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I'm stuck in a boot loop. Can't even get into safe mode. More on the situation here and here. This happened when I reinstalled Avast.

I want to now uninstall Avast.

This is how I'm thinking of doing it...

  • Install Avast in another computer.

  • See what files were added and their path.

  • Boot in first computer through a Linux live disk (Xubuntu 18.04 LTS live USB), or HirenBootCD.

  • Go to those files and delete them one by one.

What do you think of the plan? Any easier way of doing it?

Also, the computer I'll be installing Avast in is 32 bit. The computer I'm working on is 64 bit. Will there be any difference in the amount of files Avast will install or where it'll install them? If so, how to get around that without having to look for a 64 bit computer?

[Windows 7 | 64 ]

Doc Brown
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JJrussel
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    [XY problem](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/66378/267029). Your goal is to fix your computer after Avast installation that prevented it from booting, but you're asking a completely different question that focuses on an approach which is overcomplicated and probably ineffective. Have you tried to use System restore? – gronostaj Nov 06 '20 at 11:41
  • Have you seen the links I posted? – JJrussel Nov 06 '20 at 11:47
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    Your not going to successfully remove Avast the way you describe. Furthermore, the simple fact is, there are not good tools on Linux to make changes to the Windows registry hive. The fact your unable to boot into Safe Mode suggests there are more problems than just the file it’s getting stuck on. – Ramhound Nov 06 '20 at 12:01
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    You're right, I should've looked at your links first. Anyway, your approach won't work. Start by taking a full disk backup now with Clonezilla, [DISM](https://superuser.com/q/1581803) or whatever, you may want to restore this system state later. Then I'd swap entire registry for a new copy (not empty, just non-customized), manually extract last good registry from last System Restore point, load it manually and try to perform the restore. I did it once on XP years ago, it's possible. Reinstalling could be way easier though. – gronostaj Nov 06 '20 at 12:19
  • The problem is not just the files but rather app data. I have several software with important data in them. – JJrussel Nov 06 '20 at 12:28
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    That's what backups are for. – Tetsujin Nov 06 '20 at 12:55
  • How can I backup the app data and settings, install the same software later (when not sure which version I was using) and then restore the data and settings (including autosave)? – JJrussel Nov 06 '20 at 12:58
  • @gronostaj I'm unsure if it was implemented after Windows 7 or a later version, but Windows stores a backup copy of the system registry stores in `%WinDir%\System32\config\RegBack` – JW0914 Nov 06 '20 at 13:05
  • @JJrussel Have you tried booting to WinRE and issuing `bootrec /fixmbr && bootrec /fixboot && bootrec /rebuildbcd`? _(unsure why Windows 7 is still be used since it's not a secure OS unless one is on a LTS branch)_ – JW0914 Nov 06 '20 at 13:07
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    @JW0914 It was [introduced in Vista](https://neosmart.net/wiki/fix-registry/#Command_Prompt) apparently and [disabled in Windows 10 version 1803](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4509719/the-system-registry-is-no-longer-backed-up-to-the-regback-folder-start), so that could be a good idea! – gronostaj Nov 06 '20 at 13:12
  • @JW0914 Just did https://imgur.com/EDxSVcd – JJrussel Nov 06 '20 at 13:29
  • @JJrussel And did you reboot to see if it boots normally? _(it doesn't matter if `/rebuildbcd` finds an OS, as the OS entry should be added to the new BCD store upon reboot, else via Startup Repair in WinRE after rebooting)_ – JW0914 Nov 06 '20 at 13:34
  • Yes. Just did. Same result :/ – JJrussel Nov 06 '20 at 13:43

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