Avast 4.8 Hangs Up

[J Walker]

When scanning the entire local HD Avast 4.8 Home stops apparently at the same place repeatedly and doesn't complete the scan.  The file shown when the scan stops is System Volume Information, catalog.wci.  I have attempted to make a report of the files so I could see further detail as to the problem file, but when Avast hangs up I hit stop but it doesn't stop.  The only way out is to close the program, and that doesn't make a report.  I have Windows XP Pro.  Help.

[Chris Thomas]

Why don't you think about uninstalling Avast and reinstalling?

Hope you have the serial number written somewhere before that....

And try scanning afterward....

[J Walker]

I just ran Trend Micro House Call and it hung up too.  Ad-Aware also hangs up.  Is there a suggestion of how I might be able to create a report or log from Avast that might locate the bad file?  Are there any other suggestions of how I might find the bad file.  Thanks.

[Tarq57]

The file is a microsoft indexing file, and is part of one of the restore points. As such, it is unimportant unless you need to use that particular restore point.
Personally I wouldn't be too concerned with it, if the computer is otherwise running well, what I'd do is turn off system restore, reboot, turn it back on again. This will clear all restore points, so don't do it unless the computer is running well.

[YoKenny]

I hope you have SP3 installed as it has been available for over a year and a half.

How to turn off and turn on System Restore in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405

Ad-Aware has not kept up with the times and is not worth the hard disk space it consumes.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware MBAM) is a good with avast!
http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5756

Download it then update it then run a Quick scan and post its log here if you like.

[J Walker]

YoKenny,  Thanks for the tips.  I downloaded Malwarebytes and ran a quick scan.  The first good thing is that the scan completed. I found the Rogue Bullet Proof Spyware.  I will paste the log below.  I am running Avast now and will shortly see if it completes its scan.  I have SP 3.  Recently, I started using this laptop again after two years, so Windows XP had 70 updates.  There were several hours that I ran without the SP 3 update since it is not the first one to update. 

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.43
Database version: 3499
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11

1/5/2010 10:24:48 PM
mbam-log-2010-01-05 (22-24-48).txt

Scan type: Quick Scan
Objects scanned: 122666
Time elapsed: 9 minute(s), 48 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 6
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 0
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 1

Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{d724f038-df89-4a1a-83d1-fd9164b78077} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{502f728b-67b8-409e-bceb-7ee8632f321a} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{d2cd81e5-cc37-44b3-93b7-c52cb993ba34} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{da295dae-fce7-4168-bcb8-edc3a433bd97} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{ed40af28-f03f-492a-9542-e24945cd65aa} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{e6bb8b70-8ad2-43b6-a952-83e462ce80de} (Rogue.BulletProofSpyware) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\bpssc1.1.dll (Rogue.BulletP

[YoKenny]

Replying from my XP Pro system I see that a MBAM Quick scan only takes a little over 5 minutes so I am wondering how much RAM does the system have?

I am happy MBAM removed what it detected though.

RAM is the best and cheapest investment you can do for your system and Crucial Memory Advisor™ will help you select what RAM is best for your system:
http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx

Buy the way, IE8 is much better than IE7.

[J Walker]

   I re-scanned with Avast after removing the Bullet Proof Spyware but hung up again at the same place, System Information Volume.  From reading posts on this forum I found that I could exclude files and folders, so I excluded C:\System Information Volume and Avast completed a scan.  No viruses found.  It was a great feeling to hear the familiar sound of a the gong when the scan completed.  I am curious as to what is wrong in the System Information Volume but I guess I will live with it as it is on a backup laptop.  Might a boot time scan succeed on System Information Volume when a Windows scan will not?  If I run boot time do the same exclusions apply?  Many thanks to all who responded and helped. 
   YoKenny, my ThinkPad is a bit long of tooth.  It has a PIII 1.2 GHz processor and 1G memory.  Thus, it is a bit slower.  I may look at unloading some processes to help it out.  Thanks for all your help.
   The flexibility of Avast is apparent in addressing my issue.  I had never discovered or used anything but a full local HD scan previously.

[YoKenny]

Clear System Restore Points for Performance
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/mcgill1.mspx

At the bottom

The Settings Property Sheet allows you to select the percentage of the drive space allocated to restore points. The default setting is 12% of total drive size, but this can be increased or decreased depending on the number of restore points you want to have available.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/system_restore.htm  <== I always make it 5%

[J Walker]

YoKenny,  Thanks, I will reduce the maximum memory for restore.  My 40GB smallish HDs need all the help they can get.