Virus Icon Missing

**Baldie559** · 06-29-2008, 09:38 AM

I have avast antivirus and I usually see an icon in the bottom right corner but I no longer see it. After a couple restarts, no luck. The program is still running but no more icon. Any help? That was the only way I knew how to disable it if needed.

**Placehold** · 06-29-2008, 10:08 AM

Hello Baldie559

Firstly make sure that you aren't hiding the Avast icon

1. Right click the Taskbar and select Properties.

2. Select the Notification Area tab and then select Customize.

3. Find the Avast icon and from the drop down on the right hand side and select Show

4. Select Ok, Apply and then Ok, Hopefully it should reappear.

If not it might have something to do with the display options for the notification bar found in the registry editor.
Sometimes these files get logged up with past icons from unused and unistalled software and stop displaying icons properly.

1. Select Start, Click Run and type Regedit Press Enter.

2. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

3. On the right hand side select and delete

IconStreams
PastIconStreams

4. Close Regedit

5. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to bring up Task manager

6. Under Processes click Explorer and select End Task

7. Select File and New Task

8. Type Explorer.exe and press Enter

When you go into your Taskbar and Start menu properties you should see that at first the volume and network icons are still grayed out,
after ten minutes or after a restart these options should come back and are then usable but ultimately should make the Avast icon reappear

Regards

Craig

Carson · 06-29-2008, 10:26 AM

I might add that the first part of Placehold's advice—checking the Icons in your Notifications area—should be your solution, so definitely do that first.

But if you are afraid of the next part (the registry work), then the easiest, but most brutal, way to fix suspected corrupted files is to re-install the program right on top of itself. I'm not familiar with Avast!, but I would use this technique with AVG. You simply get the install program again (download it, or whatever) and run an install, as though you don't have it. It should automatically find the place where the original install is, and then overwrite all of its own files. Your icon will be restored.

This is like seeing a single breadcrumb on your kitchen floor, and getting your vacuum cleaner to clean it up. The advice you were given above is much more professional. But if the program will rewrite all its files in 2 or 3 minutes, it might still me more time-efficient than using a neater, tidier technique that ends up taking longer.

06-29-2008, 09:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Baldie559 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: California Posts: 624 OS: Xp and Vista	Virus Icon Missing I have avast antivirus and I usually see an icon in the bottom right corner but I no longer see it. After a couple restarts, no luck. The program is still running but no more icon. Any help? That was the only way I knew how to disable it if needed.

06-29-2008, 10:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
Placehold Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 847 OS: Vista home Premium My System	Re: Virus Icon Missing Hello Baldie559 Firstly make sure that you aren't hiding the Avast icon 1. Right click the Taskbar and select Properties. 2. Select the Notification Area tab and then select Customize. 3. Find the Avast icon and from the drop down on the right hand side and select Show 4. Select Ok, Apply and then Ok, Hopefully it should reappear. If not it might have something to do with the display options for the notification bar found in the registry editor. Sometimes these files get logged up with past icons from unused and unistalled software and stop displaying icons properly. 1. Select Start, Click Run and type Regedit Press Enter. 2. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify 3. On the right hand side select and delete IconStreams PastIconStreams 4. Close Regedit 5. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to bring up Task manager 6. Under Processes click Explorer and select End Task 7. Select File and New Task 8. Type Explorer.exe and press Enter When you go into your Taskbar and Start menu properties you should see that at first the volume and network icons are still grayed out, after ten minutes or after a restart these options should come back and are then usable but ultimately should make the Avast icon reappear Regards Craig __________________ Last edited by Placehold : 06-29-2008 at 10:10 AM.

06-29-2008, 10:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
Carson Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 41 OS: Windows XP, XP-64, Vista	Re: Virus Icon Missing I might add that the first part of Placehold's advice—checking the Icons in your Notifications area—should be your solution, so definitely do that first. But if you are afraid of the next part (the registry work), then the easiest, but most brutal, way to fix suspected corrupted files is to re-install the program right on top of itself. I'm not familiar with Avast!, but I would use this technique with AVG. You simply get the install program again (download it, or whatever) and run an install, as though you don't have it. It should automatically find the place where the original install is, and then overwrite all of its own files. Your icon will be restored. This is like seeing a single breadcrumb on your kitchen floor, and getting your vacuum cleaner to clean it up. The advice you were given above is much more professional. But if the program will rewrite all its files in 2 or 3 minutes, it might still me more time-efficient than using a neater, tidier technique that ends up taking longer.