Avast Stuck On Performance Issues

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According to Avast, an element of Windows 10 April 2018 Update is incompatible with the Avast Behavior Shield and is causing issues. The company immediately rolled out an update to fix the issue but warns that this isn’t Avast specific issue and might affect other softwares as well.

  1. Avast Stuck On Performance Issues 2016
  2. Avast Stuck On Performance Issues Free
  3. Avast Stuck On Performance Issues Today

Officially Avast Antivirus 2018is compatible with Windows 10 as well with both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. However, some users may have issues with running Avast on the latest Windows. This article covers the most known ones, as well as solutions for fixing them.

Avast stuck on performance issues video

So far, this article covers three issues

  1. Avast Uninstall Utility In order to view this page correctly, you must have a JavaScript-enabled browser and have JavaScript turned on. We apologize for any inconvenience.
  2. The subreddit is only for support with tech issues. Please be as specific as possible. Avast full system scan gets stuck at 7% (self.techsupport). Has Avast released a new update for the software that is compatible with win10? If not, you may want to wait for that.
  1. BSOD after Anniversary Update
  2. Cortana menu critical error
  3. Avast SecureDNS can’t run

General advise to avoid any compatibility issues between Windows and Avast antivirus is to keep both of them updated to the latest version. Make sure you are running the latest Avast version available. See more details in our article about updating Avast.

Issue #1 – BSOD After Installing Anniversary Update

The major issue which affected many Avast users and caused a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) after they installed latest Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Cause of the issue was the incompatibility between one of the Avast drivers (aswvmm.sys) and Intel CPU from the Skylake family. However, Avast has promptly identified the issue and released an emergency program update which fixed the issue.

Solution #1.1 – Update your Avast before installing Anniversary Update

Since the issue has been officially fixed by Avast, you just need to make sure you are running the latest compatible version.

  1. Make sure your Avast is updated to the latest program version by going to settings » Update » PROGRAM » click on ‘Update‘. For more information about the program update check our guide ‘How to Update Your Avast Antivirus 2018‘
  2. Download Windows 10 Anniversary Update from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history » click on ‘Get the Anniversary Update now‘
  3. Run the download file ‘Windows10Upgrade28084.exe‘ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation

Installation of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Solution #1.2 – Repaid your Avast before installing Anniversary Update

Another way how to get the latest version of Avast is to repair the current one. Internet connection is needed, of course.

  1. Repair your Avast by going to Programs and Features » select Avast » Uninstall/Change » Repair
  2. Once the repair process of Avast will finish, restart your computer
  3. Download Windows 10 Anniversary Update from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history » click on ‘Get the Anniversary Update now‘
  4. Run the download file ‘Windows10Upgrade28084.exe‘ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation

Issue #2 – Critical Error: Start menu and Cortana aren’t working

This one is probably the most popular issue on Windows 10. It basically locks up the Start menu and Cortana so you can’t use them at all which is really painful.

Although many tech guys are saying it’s caused by Avast or any other antivirus, it’s not true. This issue is caused solely by Microsoft and a bug in Windows 10.

Just make sure you are running the latest version of Avast before trying any of the solutions below.

Solution #2.1 – Boot into Windows Safe Mode

Avast Stuck On Performance Issues 2016

If you are lucky the only thing you need to do is boot into Windows Safe Mode and then restart to the regular mode. If you are not sure how to do it, follow the instructions below:

  1. Open Windows Run dialog by simultaneously pressing Windows key on your keyboard and ‘R’
  2. Enter ‘msconfig’ into Windows Run dialog and confirm
  3. System Configuration dialog will open. Go to ‘Boot’ and tick the option ‘Safe boot’
  4. Confirm and restart your computer
  5. Once you are in the Safe Mode just restart again into regular mode and the critical error with Start menu and Cortana should be gone

Alternatively, you can boot into Safe Mode using the Advanced start-up:

  1. Go to Power in the Windows Start menu, hold ‘Shift’ and click on ‘Restart’. This also works on the Sign-in window
  2. Your computer should reboot and display Recovery options. Go to ‘Troubleshoot’ » ‘Advanced options’ » ‘Startup Settings’ » ‘Restart’
  3. Windows will reboot and the Startup Settings should display. Select Safe Mode by pressing F4 key on your keyboard
  4. Once you are in the Safe Mode just restart again into regular mode and the critical error with Start menu and Cortana should be gone

Solution #2.2 – Add new user account to Windows

Another solution which helped some users is creating a new local user account in Windows. If you are not sure how to do it, follow the instructions below:

  1. Right-click on the Start menu icon and select ‘Command Prompt (Admin)’
  2. Enter ‘net user [username] [password] /add’ where username and password is the name and password of the new account. For example ‘net user Paul P4ssw0rd! /add’

Alternatively, you can create a new user from the Control Panel:

  1. Open Windows Run dialog by simultaneously pressing Windows key on your keyboard and ‘R’
  2. Enter ‘control userpasswords2’ into Windows Run dialog and confirm
  3. User Accounts window will open. Click on ‘Add…’
  4. A sign-in window will open. Click on ‘Sign in without a Microsoft account’ at the bottom of the screen
  5. Add a user window will open. Click on ‘Local account’ at the bottom of the screen
  6. Enter the user details for the new account, click on ‘Next’ and ‘Finish’

Solution #2.3 – Run the System File Checker tool to repair corrupted system files

You can try to repair the corrupted or missing system files using the Windows tool called System File Checker or SFC. It’s quite simple and apparently worked for lots of users:

  1. Right-click on the Start menu icon and select ‘Command Prompt (Admin)’
  2. Type down ‘sfc /scannow’ and hit ‘Enter’ and wait after it finishes
  3. Restart your computer the Start menu and Cortana should be working again

Issue #3 – Avast SecureDNS can’t run on this network

Recently many of the Avast users have reported the issue with Avast SecureDNS on the official forum. SecureDNS is a premium feature which protects you from phishing attacks using fake DNS servers. It is available only in the paid products Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security and Avast Premier.

When this issue happens Avast will display a message ‘SecureDNS can’t run on this network’ in the status monitor. Although it will stay in the ‘green’ state like on the screenshot below.

Avast Stuck On Performance Issues Free

Solution #3.1 – There is no solution at the moment 🙁

So far there is no available solution, but Avast is aware of this issue. Also, you don’t need to worry about your security, it doesn’t have any impact on Avast detection.

Additional Notes

Although we have used Avast Free Antivirus 2018 screenshots in this article, these steps are also applicable for all Avast Antivirus solutions (i.e. also for Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, or Avast Premier) running the latest version available.

Avast Stuck On Performance Issues Today

We have also a similar guide for compatibility issues on Windows 8 / 8.1.

If you are having any different problems with Avast Antivirus and Windows 10, just let us know in the comments below. Same if the described solutions and fixes didn’t work for you.