Unable to Scan

[AzatiPrime]

I installed Avast! a little while ago when AVG announced they would be ending support of 7.5.  The reviews of 8.0 just sounded awful and their support on the forums was somewhat troublesome.  I don't know that I like Avast as much as 7.5 but it's a nice little program.
My problem is when I run a full virus scan I always end up with a long list of entries that say "Unable to scan: The system cannot find the path specified."  When I right click the entry and try to run a scan on just that folder, the message changes to Unable to scan: Access is denied.  Most of the entries are in the C:\Users directory with a few in Program Data and Documents and Settings.  I tried hunting the folders down to scan them individually and they don't seem to exist on Vista.  Why is Avast trying to scan folders that don't exist and how can I get it to stop?

[Lisandro]

The majority of that files are just listed because you've set the report to include the hard errors. These files are on 'symbolic' links (Vista exclusive ones) and these links, not the file themselves, can't be scanned.
Don't worry.
Welcome to avast forums and feel free to ask any question you have.

[AzatiPrime]

I see.  Is there a way to disable those notifications?

[nightshade]

Can I just add that after doing a thorough scan of my hard drive I also received message like unable to scan as password protected, the thing is tho these files were for AdAware.

There were also messages saying that some cab files are corrupted, therefore unable to scan.

To my knowledge I dont have any corrupted archive files.

Any ideas?

[alanrf]

This problem for Vista users (only as far as I can see) came up in the last few days with one of my Vista users of avast.

When we took a look at the folders with "denied access" (which were all also in C:\Users directory) in a command prompt windows (or whatever it is called in Vista).  When we did all of the folders had a type of "Junction" shown). 

We finally worked out that all of the affected folders were ones the user had copied over from his old WinXP system to his new Vista system.

When the properties of these folders were changed so that the ownership became that of the owner of the new Vista system then the type "Junction" disappeared and the folders could be scanned by avast.

This may not be the same problem for you but worth taking a look.   

[AzatiPrime]

That can't be it.  I haven't synchronized this computer with any other computer and it's always been running Vista.  The folders just flat out don't seem to exist or at least aren't visible.

[Lisandro]

Can I just add that after doing a thorough scan of my hard drive I also received message like unable to scan as password protected, the thing is tho these files were for AdAware.

avast can't scan files that are password protected, it doesn't know the password.
There are many legitimate reasons why a file was password protected. For instance, the ones you're talking about. Lavasoft stores its data in a password-protected ZIP archives (to prevent other similar tools from messing up with them). It's really nothing to worry about - it's normal.

In AdAware and S&D, when you fix/remove things it keeps backup/recovery information so you can restore anything that was mistakenly fixed/removed, etc. After a reasonable time your system has suffered no adverse effects, you can get rid of the older recovery/backup points.

This should reduce the number of protected files.

There were also messages saying that some cab files are corrupted, therefore unable to scan.

These are just files that avast can't unpack for any reason. They're inert, won't harm. Don't worry. Could be avast fault, could be a problem with the package itself.

I see.  Is there a way to disable those notifications?

Program settings > Report > leave only infected files checked.

That can't be it.  I haven't synchronized this computer with any other computer and it's always been running Vista.  The folders just flat out don't seem to exist or at least aren't visible.

Vista uses circular links to %Program Files% and %Users% folders.
Avast is just reporting it. You can uncheck the options for reporting soft and hard errors on the avast settings.
It was a problem, already solved (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=27330.msg223192#msg223192). Now, the only thing that rests is the reporting.

[alanrf]

Well yes, these folders were not visible either until we forced the issue in the command prompt (and it was not a case of synchronization - just plain old copy some folders from the old system to the new - photos, music, documents etc).