up vote 1 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I scanned my PC using the "boot-time scan" of Avast because I wanted to detect if there is a virus on my system.

I didn't find any viruses after the scan but it did detect some archives that are corrupt inside Windows folders, and some of my installers that I haven't found using an Avast "full system scan". To be specific there are three letters before "archive is corrupt" like "CDO archive is corrupt" or something similar.

Is this bad? Will this affect my computer? Is it some kind of virus only detected with a boot-time scan?

link|improve this question
80% accept rate
What version of Avast? – wizlog Aug 30 '11 at 12:53
6.0.1203 is the version of the avast i use – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 12:57
It realy deepens which files are corrupt. if they are essential, then yes it really does matter, if not, then not. Please provide more details. – wizlog Aug 30 '11 at 13:18
@wizlog that is the best detail i can provide, anyways what does archieve is corrupt means? – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 13:26
Data corruption refers to errors in computer data that occur during writing, reading, storage, transmission, or processing, which introduce unintended changes to the original data. Check out this Wikipedia article. – wizlog Aug 30 '11 at 13:36
show 4 more comments
feedback

2 Answers

up vote 0 down vote accepted

Without knowing which files are currupt, I'd run "CHKDSK C: /f" this can be done through the command prompt which can be run by typing "CMD" into the search bar of the start menu.

This is assuming you can boot your computer. If not, you can still run the command prompt through the Startup Repair, or through safe mode

Here is what the command actually means when broken down.

  • CHKDSK Is the command for Check Disk
  • C: Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
  • /F Fixes errors on the disk.
  • /R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information (implies /F and is therefore optional).

For a more complete list of what CHKDSK can do, type "chkdsk /?" into the command prompt window.

It wouldn't be a bad Idea in the future to backup your data regularly just in-case something went wrong. DON't forget to "Run as administrator" privileges

DON'T FORGET TO PRESS ENTER TO EXECUTE THE COMMAND

link|improve this answer
i typed that on my command prompt and it replies "access denied as you do not have sufficient privilages. you have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode." – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 14:47
will this detect all corrupt data etc from the disk? will this help me solve the problem? to purify the corrupt archives? – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 15:01
I'm sorry I forgot to mention that you need to run with administrative privileges. Just right click the Command Prompt before you (left click to) open, and click "Run as administrator", then click allow to the box that pops up. – wizlog Aug 30 '11 at 15:19
this does not work, i tried this and it didnt even detected the corrupted archieves – user913233 Sep 5 '11 at 2:57
then they aren't system critical – wizlog Sep 5 '11 at 13:48
feedback
up vote -1 down vote

Maybe you mean CRC? Archives might be corrupted in transfer-time. But there is quite high probability that your hard drive is approaching its end of life. I would recommend checking SMART statistics/read speeds of the disk. If you find anything suspicious - buy another disk as fast as possible

link|improve this answer
my hard disk might fail? i just bought my laptop 5months ago. – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 13:25
One of my hard disks failed after 2 or 3 months of usage ;] Hard drives usually fail in their first years or after 3-5. If it's a laptop there's high probability that you just managed to damage a very tiny portion of surface. Just bear in mind that you should track this issue for a month or a bit more. If there are more files damaged - warranty service. chkdsk /F /R should hide this issue (damaged archives won't be repaired though) – friendzis Aug 30 '11 at 13:41
im not affected now by the corrupt archive , so that means the corrupt archives are minor? will this affect my pcs performance in the future? – user913233 Aug 30 '11 at 13:46
Can't tell without inspection of the disk itself. IF the disk is failing - yes, performance will drop and eventually all data will become inaccessible. IF it is one time issue - forget it. As I've said - bear in mind that this MIGHT become an issue in about 1 or 2 months – friendzis Aug 30 '11 at 13:51
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.