AVG free taking hours

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:37 pm

I'm using AVG free 8.0.138 and it's going for 4 1/2 hours and counting.

It seems like it's getting stuck on c:Windows\\_default.pif file.

My HD is a 500GB with almost 400GB free.

Any ideas?

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:23 pm

If you open task manager and there is a process named _default.pif, the computer is infected with a virus, kill the process and delete the file manually.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:48 pm

See link http://screencast.com/t/zzj2iLR7C for _default file.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:14 pm

That shortcut was the only one I found. Could not find \"target\".

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:19 pm

Actually come to think of it, given the nature of how antivirus programs update the screen, its probably halting on the next file it opens instead of _default.pif. Try using a different virus scanner (and do a disk check first).

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:28 pm

I used \"error checking\" in C: properties and it said it couldn't finish. Is there a DOS command for disk checking?

What virus scanner do you suggest. On-line or something I download?

TechPro · Post by **TechPro** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:54 pm

Unless I'm mistaken ... AVG has forums where you can discuss things like this and get lots of help.

Nope, not mistaken. Go here: http://freeforum.avg.com/ Go there and look around. Maybe even join the forum (joining is free) and you can get even more help. I see there is a section specific to AVG 8.0 Free scanning issues.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:37 pm

TechPro, Thanks for the link. I'm not sure I got much info except to know I got plenty of others in my boat.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:41 pm

thewolfe wrote:I used "error checking" in C: properties and it said it couldn't finish. Is there a DOS command for disk checking?

What virus scanner do you suggest. On-line or something I download?

chkdsk c: /r

Odds are it will reply that it can not lock the drive and would you like to schedule a disk check on the next reboot, hit Y then enter and reboot.

>>
www.free-av.com
antivir freeware is as good as avg, plus installs/uninstalls quite easily and generally has a low impact on the system.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:46 am

Thanks Krom.

Warlock · Post by **Warlock** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:27 pm

Could also try I think its http://www.winclam.com/

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:41 pm

Mine has been taking longer since I moved up to version 8 also.

It's running now, at 700,000+ files scanned in 3 1/2 hrs so far.

I just wrote it up to the spyware being integrated in this version. Before I always ran that separate.

It does finish the scan, and seems to be effective at catching threats, so I just schedule it when I'm not likely to be playing D3.

*edit* I've been browsing the forum TechPro posted and LOTS of people are experiencing ridiculously long scan times, some as long as 24 hrs.

One guy said his has been stuck on one file for 12 hrs. Might be time to move on to another AV.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:26 pm

I finally got logged into AVG forum so I posted my situation and if I don't get any help, I'll move on.

Thanks for the posts.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:50 pm

What about changing the extension on the \"_default.pif\" file that AVG is getting stuck on?

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:58 pm

DEFAULT.PIF should not be manually executed from anywhere inside Windows. The _DEFAULT.PIF file is used automatically for MS-DOS applications that do not have a PIF. If changes are made to _DEFAULT.PIF, they are used when MS-DOS applications without PIFs are started under Windows.

====================================================
And I found this:

My automatic scan stops on _default.pif. The time keeps incrementing but it does not appear that any further files are being scanned. ZA has to be forcibly shut down. Any ideas?
Operating System: Windows XP Pro
Software Version: 7.0
Product Name: ZoneAlarm (Free)

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:25 pm

thewolfe wrote:Product Name: ZoneAlarm (Free)

Huh? I thought you said it was AVG that was locking up.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:41 pm

It is. I just thought it was a coincidence that the same file was messing up ZoneAlarm also.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:39 pm

I made a \"exception\" to the \"_default.pif\" file in AVG and it ran without hanging up.

That will do for now.

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:37 pm

it might have been an errant file lock, did you try rebooting and running a scan?

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:04 pm

I've tried for a few days. But it's working now.

AVG free taking hours

AVG free taking hours

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