Finally, a useful response, thank you.
1. Only Avast freezes. It seems to hang at about 29%. It did the same thing on C:
and then when I tried scanning another drive (F: ), Avast did the same thing.
I cannot click on the topmost right-hand "X" to kill Avast.
I go into Mask Manager and it shows Avast as "Not responding"
I kill it. Then I see about 60% CPU usage.
Then Avast closes.
I can repeat this over and over and get the exact same result.
2. I will now test as you suggest.
HANG.
A. Task Manager shows the Avast app as running, but CPU is 1%
B. No HD activity
C. everything else seems to work fine.
I paste in here the start and end of the report.
*
* avast! Report
* This file is generated automatically
*
* Task 'Simple user interface' used
* Started on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 3:31:00 PM
* VPS: 090505-0, 05/05/2009
*
PID 0
PID 4
C:\WINDOWS\system32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\csrss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cisvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\Program Files\PDF Complete\pdfsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\IoctlSvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wdfmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\alg.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wscntfy.exe
C:\WINDOWS\RTHDCPL.exe
-------many lines snipped out -----------
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvcpltrk.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdsp.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspARA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspCHS.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspCHT.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspCSY.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspDAN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspDEU.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspELL.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspENG.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspESN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspFIN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspFRA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspHEB.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspHUN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspITA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspJPN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspKOR.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspNLD.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspNOR.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspPLK.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspPTB.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspPTG.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspRUS.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspSKY.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspSLV.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspSVE.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspTHA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvdspTRK.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\NVHW.INF
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmob.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobARA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobCHS.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobCHT.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobCSY.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobDAN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobDEU.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobELL.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobENG.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobESN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobFIN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobFRA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobHEB.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobHUN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobITA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobJPN.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobKOR.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobNLD.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobNOR.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobPLK.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobPTB.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobPTG.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobRUS.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobSKY.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobSLV.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobSVE.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobTHA.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvmobTRK.chm
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\nvudisp.exe
C:\SWSetup\NVIDIA-162.52\setup.exe
C:\SWSetup\PDFComplete\pdfc_se_35031_rc4.exe
C:\SWSetup\SetPoint\CDDRV\CDDRV_Installer.exe
C:\SWSetup\SetPoint\khal\khal.msi
C:\SWSetup\SetPoint\setup.exe
C:\System Volume Information\MountPointManagerRemoteDatabase
---------EOF---------------
Odd thing #1 I can move the Avast interface around on the screen (using the mouse).
Odd thing #2 the scan ended at 30% It says the file is C:SWSetup\sw ver
but that is a dir not a file.
Thank you for whatever help you can suggest.