.
3. To evilfantasy: did you have ThreatFire installed on your computer?

[Jeanie]

This has helped me more than most sites I've been looking at...For me however, AVG wasn't the problem, Threatfire was.

First it went spazzo, opening pages, not allowing them to close, etc...So we went to uninstall...Hah! It wouldn't allow it.

So I tried to actually shred the *censored* folder, and it says that it's protected (from who, me, the admin???)

I took it off the start up so at least there's that...but I just know this little bugger is lurking in my computer...

So I'm going to try these suggestions a little bit later...

After some earned WoW time after all this searching for help lmao

Thank you!

[stevejohnson1958]

Just an additional FYI...

http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51504

Hope you found this thread at PC Tools useful...

I was using ThreatFire up until a month ago...

Though its premise is good...it's also a resource hog...like one of our other favorites...Norton.  I had been recommending ThreatFire to some of my members and clientele, but have since uninstalled the little demon and I've also notified PC Tools why the little "booger" no longer resides on my computer.

[alexK]

Last night I installed AVG8 (free) on 2 XP 's and 1 W2K without any problems.
-Downloaded AVG8
-Ran the Install.
-AVG8 automatically removed AVG7
-No problems up to now.

I believe that "ThreatFire" and other VirusCheckers consider an AVG Installation as a virus by itself, therefor the problems that occur.
Last year I dumped Norton and Ad-ware for that same reason.
I use only AVG and Windows Defender, and my Machines are sitting behind a Router. That should be sufficient.