Automatic Updates / Freeze On Start Up

I have just taken up my third year subscription to Bitdefender and installed Bitdefender2009 onto my PC which is running on Windows XP.

The installation was, to me, incident free.

When launched it advised me that there were two things that required urgent attention. The first was a full scan, which I ran and it took about an hour. I had run full scans on my previous incarnation of Bitdefender, but thought it was requesting me to do this because it was the first time 2009 had been run on my PC. The scan did not reveal anything untoward, just some Cookies that it did not like and deleted.

The second thing it suggested required attention was an update. I would have expected that anyway. So I attempted to 'Fix It'. At this point a pop up appeared with the progress of the update. Nothing actually happened at all. Iwondered if that was because my updates were in fact up to date. But the little icon in the toolbar still stated it required an update. I tried several times and nothing actually happened.

I believe I then made the mistaken assumption that I should restart my PC.

My PC comes on up to the point of my desktop background appearing and then appears to hang. It has been restarting for almost an hour and a number of icons have appeared on my desktop and the Start bit of my toolbar has appeared. Double clicking the icons has no effect at the moment and the cursor changes to the egg timer when placed over the toolbar at the bottom. I am not actually able to use my PC at all and am reporting this on a laptop I have at my disposal today - it was the intention to install Bitdefender 2009 on that also. But after the experience I have just had, I am reluctant to do so in case I prevent use of this also.

I believe from reading other posts that 2009 does not have a good relationship with ZoneAlarm Firewall and so I think the first thing I need to do, when the PC eventually comes on to do is disable that until either Bitdefender or ZoneAlarm can resolve the compatibility issues - assuming they have a desire to do so.

My questions here are (And please excuse my PC inexperience)

If I switch on my PC and leave it long enough, will it eventually get to a stage where it is usable?

If so, apart from disabling ZoneAlarm Firewall, could you please advise what settings I should apply to Bitdefender2009 to prevent this incredibly slow start up process recurring? My old Bitdefender has never been a problem before and regularly updated itself. This version seems to have a glitch or two?

I have never had to start my PC up in safe mode and so haven't a clue what it actually is. If I were to start it in safe mode, I also wouldn't have a clue what to do in there - As I said, very much a novice when it comes to PC problems.

I shall follow the Forum fro work tomorrow and any advice given will be gratefully received.

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Alex Stanciu

Hello babyspicefan ,

For start please try disabling Zone Alarm from loading at startup. Here is what you have to do :

1. Click on Start from Windows and choose Run . Type msconfig and then click on Ok .

2. The System Configuration Utility window will be displayed .

3. Please click on the Startup tab and look after the Zone Alarm process :zlclient.

4. Uncheck it , click on Apply then click on Close .

5. Reboot your computer and look if you have the same issues .

Disabling Zone Alarm from loading at startup does not mean that the program itself is disabled . You can always check it status opening it from its shortcut .

I have also sent you a response to the support request that you have made through the email . Please reply with the resulting reports attached .

Thank you .

babyspicefan

Hello babyspicefan ,

For start please try disabling Zone Alarm from loading at startup. Here is what you have to do :

1. Click on Start from Windows and choose Run . Type msconfig and then click on Ok .

2. The System Configuration Utility window will be displayed .

3. Please click on the Startup tab and look after the Zone Alarm process :zlclient.

4. Uncheck it , click on Apply then click on Close .

5. Reboot your computer and look if you have the same issues .

Disabling Zone Alarm from loading at startup does not mean that the program itself is disabled . You can always check it status opening it from its shortcut .

I have also sent you a response to the support request that you have made through the email . Please reply with the resulting reports attached .

Thank you .

Alex, thank you for your response. The e-mail referred to has noy yet arrived. I assume it is on it's way.

As I am not sure I will be able to use the laptop that was available to me yesterday, I am just wondering if there is any other way to disable Zonealarm, should I need to try. I turned on my PC this morning before I left for work. By the time I had left (An hour later), the desktop icons had appeared and the left hand side of my toolbar had also appeared. Double clicking on those had no result, as was expected really. I would hope that the start up would complete within the intervening 9 hours. If it does then I would hopefully be in a postion to follow the instructions that you gave. If it doesn't then I would wish to find an alternative way of disabling Zonealarm.

From your experiences, would you have expected my PC to have reached a position were I am able to follow your instructions within the 9 hours? If you believe it should be ready then I don't really want to trouble you for an explanation of an alternative way of disabling zonealarm.

I am only asking in anticipation that it does not startup in order that I can print off the reply and take it home with me.

Thanks again

babyspicefan

The a-mail referred to in the response did not arrive. I checked my junk mail.

My PC was still unusable when I got home. I got the answer that I asked for regarding an alternative way of disabling Zonealrm from another forum.

I disabled Zonealarm and the problem persists.

I called the helpline and spoke to a couple of helpful people, who forwarded an email to my alternative email . I was advised to unistall bitdefender, which I have done. That immediately cured the startup problem, but it also left me without anti virus protection. I have therefore re-installed Bit Defender 2009 for the simple reason that I am not prepared to pay again for another alternative. It again required 2 critical fixes - Full scan and an update. The full scan ran again taking an hour. The update does not work at all, though I get no error message, it just does not respond to the 'Fix' command. I now have a limited use of IE8 and Microsoft Outlook will now not open at all.

I have never experienced problems with Bitdefender in the three years that I have used it, but Bitdefender 2009 is proving to be a very big disappointment. It was brilliant in its simplicity.

I am unable to attach the required files to this message and so am sending them via hotmail. Ticket ID:200908031012755

Please advise how I can resolve these issues and have full functionality and speed back on my PC whilst still running Bit Defender 2009.

I wish to install a Bitdefender 2009 License on a laptop that has also previously had Bitdefender on it. It operates on Vista. Am I going to encounter the same problems as I have on this PC? I am conscious that the current Bitdefender subscription runs out on that laptop at the end of this week and the owner has no desire to be unprotected against viruses.

Alex Stanciu

Hello babyspicefan ,

We have sent you a response to the email that we got from you and we are waiting your reply . You should not have any issues in installing BitDefender on your computer that have Vista installed as long as no other antivirus programs are installed on that system .

Thank you .

babyspicefan

Hello babyspicefan ,

We have sent you a response to the email that we got from you and we are waiting your reply . You should not have any issues in installing BitDefender on your computer that have Vista installed as long as no other antivirus programs are installed on that system .

Thank you .

Can you please advise if there is going to be any additional cost inplication in using BitDefender InternetSecurity 2009 or will it allow me to download the application without taking further credit card details / payment?

Could you please clarify, not just for me, but for those also experiencing the same difficulties - When the subscription expires on this product, will I then have to purchase the more expensive BitDefender InternetSecurity product again, whereas before I had a free firewall that was working perfectly well with the old version of Bitdefender Antivirus?

With regards to the Laptop using Vista. I have an unexpired Bitdefender subscription on there at the moment (A week or so left). Can you please advise if this would be classed as an 'other antivirus program installed on my system?' Would I need to uninstall this when the subscription expires before I then install Bitdefender 2009?

I apologise for all the questions, but as I cannot get reliable access to my PC at home, I am having to ask from work and then note the answers for use at home later. I don't always have access to the laptop.

babyspicefan

Hello babyspicefan ,

We have sent you a response to the email that we got from you and we are waiting your reply . You should not have any issues in installing BitDefender on your computer that have Vista installed as long as no other antivirus programs are installed on that system .

Thank you .

I have followed the instruction sprovided in that e-mail. I am now being told by the software that the license key is invalid. Would it be possible to please provide me with an alternative key. I should then hopefully be able to discover that this problem is resolved.

Thanks in anticipation

Alex Stanciu

Hello babyspicefan ,

Please open BitDefender and click on the Register button from the bottom. After that select "I want to register the product with a new key" and type in your serial number . After that click Finish in order to complete the registration wizard.

In case you have the same issue , please reply to our email with a screen-shot of the error message that you receive .

Thank you .

babyspicefan

I no longer seem to have the problems that I was having earlier in this thread and so I thank you for your assistance.

I wonder if you can tell me ...

How do I know Bitdefender is actually working? It used to say it was scanning incoming mail, but it does not appear to do that anymore.

Similarly, whilst I have activity bar enabled, it does not appear to show on my screen.

Am I doing something wrong?