5.5.0.204 scan freeze, hard PC reset only option

[Gargantuan]

I was having this problem with the previous version and it is still there in 5.5.0.204 - trying an intelliscan or full scan occasionally gets stuck in the Browser Scan phase. The scan just stops and hangs and SD will not stop the scan or shutdown - in fact, the entire PC then becomes unresponsive (ctrl-alt-dlt doesn't even work) and the only option is to do a hard reset on the PC box. I never used to have this problem with SD, but it has appeared in the last two versions and almost happens daily. I am not running another spyware tool at the same time or anything. I'm at the end of my tether now!

[AChen]

I was having this problem with the previous version and it is still there in 5.5.0.204 - trying an intelliscan or full scan occasionally gets stuck in the Browser Scan phase. The scan just stops and hangs and SD will not stop the scan or shutdown - in fact, the entire PC then becomes unresponsive (ctrl-alt-dlt doesn't even work) and the only option is to do a hard reset on the PC box. I never used to have this problem with SD, but it has appeared in the last two versions and almost happens daily. I am not running another spyware tool at the same time or anything. I'm at the end of my tether now!

Could you get a screenshot of when the scan freezes and post it here?
Try running a scan in safemode and see if the scan completes?

[Gargantuan]

I'll try to get a screenshot - only problem being that when SD hangs, the system won't respond to anything, so I doubt a screenshot will work. I can move my mouse around, but apps don't launch, ctrl-alt-dlt doesn't work, and the system can't shutdown or restart without a hard reboot.
Not sure what a screenshot would tell though - it gets stuck on a random entry each time (like a website cookie), during the browser scanner phase and there are no error messages or corruptions. But I'll try!
Because the hang is not consistent (some scans complete 100% fine), scanning in safe mode could take many tries before I get a hang or not... but again, i can only try. By the way, my system is clean when the scans do complete.

[mjq424]

Hi
Try running a scan with Task Manager already open, that way you can already kill pctsgui.exe/pctsSvc.exe when they start using 100%CPU.
Hope that helps

[haapy]

I have had this same problem. With my PCs (3) it had to do with the screen saver. I turned the screen saver off and it solved the problem. I have created a trouble ticket for this.

[Gargantuan]

Not the screen saver for me, i don't use one :)
But I will try scanning with Task Manager open so I can kill the .exe files that Matt mentioned - it does seem to be some kind of weird CPU usage problem.

[swannie]

I have had the same problem with PCTIS. It's very random and I can't figure it out. (I don't have a screensaver, either). It is impossible to get a screenshot as nothing responds, exactly as Gargantuan reports. After updating to the latest version it's only happened once and so I haven't tried a scan in safe mode yet but that's a good tip to keep Task Manager open, Matt:)
I'll be watching this thread to see what you discover.

[ggtech]

I have also experienced the same problem of Spyware doctor with antivirus freezing my system. This started right after upgrading basic Spyware Doctor 5.5 with the antivirus plugin. The only way to get out was to hold the power button on my computer for 5 seconds (no need to pull any power cords). I noticed most of the freezes occurred during the Browser Scan, e.g. during the scan of a cookie or URL, regardless of whether IE7 was open or not. My response was to reset Internet explorer settings. Tools => Internet Options => Advanced => Reset (bottom right). This solved the problem. I have run a number of Intelli-scan and full scan without any more issues of system freezing. Let me know if this works for you .

Regards, George

[swannie]

Good tip but what about FF? Don't usually use IE7. However, for the last week I haven't had any problem with scanning so I'm just keeping an eye on it.

[Gargantuan]

This problem occured for me again today. I tried to get a screenshot, but the PC would not launch any applications, nor would Crt/Alt/Dlt work to open task manager. Hard reset again the only option.
The screenshot would have shown the SD GUI looking exactly as it does during a normal full scan, except that no progress is being made - it is "stuck" on the file it currently is attempting to scan. In this case it was stuck at 1% in the File Scanning mode, stuck on a file in the Microsoft Chess program that came with Vista. The point at which it freezes seems random everytime. There also appears to be no CPU activity during the freeze (no light blinking on the PC case). I can move my mouse around the screen, but no applications will open, nor will the PC respond to any instruction such as a restart or shutdown.

[AChen]

Gargantuan, could you uninstall and reinstall SD, run a scan and if the problem is still there, run the Malware log and i'll investigate this further.