???
I have just started using Avast 4.7 home edition.When I open it up, on the main menu one of the titles is Virus recovery Database (VRDB). Opposite this it says “Not Done Yet”. Could someone tell me how to do it, more’s the point WHAT is it? All the other titles on the main page have been activated. Thank you
The VRDB is a special part of avast that assists with repairing files that have been infected
Right click on the ‘i’ icon and select Generate Now (you will notice other options for future automated generation), that will start it off the first generation may take a while. The generated VRDB stores information on files (not the complete file) so that it may be repaired.
The VRDB only protects certain files, .exe, dll and other system files, it doesn’t protect data files or all files, it is not a back-up program, so there are going to be many occasions where repair won’t be an option.
Only true virus infection can be repaired, e.g. when a virus infects a file it adds a small part to it, provided that file is one that avast’s VRDB would monitor and you have run the VRDB, then it may be possible to repair the file to its uninfected state.
However, for the most part so called viruses, trojans (adware/spyware/malware, etc.) can’t be repaired because the complete content of the file is malicious.
Ummm - thanks for that but where do I find the “i” icon. I am using a blue skin (with a russian sounding name, there by default) There is a Green arrow “start” scan button and a sort of “i” or “1” to the right of it but nothing happens if I right click on it. I can find nothing that says Generate Now. Please continue to help this nerd here!!!
Thank you
It will be on the system tray with the avast icon unless you have merged the two avast icons into one, see images.
Got it !!! They had been merged.
Thank you so much David R, its not always easy for the female of the species.
The little ball with an “I” on it has been rolling away - for hours actually!! Does it build the database up gradually?Hope this is normal.
Thanks again
The best thing to do is checkout the avast help file, Healing section, VRDB and that should give you a general overview of what it does. Though hours seems to be a very, very long time based on the files that it should be checking and not what I would consider normal. Are you doing anything else whilst this is generating ?
What is your system information, Operating system, CPU (processor), RAM (memory) and how much data is on your hard disk ?
Welcome to the forums.
On my own system, I can’t remember how long the initial VRDB generation took. But I’m using about 5 gigs of a 35-gig partition (oh, and I haven’t a clue how much of that the generator is “interested in”), and subsequent generations have for me typically been in the 5-7 minute range.
Eeeek - you’ve got me worried now!!!
I am on XP with SP1, 512Mb of Ram an AMD Athlon 64 bit 3000+ processor and have used 55gb’s of 200gb hard disk( I have alarge number of photo images ).My pc is running like a dream
Is this generator going to take up more space on the hard disk every time I run it? Or am I missing the point?
Thanks
Photos aren’t included as I said.
The VRDB only protects certain files, .exe, dll and other system files, it doesn't protect data files or all files, it is not a back-up program, so there are going to be many occasions where repair won't be an option.
The C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\integ\avast.int (the actual database file does grow, but since it only stores three copies max and it doesn’t save complete files only partial information to enable it to repair it shouldn’t get too large. Currently mine is 9495 KB.
Has it completed the initial Generation yet ?
Hi - Me again
I have just run the VRDB for it’s second time and it took 36mins. Based on MikeBCda’s timing of 5-7 mins for 5gb’s, this would seem to be about right would it not?
Maybe I should have stuck to Norton - I just let it get on with stuff !!!
OK I’ve just checked mine - the “int” file and it is 33668kb - why the discrepacy between yours and mine!!! I think I’ll go back to domestic science !!
Probably because your data is considerably larger than mine so I would think are the files that are covered by the VRDB. This size you report is certainly consistent with the time it took yours to complete as your system is more than up to the job CPU and RAM wise.
My VRDB generation takes about 8 minutes I have two HDDs the first may main one in two partitions, for windows and data, my second HDD is primarily for data backups and images of my primary HDD. In total that accounts for 27GB of data but a very large amount of that won’t be included.
So it looks like you would be best to manually run these generations. Normally they are run every 21 days, and you can set this to happen automatically either when the system is idle (no mouse activity) or when the screen-saver is running. Since it is likely to take 30 minutes or so if this happens when the system is idle or the screen-saver is running every time that you interrupt this with system activity it will take longer because of these interruptions.
So you could do what I do, I have it set to run when the screen-saver is running, because I never use a screen-saver (rather just go to power save) it would never run. I do weekly system maintenance so every other week I do a manual VRDB Generation Now and go and have a cup of tea/coffee, you could have lunch ;D it should be done when you come back.
In fact, VRDB depends on how many executable files you have in the computer.
My VRDB is 50,082 Kb but I’m not that worried 
I am feeling happier now.
Like you DavidR I don’t run a screen saver but allow my pc to go into sleep mode. I shall do what you suggest and leave it to run whilst I am not using the pc.
There is an option to GENERATE NOW in the pop-up menu but could you tell me where I can disable the 3-weekly schedule. That way I will have control over the timing.
Thanks for all your help again guys ( I am assuming “guys” as you all know so much!!!)
You don’t need to change the default 21 day generation, I haven’t, just set the option to generate when the screen-saver is running (because you don’t use a screen-saver the default interval is irrelevant), see image.
The Generate Now option is a one shot deal that you need to click (it doesn’t change the screen-saver option and you need to manually click the Generate Now when you want to run a VRDB generation.
I assume that by “I shall do what you suggest and leave it to run whilst I am not using the pc” you are going to ‘manually’ initiate it ‘generate now’ as it won’t run automatically.
I do weekly system maintenance so every other week I do a manual VRDB Generation Now and go and have a cup of tea/coffee, you could have lunch ;D it should be done when you come back.
Yes I think I’ll do it manually every couple of weeks and just set it to “generate when screen saver is running”
Thanks again
India
Your welcome.
One handy way I’ve found to handle manual VRDB generation, which I’ve mentioned in other threads, is to set it up as a recurring event on my Yahoo calendar (or whatever calendar you use), with an email reminder the day before.
That way it’s sitting in my inbox as a visual reminder that it’s “that time”, and I can simply generate-now whenever it’s convenient, during that day or over the next day or two.