xpob2res.dll stops scan and locks PC

[jet0037]

I run several antivirus and anti-spyware programs, including version 4.6 on my XP SP2 AMD 1500+ machine with 1 gig of memory.  Avast! and several others scan merrily along until they encounter:

    C:\Windows\Service Pack Files\i386\xpob2res.dll

At this point they simply stop.  With Avast!, I have no cursor and the clock keeps running (to no avail).  With AntiVir, the scan simply stops.  In both cases, I have to do a hard boot to restore the system.

What's going on?  And, how do I fix it?

Thanks,

JET

[igor]

If you say that you are running several antivirus and anti-spyware programs, the problem may simply be caused by a conflict between (some of) them.

Did you try to scan the file alone? (e.g. using the Explorer Extension)  If the file (xpob2res.dll) is the last you can see in the program, the "troublesome" file may actually be the next one in the program folder (i.e. this may be last one scanned correctly), or something similar.

[jet0037]

Thanks for the suggestion.  Apparently, it was not the case that anti-malware programs were conflicting, but rather that one (or more) of the files in the i386 subdirectory was infected/damaged.  I tried to edit the (apparently) offending file, but as soon as I navigated to the i386 directory, the machine froze up and required a hard boot.

In a word, the repair was to uninstall and re-install SP2.  Pain in the neck, but it worked.

FWIW, I think I got infected through the newsgroups.

JET

[igor]

Well, it actually may be connected. I mean, the probability of a conflict between two antiviruses is more likely to happen right at the moment when a virus is found (demonstrating as a system freeze). When you try to access the infected file, the antivirus action is triggered.

[CharleyO]

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Welcome to the forums, jet0037.   

As Igor states above, it is a well known fact that there mostly likely will be conflicts when there is more than one (resident) anti-virus program on a conputer. This is also most likely why your computer got infected. Neither of the anti-virus programs could protect your computer because they were "fighting" each other.

Please come back more often, learn more, and maybe help others.   


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