I'm using the free version of Avast 4 Home Edition with XP Pro. I ran into the Zone Alarm problem causing hanging so after following your instructions by putting in ?:\System Volume Information\tracking.log into both exclusion lists I believe I'm good to go because I seem to be getting complete scans now.
Very good... you've learned fast...
1. Is it necessary to scan archived files when I do my scans?
It won't hurt on first scanning, after that maybe monthly or each two months...
2. I have done a scan checking to scan archived files and when completed I have a list (407) of files or paths Avast said it was unable to scan, is this anything to be concerned with? Do I do anything or just ignore the results if I ever scan achived files again?
Files that can't be scanned are just that, not an indication they are suspicious/infected, just unable to be scanned.
3. Since the free version doesn't let me set up a schedule to do say weekly scans, is it advisable to do manual weekly scans?
Answered (suggested) before, maybe 1 or 2 months in between.