i tried your 2 suggestions. # 1 didn't give me the option in the drop down menu to "Stop".

i then tried #2: i went into Safe mode, as admin., and then> Start > run > type services.msc > enter > find Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service. I assume I was to do as i did in #1, meaning> START> RUN, etc., to try to Stop it?

i'll try to post the screen shot now. I couldn't get the screen shot to post.

Here's why it said i couldn't REMOVE adaware: tHE wINDOWS iNSTALLER sERVICE COULD NOT BE ACCESSED. This can occur if you're running Windows in safe mode, or if installer is not correctly installed.

What can i do now to remove it? i hope you know

Repa,

i tried your 2 above remedies from yesterday, & they didn't work. I don't feel comfortable messing with the registery alone. Can you help me?

WC, what exactly didn't work? Were you not able to stop the Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service? Or did that succeed but you couldn't uninstall Ad-Aware from Add/Remove programs? Did you try using the Ad-Aware uninstaller? Exaclty what did you do in what steps, and what happened in each step?

I wasn't able to stop the Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service. From the beginning of this thread, I followed your instructions in the order that you gave them. I tried to stop, & disable lavasoft in normal mode & in Safe mode.

The following is the Error message I got in Normal mode:ADAWARE Error 1921. Service 'Lavasoft Adaware Service' (aawservice) Could not be stopped. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.

Then, in Safe Mode in Add/Remove it would not Remove the Adaware program. The reason was something about making sure I had Admin. privileges, which I was attempting the removal in the "Owners" level. So, I followed your instructions from the git go, & in the order that you gave them. And, I tried them 2 times, to no avail. Hope you can understand this.

I also tried using "Ad-Adware's own Uninstaller", it would not uninstall the program either. Don't remember the reason it gave for not removing the program.




Below I'm trying to describe the steps I took as you requested.
Ok, try this: In normal mode in an Administrator (owner) account select:

1. Start > run > type services.msc > enter > find Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service

2. Double-click on "Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service." A window will open. Under "Service Status" click the "Stop" button. The Stop button isn't highlited in order for me to click on it. So, i could not stop it.


3. Under "Startup Type" click on the drop-down menu arrow and select "Disabled." I tried disable, when i first used your initial instructions at the beginning of this thread, when at that time as now, the "Stop" button isn't highlighted, & is not clickable. so, there was no reason to reboot.


1. Start > Run and type cmd in the text box. Click ok.

2. At the command prompt, type msiexec /unregister and press Enter. (note the space between msiexec and /)

I tried this next, and it did not work either, I don't remember the reason it gave for not completing task.

Sounds like something may be corrupted in Ad-aware or the registry. How long ago did your problems start with Ad-aware? Can you restore your computer to a point before that? If you can, then try doing what I told you again about stoping the service. If you can't stop it and disable it in Normal mode, try doing it in safe mode in the Administrator account. If you are successful in doing this, you should be able to use the Ad-aware uninstaller to uninstall Ad-aware.

Here's something else to try that I just thought of to stop the service:

1. Open the Task Manager (press the Control+Alt+Delete keys simultaneously) and select the Processes tab.
2. Highlight the process AAWService.exe and click the End Process button. The process should disappear from the list of processes.
3. Highlight the process AAWTray.exe (if it is present) and click the End Process button.
4. Now try uninstalling Ad-aware using the Ad-Aware Uninstaller.

If none of the above works, you could also try installing the Anniversary Edition over the current version of Ad-aware and see if it will take. If nothing works, you are probably going to have to remove it from the registry.

I am traveling right now, but expect to be home Friday or Saturday. There are some things you need to be aware of going thru the registry and it will take some time to give you detailed instructions. There are a lot of entries for Ad-aware in the registry, and a few that should not be deleted because they actually refer to malicious sites in the Restricted Sites table

I'm looking into another free anti-spyware program that may be much better than Ad-aware and may eventually recommend it over Ad-aware in the near future. Not ready to do that just yet, though.

Repa, I'm not sure when problems with Ad-aware began, but, i just did a system restore on March 14;2009. That was a point before I noticed my computer becoming real slow, & acting strange. As I had mentioned, it seemed to help a little, but, it wasn't restored to being as fast it was before.

I haven't been able to try your suggestion of tutorial #4, jasons toolbox, etc., yet, since i've been stuck with this adaware problem. But, for some strange reason, I noticed last nite, that computer had started becoming faster, acting more normal, like it was before I reported the slow down to you. Why, I don't have a clue.

I'll just keep trying what you've suggested, trying to remove it, & wait til you get back home, & wait for your post here again. If I am able to make any progress, I'll report it here, & go from there.

Drive defensively, & get home safe!!!

Repa,
My computer seemed back to normal recently, so, I went to add/remove to again try to uninstall adaware. This time it worked. I then clicked to install the Anniversary Edition. And, it would have uninstalled the old version in the new install process.

1) Do you have any idea why my computer began to run so slow & then after a system restore, & a couple of weeks later, started to act normal again?

2) How should I set the settings on the Anniversary Edition, or do I just leave them as they are from the installation?

Well, that's good, WC, as the registry removal would have been difficult and time-consuming. As far as Ad-aware settings go, click the settings button and under the Update tab, make sure Automatic updates (2 places) are turned on, and check "Do not send files to Threatwork." Under the Ad-Watch Live! tab, make sure Processes Protection is checked and Anti-virus engine is unchecked or not active.

I don't know why things cleared up for you because I don't know what you did in what steps and in what order aside from restoring to an earlier date. Remember, when your computer starts acting abnormally, the first thing you should think of to do is to restore to an earlier date where you had no visible problems. You can always undo the restore if the problem is not fixed by doing that.

What about this. under adwatch Live! it has realtime protection > ON

Do i leave it on?

Repa,

My Ad-Aware hasn't updated automatically since I got the new Anniversary Edition. So, I click on it to do it manually?

Does yours update automatically?

So, I click on it to do it manually?

Yes