calling all computer nerds!!, avast & vista Options

[jason]

windows vista home premiumavast 4.7.942
cannot obtain vps version (just re-installed)
amd dual core, 2gb ram
broadband internet
web based email
vista basic software (firewall, defender), also adaware

the problem -

had avast pro i guess during the trial, work perfectly! great software! guess the trial came near its end, no biggie just buy it, so i go and use the liscence key click ok, it does its thing great! windows side bar working perfectly, aol instant messenger working perfectly as well, windows media player working also. no new software, files, or updates were installed outside avast.

turn my computer off for the night go to bed

turn on computer next day:
-windows side bar starts, but the gadgets dont load, gui seems to have failed
-try and launch a video wmp does play it (open task manager view processes try n launch again, wmp launches for about 1second then closes, try and launch it with out loading a video (just clicking shortcut) same thing)
-aim doesnt launch either, same sitchuation as described above for windows media player.

i try restarting, reinstalling aim & wmp still problem

i run system restore to go back 2 days

computer runs normal again, cept avast is still about to expire

long story, short, tried liscense key 2 more times same problems, updated avast tried few more times still problem, uninstalled switched to home instead of pro still problem.

i really like this software!! but this seems to be too much of a problem/headache for me! i hope there is an easy fix, or even a way that i could just use the home version at least and upgrade later

any more specifics that i may not have listed??

thank you ahead of time for your time and efforts!

[forkee]

when you permanently register a program (as opposed to free trial software), it installs more files on your computer. usually you don't see a change until after you restart (which is why a lot of programs say you must restart your computer after installing stuff)

vista likes to quarantine or even automatically delete files it may think are harmful to your computer. the best thing i can think of is your registered version of avast loaded extra files into folders where other things are. vista didnt recognize the files and quarantined the whole folder, making other programs unable to run properly. other versions of vista would do the same so changing wouldnt solve anything.

more than half the programs out there arent even supported fully by vista. i run vista ultimate on a p4 3 ghz with 2 gb ram and there are stuff that wont work. doesnt mean there arent alternatives. istead of limewire i use frostwire, for example. they always come out with updates though, almost one every other day. it does seem to be accepting more programs so dont throw it out just yet.

Vista's slogan should be "Compatibility is just around the corner"