Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.

So I tried running a ClamWin scan on my laptop running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, and in the middle of the scan, my laptop freezes and I am forced to reboot the system.

Please help me find out what is causing my computer to freeze every time I run a ClamWin virus scan, and how I can prevent it from happening.

Oron J
2014-05-29 09:40:45
I agree with Jan's analysis. The fact the two AV solutions crash at (roughly) the same point suggests that the problem is not with them, but lies elsewhere.In addition to Jan's suggestions, you could try a bootable AV scanner to check the system. There are several such discs available (e.g. Kaspersky Rescue Disk, Avira Rescue System) and they can be downloaded and installed on CD or a USB drive. Scanning a drive from a bootable drive is slow, and if the system crashes again you'll know it is due to a hardware problem rather than software (or due to damaged blocks on the drive).
MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Dalsan M
2014-05-29 07:02:01
Is there a specific file that the scan stops at and starts freezing on? It may be that there is corruption with the file, such as a Windows Installer file, that ends up causing the computer to freeze.
Jan F
2014-05-29 06:41:49
Since your freeze doesn't seem to be program related (happens with two different tools) my guess would either be heat, bad blocks on the hard drive or some damaged system file.Run a hard drive check:right-click your hard disk and select propertiesclick the Tools tab and hit the "check now" button at the Error-checking sectioncheck both boxes and then click start* you will have to reboot Windows for it to runRun a system file check:click Start, search for "cmd", then right-click 'Run as administrator' on the command prompttype "sfc /scannow" and hit enter into the command prompthttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833check the thermals of your system:HWMonitor usually works for most systems to read hardware informationhttp://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
Rajaa C
2014-05-29 02:53:02
Uninstall ClamWin, install AVG Antivirus FREE edition 2014 from http://free.avg.com/in-en/homepage . I have used it in Win7_64 and now using in Win8_64 and am pretty satisfied with it. :)
Cristián T
2014-05-29 03:48:19
Thank you for the advice, but this question is about ClamWin, not AVG.
Hovsep A
2014-05-28 20:57:06
maybe to check with another to see the problem repeat Microsoft Safety Scannerhttp://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspxif you open task manager and check RAM and CPU are they at 100%?
Hovsep A
2014-05-31 07:30:44
if you go to tools in Clamwin and click on preferences then under Reports you can check the ClamScanLog.txt location