I just updated Ad-Aware on both my XP Main PC and my Vista Laptop. Ad-Aware scans fine on my main but when I try to scan on my laptop, it stalls. On both machines, I had Ad-Aware 2008. I think I'll be going back to Ad-Aware 2008 if this is not fixed.

There's an update due out next month - maybe use 2008 on the laptop for now, and see how the update works out later.

I have been using the anniversary edition on my computer for months. From today, it now stalls during any scan and stay frozen even after closing the program and reopening. It stalls at approximately 4000 items scanned. The scan clock will run forever, but no action.

I uninstalled the program and reinstalled, but no improvement.

I've heard of this problem before, but usually from a new installation, and I have not read of a solution.

- Have you updated Ad-aware program and definitions?

- Did this problem start by itself, or after you installed software or downloaded new files?

- I recommend trying to scan with no other programs running. That will elimate conflicts as a cause.

- You said it stalls during any scan, does this include Smart scan and Profile scan? On my system, Smart scan only takes ~ 1 min and scans ~6000 items. If you have multiple drives/partitions, try setting up a Profile scan for each one to see if you can isolate where it stalls and see if it stalls on the same file.

- Try changing the file size limiter under scan settings. Default setting is to skip files > 20 mb. If you have a lot of music or video files, it might help to skip files > 5-10 mb.

I have the same problem as sarutaizo. I've been using the AE edition since it came out but the problem has just started. In my case it stalls at approx 2900 items scanned.

- I've got the latest sofware and today's definitions file 0149.0033 22/8/09 (although it also stalled on the previous definitions file)

- The problem apeared to start by itself, not after installing or downloading any new files

- It stalls on Smart, Full and Profile scans. It stalls on different files at around 2900 items. Usually they are in system 32, but it has also stalled on aawtray.exe

- I have tried uninstalling and re-installing but it makes no difference

- I always run Adaware with no other programs running

- I've tried reducing the file size limiter to 5mb but that makes no difference. I have just one drive/partition

- The problem is with a laptop using Vista. Another laptop and a desktop using Windows XP are not suffering the same problem

Any assistance gratefully received

Hi,

Could you please upload your scan logs for us to take a look at. Also can you attempt a scan with your anti-virus program disabled and see if this makes a difference.

Thanks,

GoddersUK

Hi

AE free edition doesn't appear to have the facility to retain / access scan logs in the way earlier editions had - and in any case I have uninstalled and re-installed to attempt to resolve the problem, so would presumably have lost the logs.

My anti-virus program is Norton 360. I've tried scanning with this disabled (ie in "Silent Mode") but the result is just the same - stalls after about 2900 items.

Any further suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks

FYI, here's the info on logs location: http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=18033

Ad-Aware AE users
XP - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\Logs\Scan_<date information>.log
Vista - C:\ProgramData\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\Logs\Scan_<date information>.log


See this post: http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?s...mp;#entry109181

Thanks - here are the seven logs in the file

I have a vista home premium system and xp media center system. Both have been running ad-aware ae for months with no issues. About 2 or 3 days ago the vista system would freeze up about 10 sec. into any type of scan and I can't stop the clock from running when I click stop scan. The only way to stop it is to right click the aa icon in system tray and exit aa completely. The xp system is having no issues with aa in any type scan. Both systems are up to date with windows and aa. Both systems are running the same copy of norton internet security 2009. Disabling norton on the vista system does not solve the problem. Must be coflict with a resent update from ms vista or ad-aware. Waiting for a fix.


watex

I think I have the same problem here--Windows Vista--For months Ok running Ad Aware--Although some months ago it would not update, and one day I turned user controls off, and then it updated fine--and then afterward as well with user controls back on.

Saturday I downloaded the latest defs for my Lavasoft Ad Aware AE edition--

I tried then to do a full scan as I always do weekly---the scan freezes however--goes to about 4000 files, and then the # of files just stays the same--I try to stop the scan--won't stop--if I close the program and open it back up, scan is still going but the #'s for the time and files are blank.

The only way to stop the scan is to shut down the computer.

I uninstalled/reinstalled the program numerous times.

I'm not sure if I have a virus/malware, or a compatablity problem with Norton.

I have run the computer in safe mode a few times and scanned it with all the anitvirus programs I have--Norton Internet Sec. 2009, Lavasoft Ad-Aware AE, Spybot Search and Destroy, Trend Micro CWSHredder. So far I have not come up with any viruses.

I checked my email sent folders for all the email acct.s I have, everything is OK. I can go to secure sites.

I have deleted my temp int files, downloads, histories etc on both the IE and Firefox. For the most part (98% of the time) I am using Firefox. I also did disk clean up and defragmentation.

My sense is that this might be a compatibility issue with Norton--but it could be malware--I thought I would wait a day or two more to see if I can find anything online about a remedy for this problem.

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks for the logs shenstone. All I can see is the same error regardless of which type of scan is run. Hopefully the SDKController thing will mean something to Lavasoft - I've brought this current set of problems to their attention. Maybe GoddersUK will have some insight.

In the meantime, all I can recommend is to keep updating both Ad-aware and Norton in case something gets fixed. Otherwise, y'all might have to wait until the new, improved Ad-aware gets released sometime next month.

Not sure if y'all saw this - DerekS notes a specific Norton update:

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?s...st&p=109249

To Cavar I can say that the problem does not seem to be with Norton. As I said in a different thread about the same issue ( I wish someone, administrator or otherwise, could merge these similar threads, they are at least three! ) I have a problem with my Vista laptop, but NOT with my XP laptop. They both have NIS 2009 installed. And yet, Ad-Aware AE finds an issue with the Vista setup and not with the XP.

After reading all the entries in these various threads about the issue, it seems clear to me that the issue started at the same time for everibody, always with a Vista OS.

Also, it is now clear that the problem occurs regardless of what kind os scan you do -- smart or full scan.

I hope the upcoming build will gtake care of this issue.

Best of luck for everyone.

There is more than one factor at play here.

The problem IS with Norton, as far as we can tell, but that's not the only common factor here. The other is that they are all (that I've seen) on Vista machines.

Hence the problem only seems to occur with BOTH Norton and Vista.

See the stickied thread in this topic for more information.

The only insight I can give atm is that they still have not fixed that broken log formatting

As I said above though the problem seems to lie with Norton and Vista.

SDKController *may* have something to do with the MS Visual C++ (or is it #, I can't remember which AAW uses right now) that LS use as an "SDK" is normally a "Software Developer's Kit".

EDIT: But thanks for the logs

They WILL be useful for the devs.

Same problem occurring here where AE had been working fine. Can't right-click the AE icon in the system tray and bring up the main screen. Also, the scan hangs after just a few items scanned. I am using NAV 2009 and Vista Home premium. I don't know if NAV has done any major updates recently but there were several from M$. Can't say if either one is the culprit, though. Also like the other posters in this thread uninstall/re-install doesn't help. I will upload log files.

What you say here is not fresh news. Other people arrived at these same conclusions before. But given your seemingly close connection to Lavasoft, I would like to submit to you this:

-- NORTON does not have, as far as I can tell, any known operating issues with Ad-Aware or Vista. By this I mean to say that, while running, Norton does NOT show any unusual behavior as a result of any conflict it encounters with any feature of Lavasoft or Microsoft products.

-- Mutatis mutandis, the same can be said about Microsoft's Vista.

-- The freezing issue DOES happen to Ad-Aware AE, while running a scan under VISTA. Of course, it has been determined that all is fine if we turn off Norton's Tamper Protection feature. It seems like Ad-Aware conflicts with Norton, not the other way around.

-- This Tamper protection feature is there since the beginning of NIS 2009 edition, which goes back to the last quarter of 2008, at least.

-- Ad-Aware AE worked fine with both NIS 2009 and VISTA up to a few days ago, when this issue has surfaced.

So, I would like to ask you, if I may:

-- Does all this suggest to you that the problem is actually with NIS and VISTA? Or does it look more likely, at least, that the issue is originated with and caused by Ad-Aware AE itself? At most, it seems to me, it may be the combination of some new feature or code change in Ad-Aware that, in combination with some feature of NIS and working in the Windows Vista OS environment triggers these reported freezings.

Of course, I may very well be proven wrong in my assumption, but would this scenario at least warrant that Lavasoft should take the lead and pursue the issue with those other two companies? And is this in the pipeline? After all, for some reason, people are not complaining to Norton or to MS...

Be it as it may, I wish and pray that, whatever the actual cause, this issue is resolved soon. I readily acknowledge I am a sucker user of a Lavasoft product... But, free or not, Ad-Aware is too important to me to just discard it and look somewhere else.

Please comment, if you may.

Thanks.

Hi,

We know that the problem occurs with Norton, Vista and Ad-Aware installed. Hence the problem lies within these three products. We also know that the problem appeared at around the same time - hence it was likely that it was caused by an update to one of these. We have been supplied, by one user, with a version number of the Norton update that they believe to be responsible - although as most of us volunteers don't use Norton we can't confirm this. It's also been reported that Malwarebytes suffers a similar problem - further indicating that Norton (or Vista) may be at fault.

Why the problem should only occur on Vista is not obvious to me (perhaps due to more stringent security within the OS?), but my gut reaction is that this does not feel like a problem that in essence is cause by the OS.

Ad-Aware *should* be built in such a way it can cope with being unable to scan the files and alert you at the end of the scan it was unable to scan (credit for this point goes to casey_boy) but for whatever reason it's not. Most likely because the Lavasoft developers never envisaged Norton taking whatever measures it is taking and hence not telling Ad-Aware to just ignore such measures.

Unfortunately just because Norton does not experience the symptoms does not mean it is not the cause.

We have asked Lavasoft for more information on this issue, but is possible that they won't be able to respond until after the weekend. Once the devs have uncovered the precise source of the issue they will have their own channels for reporting problems to the relevant people, if they cannot be fixed or worked around by Lavasoft. - be they at Norton or elsewhere.

I hope this clears the issue up a bit.

Indeed, it does. I agree with almost all you say here. And, yes, the problem can still be determined to originate from Norton. My "almost" qualifier reflects what I think may be your "bias" (real or imaginary, but no negative feelings here!) toward Norton and away from Lavasoft as the perceived "culprit"... I lean the opposite way.

But, hey! One of the good things you stated is that we will probably know the answer, soon enough. I don't think it is actually crucial, the really important thing being an eventual quick solution for the issue, rather than the lynching of el culpable...

Thank you for your RELEVANT information this time around...

Best regards.

I have the same problem & system as Lin Yu & others: Starting a couple days ago (I run AAW once a week) AAW-AE stops running after scanning about 4500 files (15-20 seconds), but it had run flawlessly for several months. When I say it stops running, I mean no more files are scanned, the clock continues to run, and the program otherwise locks up. I uninstalled/reinstalled with no change in results. I am running Vista Home Premium and Norton IS 2009 on an HP laptop. My other HP laptop is running WinXP, otherwise the same system & software, & AAW-AE runs fine on it, as always. Thanks to all for the info. I'll be looking for a resolution ASAP.

http://lavasoft.com/mylavasoft/support/blo...are-scan-freeze

Ad-Aware Scan Freeze
by John on September 17th, 2009.

The scan freeze issue you are experiencing could be caused by a recent update to Norton, we are currently working with Norton to resolve this issue.
Until this is resolved, please try the following before scanning with Ad-Aware:

Go into Settings in Norton and turn off the Norton Product Tamper Protection.

Ad-Aware should now be able to complete the scan.

I'm having the same exact problem - Ad-Aware AE, Vista, Nortom etc. always ran well, started stalling same as everone else a few day ago. I have uninstalled and re-installed, still same problem

I tried turning off Norton,s Product tamper deal, as suggested, and the scan was successful. So is that what I have to do every time now?

Yes, until Lavasoft and Norton work out the problem. You could turn it off permanently, but better to only disable it temporarily during Ad-Aware scans.