There's a problem with vps file

[igor]

Some kind of debug (or rather "crashlog") functionality is present in normal avast!; the boot-time scanner module, however, is rather a special beast, so we have omitted some non-critical parts.

The error 7B means "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect." - so I'd guess it might have been a scan started with an invalid path/filename. In any case, I don't think the problems are related.

[qm]

qm

just to confirm that igor is a very helpful member of the alwil team. 

One of the most remarkable things in this forum is that you get the help of the real developers of the avast product.  Compare that with AVG and just despair of that ever happening with Symantec.  That's one of the main reasons I have stayed around in this forum.  They not only help but they also listen ... and it is clear that the concerns of users help to influence the shape of the product.

So ... you can believe that we are all in league with the forces of darkness to persuade you to accept malign updates, or you can check that anything igor offers you is coming from the avast website and be grateful for such customized assistance.

Up to you ... but there really are some good folks still on the net.

There's really no reason to take this personally. Its just good common-sense computer security. Nothing more, nothing less.

Neither Igor, nor anyone else here, should have hurt feelings because an Avast user is unwilling to accept an executable from an individual here.

I agree that Avast is a great product with a helpful forum, but
I don't know igor, or anyone else here for that matter, from Adam. Its nothing personal, and I do appreciate the offer, but I don't accept executables from friends, let alone strangers. This should be understood by anyone with a little computer security savvy, and it shouldn't be taken personally or cause any hurt feelings. A lot of software help forums are manned by people who are not the developers or part of the company, but just volunteers. Now, how is someone supposed to know if an offer of an executable given on a help forum is really from the developer?

Well, come to think of it, there's one simple way that I know of, which wasn't mentioned in this case. If the executable were signed with the same certificate used to sign the installers, then I would know it comes from one of the developers.

Better still from an efficiency (and customer trust) point of view to put any enhanced debug version of the executable on the official download website with special instructions for customers who are having problems with the original installer version. That way, there's no reason for doubt as to the source of the executable.

[igor]

I'll see if this executable can be signed.

Anyway, I'm not going to create a universal debug version, neither I think it's a good idea to make a special download on the main web - it would only confuse most of the users.
I just want to check what exactly is happening on your computer - from the log file (which you may call a debug feature), I've got a rough idea where the problem occurs, so I'm just trying to narrow the area, e.g. by putting a few more debug messages around the specified place.

[qm]

Some kind of debug (or rather "crashlog") functionality is present in normal avast!; the boot-time scanner module, however, is rather a special beast, so we have omitted some non-critical parts.

The error 7B means "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect." - so I'd guess it might have been a scan started with an invalid path/filename. In any case, I don't think the problems are related.

In this case, the error was using Windows 98 SE, so it shouldn't have anything to do with a boot-time scan since that scan isn't available in Windows 98, right?

I've since done a clean uninstall, and installed the latest version (4.6.763 & vps 0606-3). No errors have shown up in the logs, and everything seems to be working so far. Same with an iVPS update to 0607-0.

BTW, didn't Avast 4.6.763 originally ship with vps 0606-4, or am I confusing it with the update of the vps after the install? I noticed that the installer I downloaded today starts with vps 0606-3.

Thanks for the help.

[igor]

I don't know what VPS was sent with the original installer, but I doubt an older version could be included in a later build... so I think it was 0606-3 all the time.

OK, I've prepared a slightly modifed version of the boot-time scanner that writes some more info into the log file. I'm not saying it will pinpoint the problem immediatelly, but it should get us a little closer at least.
The modified executable can be downloaded here. If you have the older version of avast! installed, it's not necessary to update it (if you want to stick with it). It's enough to:
1. Schedule a boot-time scan
2. Replace the aswBoot.exe with Windows\System folder with this modified version (possibly backup the original).
3. Restart the computer

[CharleyO]

***

Hi qm,

I do not think alan took anything personal and I know I did not. You did not hurt our feelings. And yes, you should be careful who you accept files from. No one here will fault you for being careful in this regard. As the old saying goes ... better safe than sorry!   

 Being that we know you are new here and both of us have been on this forum for some time, we only wanted to assure you that it would be OK to accept help from Igor.   


***

[igor]

One thing I forgot to say: avast! setup/updater will notice that the aswBoot.exe file has changed and will replace it with the original version (soon - probably after the reboot). So, if you'd want to try multiple times, make sure you have the "right" file in system folder before each reboot.
If needed, I can supply an additional signature to prevent this replacement, but I think it's not necessary for this test.