Avast is undoubtedly one of the most powerful antivirus available nowadays. It comes with a variety of options to provide protection to your system including protection for your online services as well as securing your personal bank data. Besides, Avast has launched its own browser to ensure more protection from suspicious links as well as cyber theft by cybercriminals. However, if you want to know more about Avast, then you can hit the Avast Antivirus Review.
Further, if you want to know about the browser, then you can hit the Antivirus Secure Browser Review.
At times, there arises a situation where you might want to update the Avast antivirus, and while doing so, you get an error message. Many users have reported about can’t uninstall Avast setup is already running error which is one of the common errors often faced. So, if you are here with the same error and want to know how to fix it, then you are in the right place. Just go through this article to know how to fix “cannot uninstall Avast setup is already running”.
Prominent Causes Which Lead to the Error “Avast Setup is Already Running”:
You might be thinking about what causes this error in your Avast application. Basically, there is a file called the instup.exe. This file basically runs in the background of Windows, thereby, updating the virus definitions and downloading them. This file runs in the background of the Task Manager. Perhaps, if you try to end the task, then the file displays “The Operation could not be completed”. Thus, this might be a cause of the Avast uninstall setup is already running error. In addition to that, there can be many other reasons that cause this error.
No need to worry as now you can fix the error. And for that, you need to go through the solutions stated below and thereby fixing the error.
Effective Solutions to Fix the “Avast Setup Already Running” Error:
This error needs proper solutions or else it can repeat once again during another update. Here are some effective solutions that you can go try in order to fix the “Avast setup already running” issue.
Fix 1: Disable the Avast Self-Defence Module
The first thing that you can try is to disable the Avast Self-Defence module of the antivirus. The Avast Self-Defence Module comes equipped with the Avast antivirus. It gets installed on the system when you install the antivirus. This module provides protection to the Avast Antivirus application itself.
According to many users, this troubleshooting method has solved the error. So, check out the instructions below to disable the Avast Self-Defence module.
- Launch the Avast Application. Once it opens, now from the Avast interface, you have to click on the “Settings” button of the Avast.
- Then from the list of options, you have to navigate to the “Troubleshooting” and click on it.
- There you can find the “Enable Avast Self Defence Module.” Now, you have to unmark the box next to this option. And then, lastly, to keep the changes, click on OK followed by closing the box.
- Now, you have to restart the system and launch the Update. Then check if the error persists or not.
Fix 2: From Task Manager
Another process that you can follow is to kill the process instup.exe, which is running in the background of the Task Manager.
- Open your Task Manager by right-clicking on the windows bar. Now, look out for the “instup.exe”.
- After that, click on that and then click on the “End Task” which is located on the right side of the Task Manager.
- As soon as you do that, a window will pop up and ask you to update the antivirus.
This will end the process running in the background. However, if this does not solve your problem, then you can try out the next solution.
Fix 3: Remove the Avast Utility
Many users have reported that uninstalling Avast Utility has resolved the error. So, you can give it a try, if the above fix did not work. Here’s how to do that.
- You need to open your browser and hit the following URL.
www.avast.com/en-us/uninstall-utility
- There you will find “avastclear.exe”. Download it in your system.
- Once you have downloaded it, open the “Avastclear” option
- After that, you have to right-click on the “Yes” button. Similarly, click on “Yes” again.
- This will now restart your system and boot the system in safe mode.
- You now have to choose the right version of the Avast which you want to uninstall. And then click on Uninstall.
- Lastly, you have to restart the system to modify the changes. Once the system starts, check if the error is solved or not.
Fix 4: Check for Corrupted Files
This error can sometimes occur due to the presence of corrupted files in your system. Therefore, you might need to check for the presence of any corrupted files in your system. In order to check that, you have to go through the following steps.
- Press and hold the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- In the box, you have to type “cmd” or “Command Prompt” Or you can alternately do that by opening the Start Menu and search for the Command Prompt.
- Once the Command Prompt window opens, type the following in the middle of the Command Prompt and then hit the Enter button.
c: cd\chkdsk testing line
- This will check if there are any corrupted files in the system. However, if the window finds any corrupted files, remove it.
Fix 5: Repair the Avast Application
You can try this solution if none of the above solutions works for you. In this case, you need to repair the Avast application. Here is how you can do this.
- Open the Control Panel from the Settings.
- Then you have to change the option View by Category, which is located on the top-right corner of the Control Panel.
- After doing that, you have to navigate to the Uninstall a Program which is located under the Program and Features.
- Now, locate the Avast application. Once you find it, right-click on it and click on the Repair option.
Now this will let Windows check if there is an error with the application and thereby search for the solutions online and repair it automatically. After Windows completes it, you can now open the application and check if the error exists anymore or not.
Fix 6: Uninstall and Reinstall the Avast Application
Lastly, all you can try is to uninstall and reinstall the Avast Antivirus application. This is the simplest and easiest method although it is lengthy. Follow the below instructions to uninstall and reinstall the Avast application.
- Open the Control Panel from the Settings.
- Similarly, you have to change an option to view by Category, which is located on the top-right corner of the Control Panel.
- After doing that, you have to navigate to the Uninstall a Program which is located under the Program and Features section.
- Locate the Avast. Once you find it, right-click on it and click on Uninstall.
- Once the Avast is removed from the system, it will ask you to restart your system.
- After restarting your system, open the browser in it and hit the Avast official page. From there, download the installation file.
- Lastly, install the Avast again in your system.
Wrapping Up
Error “Setup is already running. Please try to start the setup later” is a serious issue that you need to solve. However, all the basic instructions are provided in the section above. You can simply go through the solutions mentioned above and carry out the fixation. Further, you can also check which solution fixes the error. Perhaps, if none of the solutions solves the problem, then you can get in touch with the professionals and thereby letting them how to solve this error.