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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: mmbt on January 10, 2009, 04:07:57 PM

Title: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 10, 2009, 04:07:57 PM
Hi everybody,

I have this trouble:

when I use the avast home edition scanner(the task manager say: ashsimpl.exe), and I set the quick scanning, Avast work fine,

but when I set the standard or depth analysis, AVAST works till the 10 % (more and less) after this point, it stops the scanning (the light on the hard disk is off, inside the task manager it does not appear any activity).

When I stop the scanning, with the stop button, and I try to close the scanner, Avast remains active, I can not stop the process even

with the task manager, if I want to close avast I have to restart the pc.

This trouble appears on the new pc, but also on the old pc, I have used the awscleaner to erase avast from the pc and I have tried to reinstall the software, but nothing to do.

Thanks and regards

Marc
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: alanrf on January 10, 2009, 07:36:34 PM
Please see this thread (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=41663.0) and try again with the new avast update.
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 12, 2009, 04:54:01 PM
I Have update the antivirus to :

Informazioni sull'aggiornamento corrente:
Tempo totale: 8 s

- Programma: Già aggiornato
  (versione corrente 4.8.1296)
- Vps: Già aggiornato
  (versione corrente 090112-0)

Server: download973.avast.com (74.54.138.130)
Files scaricati: 2 (0,02 KB)
Tempo di download: 3 s

But nothing to do.

Do you have any idea ?

Thanks
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: DavidR on January 12, 2009, 05:13:29 PM
Have (or did) you another AV installed in this system, if so what was it and how did you get rid of it ?

I have seen another topic in the forums recently where the remnants of another AV had this effect on the avast scan.
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 12, 2009, 05:32:17 PM
Thanks for your reply, no, no other av in the pc.

Avast is the first and the antivirus present on the pc, with spybot and zonealarm.

Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: DavidR on January 12, 2009, 08:14:15 PM
Thanks for your reply, no, no other av in the pc.

Avast is the first and the antivirus present on the pc, with spybot and zonealarm.

OK, some new systems come pre-installed with a trial version of an AV.

Spybot and zone alarm shouldn't effect the on-demand scan, assuming it is the free version of zone alarm with no AV.

Can you tell more about your system, what version of windows, how much RAM and what CPU ?

How much data is on the HDD that is being scanned ?
Does it stop/pause in the same folder ?
If so are there any large files in there like videos, etc.

When it stops/hangs is the avast icon rotating ?
Check the Task Manager and see if there is a Process using all the CPU % and report those using most ?
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 13, 2009, 02:06:44 PM
The previous pc is notebook hp athlon 3000+ 1gb ram 100gb momentus 5400 rpm hd (30 gb data to scan), vga nvidia.

The new pc is a desktop athlon x2 6000+ 2gb ram vga nvidia maxtor 300gb sata 300 190 gb free.

Avast  stops the scanning in the same folder but the folder is different in the 2 pc mentioned.

In the new pc avast stops the scanning in C:\programmi\zonealarm\...........

If I try to exclude this folder avast  stops the scanning in another folder, always in the c:\programmi\:  \yasavideoconverter.....

In these folders there ares not large files (no video no image etc). The bigger file present in these folders is 8 MBytes.

When it stops/hangs is the avast icon rotating ? no

There is no process ,in the task manager that make busy the cpu to the 50 % (seen that is dual core and avast does not use the 2 cpu).

The hard disk is idle when avast stops the scanning.

The process ashsimpl.exe is idle (00 % in the task manager) when avast stops the scanning in the folders indicated.
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: Lisandro on January 13, 2009, 02:48:02 PM
In the new pc avast stops the scanning in C:\programmi\zonealarm\...........
You need to use the Exclusion lists:

For the Standard Shield provider (on-access scanning):
Left click the 'a' blue icon, click on the provider icon at left and then Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and click on Add button...

For the other providers (on-demand scanning such as the screen-saver or the Simple User Interface):
Right click the 'a' blue icon, click Program Settings.
Go to Exclusions tab and click on Add button...

You can use wildcards like * and ?.
But be careful, you should 'exclude' that many files that let your system in danger.

(seen that is dual core and avast does not use the 2 cpu).
avast, as far I know, should use both for scanning...

For any possibility, is the ZoneAlarm antivirus part installed? ???
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: DavidR on January 13, 2009, 03:57:13 PM
@ mmbt

Your systems seem well up to the task and the data shouldn't be an issue.

So there is most certainly something else going on as a) the icon isn't rotating, indicating avast isn't scanning and b) the Process ashSimpl.exe should no activity. I presume the same is true of the ashServ.exe, the main avast scanning engine that does the work.

So if a common factor is zone alarm on both systems (we don't know what version, Home or Pro or Pro trial).

There have been some issues with zone alarm in the past and personally I don't feel it is a particularly good firewall, becoming rather bloated and the free version crippled in the strength of its outbound protection (in the hope you will buy the pro version). One of these problems relates to the tracking.log file located in the c:\system volume information folder/s (more than one if you have more than one partition). By excluding this file from on-demand scans seems to break this issue with ZA and the tracking.log file, see below.

- avast! Program Settings > Exclusions > Add and enter or copy and paste the following bold text ?:\system volume information\tracking.log. The ? is a single character wildcard which is used for the drive letter, this allows for the possibility of more than one :\system volume information folder, so you don't have to have two or more entries in the exclusions list.

Try adding that exclusion and see if that works by doing another scan.
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 13, 2009, 04:11:25 PM
Ohps,  ??? I use zonealarm free without antivirus, and yes zonealarm was installed also on the previous system.

Thanks
 ;D
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: DavidR on January 13, 2009, 04:19:30 PM
OK, give that tracking.log exclusion a go and see if it helps.
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: mmbt on January 13, 2009, 06:02:53 PM
- avast! Program Settings > Exclusions > Add and enter or copy and paste the following bold text ?:\system volume information\tracking.log. ......................

That's it !!! Works !!!

Thanks
Title: Re: slow scanning
Post by: DavidR on January 13, 2009, 07:17:28 PM
You're welcome.

I really can't figure out why zone alarm seems to have this interaction with that file.