Very slow or hanging reboot

I installed Returnil System Safe 2011 a month or two ago, and lately it's been a problem to reboot after using Virtual Mode. It takes much longer than before Returnil was installed, and sometimes it gets just past the Welcome screen and hangs until I turn the computer off, then restart it. Is there any way that Returnil could be causing this? I had this same problem a couple of years ago, and it disappeared a week or so after uninstalling Returnil. I thought I'd give Returnil another try, but I'm having problems again.
I can't use Virus Guard as I have the free version, but I've found no way to turn off Virus Guard updates.
I have Vista Home Premium x64, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, and am using Avast Free AV. I reboot once a day.

 

Regarding the startup slowness - do you have the cache wipe option active (Virtual Mode > Settings > Advanced > "Wipe all disk changes...")? If yes, this option can cause a delay in start up as the program performs the random wipe of the cache.

The Virrus Guard component is available for a registered free version as opposed to a non-registered free version. Regarding the updates, make sure you have the data collection policy set to never and set the real time monitor to off.

 

Thanks for your reply, Coldmoon. I have the cache wipe unchecked - not activated. And even so, would it account for a delay on the order of 15 minutes? I waited that long once just to see what would happen before forcing the computer to turn off. When I started it up again, it took 5-6 minutes as usual. I've rebooted the computer a few times after using it without using Returnil and haven't had any hangs or delays more than the normal slowness, and it's never taken 15 minutes to reboot before I installed Returnil.
I have a non-registered free version. I've just changed the data collection policy to 'never', but the real-time monitor has always been off. Updates are set at Never, yet it updated last night.
I just looked at Task Manager. Even though I'm not using Returnil right now, Virus Guard is disabled, and automatic updates are set to Never, RAVCpl64.exe is still running. I'm assuming that's the .exe responsible for Virus Guard. If that's correct, why is it running when it's not enabled? Is there a way to prevent it from running at all, since I'm not using it?
Also just found out that even though I had set data collection to 'never' before posting pre-edit, I see that it's now reset itself to 'report anonymously'.

 

It sounds like there is some interaction at boot that is causing the excessive start up timing. Can you open a support ticket and send us the rvs3 logs and MSINFO32 report we commonly request so we can take a closer look at what is going on with your client (see posts in the Returnil forums for the details - posted many times)?

The "not remembering preferences" issue has me leaning towards a database corruption of some kind, but coupled with the slow start up has me also thinking it could be related to a partial incompatibility with another application or system driver on your system.

Updates continue post-VG deactivation: With data collection deactivated, the likely cause is cloud updates not deactivating (known REL13 & REL14 issue) as well as known good content updates for the A_E component.

Mike

 

I just emailed the requested info. In addition, I just went through and set VG data collection policy to 'do not collect' and it seems to be remembering now. I'm thinking I may have missed clicking on Apply when I did that previously.
If I don't have cache wipe activated, won't the cache fill up eventually to the point where I'll have to do that anyway?

 

The cache is overwritten with each new boot session. This means that when you restart the computer, RVS/RSS simply starts at the beginning of the cache and overwrites what is there from any previous virtual mode session.

This is not as comprehensive as the cache wipe as "this" boot session might not have as many changes to track as the "last" boot session and thus may not entirely write over what was there previously or in a boot session from an older time. Also note that the cache uses available free space which may or may not be equal to the free space that was available in a previous boot session which means that some of that content in the cache may have been overwritten by "permanent" information saved to disk.

Another point to consider is whether anything during the current boot session was tracked (ref: short web surfing session that was not consistent with normal use patterns). If nothing was tracked in the cache, the cache might not need to be wiped "this" time, etc...

Mike

 

Ok, that makes sense. Just didn't want to run into additional problems.
One other thing has cropped up. After disabling data collection the Returnil icon turned yellow. I started Returnil again last night, and the icon stays the same color whether Returnil is on or off. Not a problem for me, but is that normal? Also, if I register Returnil would I still be using the free version? And would an active Virus Guard conflict in any way with Avast, either while using the computer or during reboot?

 

The program is set by default to change color to warn when the Virus Guard is deactivated, you can change this to warn on deactivation of the Virtual mode in preferences > Administration tab.

The thing to keep in mind with Avast! AV; especially in the most recent release builds is that it contains a form of application sandboxing. This may or may not cause interference with the installation of RVS/RSS and/or start up timing. The most common solution is to uninstall both Avast! and Returnil, then install Returnil completely (with restart) and then to install Avast! second.

In most cases this resolves the start up slowdown issue to a great extent, but is not a universal solution as some continue to experience the start up issue. In all cases however, Avast! AV and the RSS Virus Guard will work as intended and will not interfere with one another at the antimalware level.

Mike

 

I did as suggested, uninstalling and reinstalling Returnil and Avast! in that order of reinstallation. I'll post back on how it goes, good or bad.
I got one message re: license (I opted for unlicensed during installation).
"Policy 'Free Edition - for home use only': Assumed license assignment expiration date (Tue Oct 23 04:17:00 GMT 2012) is already passed."
However under Status/Overview it states expiration date is Oct. 22, 2014. Could you please clarify that?

 

Shoot me a PM with your Installation ID (preferences > Advanced tab) and I can take a look at the server log on the registration.

Mike

 

Uninstalling Avast! & Returnil and then reinstalling Returnil first, then Avast! has worked a treat. My computer reboots beautifully, and only takes about 4 minutes start-to-finish. No hanging, no muss, no fuss. I've rebooted several times more than once a day to see if the previous problem of gradual increase in time occurred, and that hasn't happened at all. As an added note, I installed Avast! without the sandbox feature activated. In the past it only seemed to react on portable programs, all of which I'd been using well before Avast! and I knew they were safe. Now, with Returnil, the sandboxing would be redundant anyway. Thanks, Coldmoon, for all your help. Much appreciated. I used to use Returnil all the time when I had XP, but could never get it to work with Vista. Now it works just fine.