Avast Antivirus holding my files hostage


  1. Posts : 297
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
       #1

    Avast Antivirus holding my files hostage


    Avast Antivirus holding my files hostage-avast_antivirus_file_in_use.png
    Recorded some gameplay video today. Tried to rename it, move it, delete it while I was working with it but Windows says, NOPE, Avast Antivirus is still using it!

    Now what the heck would Avast want with an *.avi file, especially since:
    • It's a file I created (i.e. not downloaded off of or ripped from the Internet)
    • It's too big to fit in my virus chest (4 GB file, chest size is 32 MB)
    • I regularly do this as a hobby


    Last couple of weeks ago, I had a ~36 GB AVI file, I tried to delete it and Windows wouldn't let me because Avast wouldn't leave that alone. I had to stop the Avast! Antivirus service to do anything with files. More or less, exclude the directory where I store all of my raw encodes.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4,566
    Windows 10 Pro
       #2

    Disable avast. Right click the avast icon and choose disable for 10 minutes. Once disabled, are you able to delete/modify the file?

    It could be that avast was running a quick scan when you went to open it and that caused the file to be locked. Was a scan running in the background?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 297
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #3

    There were no scans being run, other than File System Shield, which had been set to scan all files, which is a pain because every time I go in and open a large 7z-compressed archive, it takes upwards to 3 minutes to open. "Test whole files" (in the Sensitivity settings) is turned off.

    I'm not sure which "scan all files" setting to use, whether to scan files when opening or to scan files when they're being created or modified?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4,566
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    So with avast disabled, the problem goes away? Just want to make sure, if so we can dive into avasts settings and see whats up.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #5

    Norton has a setting to scan any file when opened, does Avast have that? if so disable it.
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 14:20.
Find Us