# AVG Antivirus Free Update Problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183 "2009-03-12T11:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/1 "2009-03-12T11:15:02Z")
I can’t get AVG Antivirus Free edition to update for two days now. This includes late at night, and I just reinstalled it 15 minutes ago Anybody that has it could you check if your’s will update, and let me know if does. Thank You. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/2 "2009-03-12T12:09:42Z")
Mine started that about a week or so ago. Claims it updates and wants to restart my machine but just does the same thing again on restart. I uninstalled, redownloaded and reinstalled yesterday so we’ll see what happens next. I wonder if this is Grisoft’s way of trying to push everyone to their paid product? ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/3 "2009-03-12T12:31:59Z")
I’ve manually tried to update mine and it goes through the process fine but says no new update files available. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/4 "2009-03-12T13:22:25Z")
Try clearing your AVG download cache: Tools -\> Advanced Settings then scroll down to Update -\> Manage. Hit the “Delete temporary update files” button. I have also seen this behaviour on PCs with FAT32 disk file systems. Try converting to NTFS (convert c: /fs:ntfs from a command prompt). ETA: Also, fresh installs of AVG often need a reboot before they will update the first time. If all else fails you can download the update files into a folder on your hard drive and tell AVG to update from that folder instead of the Internet. Download link [here](http://www.avg.com/uk.download-update). ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/5 "2009-03-12T14:31:38Z")
Update finished successfully. And uneventfully. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/6 "2009-03-12T14:36:34Z")
Mine’s updated today okay – just over an hour ago. I have seen the thing you’re describing several times. More often than ought to be poor connections. I suspect **tanstaafl** may have broken the code. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/7 "2009-03-12T14:38:18Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Update finished successfully. And uneventfully. Thank you I wanted to be sure it wasn’t a problem with their server. I fended off some malware and it did something to prevent the antivirus from updating. I think a reinstall will be easier than tracking down the problem from here on. I’ll use the backup drive for now. I wanted a cleaned up install again. Thanks everyone I won’t need anything further. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/8 "2009-03-13T04:41:38Z")
I had a similar problem. My avg license disappeared. Uninstalled and reinstalled, works now. Not sure what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/9 "2009-03-13T04:49:01Z")
I’ve replaced AVG with Avast about six months ago and I’m happy with it. It seems the geek consensus out there is that AVG is out and Avast and Avira are in. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/10 "2009-03-13T12:44:26Z")
Mine is working again since the uninstall/reinstall. Dunno what happened. > [@Zeldar](#): > > I suspect **tanstaafl** may have broken the code. 🙂 Yeah, I suppose the irony may have killed it. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/11 "2009-03-13T13:19:58Z")
I agree with Fantome, Avast! home edition is vastly superior to AVG IMHO and that of many others including security firms. Google “avast vs. avg” and you can find a lot of impartial comparisons. Not only that, it’s fun to say “Avast!” in a pirate voice. Yarrrr. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/12 "2009-03-13T18:19:48Z")
I started out fond of Avast!, but lately it’s been getting on my nerves. It’s scanners are taking up too much memory and making my internet connection slow. I only had those running that suited my needs, but each time I updated the database, I swear things got slower and slower. Finally, this week, after my computer hit 100% usage several time and drove me nuts, I decided to shut it down to see if it was the culprit. Things are better – no more 100% computer usage. However, even though I disabled the service (once I found out I had to turn off it’s “self-defense” mode, the service STILL shows up in Task Manager after boot up! I can end task, but I find this to be really annoying. I can’t figure out why it’s still showing up when I’ve completely shut it down!! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avg-antivirus-free-update-problem/489183/13 "2009-03-13T18:45:47Z")
Lately my AVG install on my main rig has, every couple of weeks, claimed that my current installation is corrupt so it can’t update. A reboot has resolved the problem every time.