So, I finally tossed aside that Compaq Presario Windows Vista BSOD Factory that I had previously and got me another computer.
It’s a used computer that came with Windows XP Pro SP2.
I barely installed the SP3 Package this morning.
I then installed avast 2014 Free 9.0.2013. (My 1st experience with avast 2014.)
This evening, two Full Scans ran all the way to 99% completion without any threats detected.
But, both scans then displayed:
Some Files Could Not Be Scanned
Warnings
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download.…|}_sfx_0011._p Error: Reached the end of the file
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download.…|}_sfx_0003._p Error: Reached the end of the file
When I’d click on Close, I never got the “No Threats Found” indication or an indication that the 2 items above were considered threats.
A Quick Scan finished 100% completely with No Threats Found.
A Removable Media Scan of my 2 Flash Drives finished 100% completely with No Threats Found.
So, what’s the deal with those 2 Reached the end of the file Errors?
Could they be related to my having installed SP3 this morning?
What do I need to do to get the scan to finish completely and either give me a “No Threats Found” indication or an actual indication of a threat found?
I uninstalled avast 9.0.2013 and reinstalled avast 8.0.1497.
I ran a Full Scan and got the same results.
Are the contents of that C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder still necessary?
As I mentioned, I barely installed SP3 yesterday morning. So, it’s possible that what’s in that folder is related to that.
Wouldn’t the SP3 nitty gritty already have been installed wherever it’s needed?
CAN the contents of that C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder be deleted now?
Or they still have to be in there?
A clean install of 9.0.2016 wouldn’t help because remember … even going back down to 8.0.1497 didn’t help. It still got the same errors. So it’s something with the SP3 install.
For now I’m trying what Eddy suggested on the other thread. I turned the Automatic Updates back on and see what all it downloads and installs.
The other day, right after the SP3 install, I did leave the Automatic Updates on, but after it only downloaded and installed 1 Update, I turned them off. That was because as far as I vaguely recalled, I thought Windows XP was no longer supported. So, I figured that 1 Update that got installed was all the additional Updates my Windows XP was going to get.
But, so far, right now more Updates have been downloaded and installed. Hopefully with whatever more Updates get installed between the rest of this evening and tomorrow, it gets rid of those errors on my avast Full Scans.