But today I discovered that I have the same problem again, unable to run quick scans (haven't tried full scans because I've had trouble in the past where when I click cancel it stays as "cancelling" for a long time and doesnt go away, on top of that I don't want to run a full scan).
I've tried using the solution in my previous thread, namely the sfc /scannow thing. But this time it didn't detect any integrity violations so it didn't fix anything.
Another thing that can cause issues with a scan is a physical problem with the hard drive.
To check your hard disk, click on the Windows Start button. In the search box type CMD. Right click on cmd.exe and click on run as administrator. In the command prompt type "chkdsk c: /r" without the quotes. A message will come up asking if you want to check the disk on the next restart. Answer 'Y'. Reboot and the check disk will run before Windows starts up. This check will check the file system as well as the physical disk surface. This scan can take a long time, depending on the size of your hard drive.
There's another thread on here which I posted a similar problem to yours. Neither Quick or Full Scan would work. I've run into this problem in the past and was befuddled again as to why it returned.
I have a Sony Vaio and Sony has a program called Vaio Care. I opened it and was able to run a systems diagnostics and all was fine. I then ran the disk defragmentation tool and after all was completed my Norton scans ran fine. I don't know with 100% certainty if the deframenting of the disk fixed the problem with the scans or not. All I know is the scan problem was non-existent after Vaio Care did its thing.
I was debating whether or not I should run the chkdsk as I was skeptical of it. But eventually decided to do so as I feel really vulnerable not being able to run scans. It also makes me wonder whether other functions of norton still works. As it no longer gives me a safety report when I download .exe files like before. So I’m skeptical as to whether real time protections still runs.
Nevertheless, my pc is now in the process of running a chkdsk. However it is taking extremely long. I did exactly as you told me and the chkdsk ran after I restarted my pc. But its been an hour and a half now and it’s still not done, its been at 27% for over an hour now.
I was googling and read that other people had the same problem and just waited a couple more hours. But then I read other people saying it took them four days or even more!
I use my pc for the majority of my day and without it I don’t really have anything else to do. I am also very impatient so what should I do now?
Just let it continue to run a few more hours?
What if it runs for over 5 hours? Is it safe for me to force shutdown by holding down the power button? I’ve read that it is not 100% fail safe (whatever that means) to force shutdown during a chkdsk scan. I also do not want to leave my pc running for several hours. I usually give it a 30min rest after every 4 hours of use or so.
Please help.
I have a 1tb harddrive with about 570gb available space and running Windows 8.
Ok, so after 2 hours and a half the chkdsk has been completed. Thank god for that, that was the longest 2 hours and a half of my life.
And norton is able to run a quick scan (running one now). But just like last time, I'll see if I can scan in the upcoming days and then come back and accept peteweb's reply as my solution.
I had noted that the scan can take a long time depending on the size of your drive. It would have nothing to do with the free space, but the total drive space as it checkes every sector on the drive.
Let's hope this is the solution for you. It has helped oers in the past.
Seems as thought quick scan has once again stopped working.
Are there any other solutions? And can someone tell me whether other functions of norton like real time protection can be affected too? Since I don't get a safety report anymore when I download .exe files.
Focusing on the positive side, since the Live Update feature continued to work for me while I had this problem, I'm inclined to believe the security protection provided was working fine. Since running a Full Scan no threats were detected, and that helps to believe the security was still functioning well.
Wish I had a helpful suggestion as to what you can do next but I'm sure one or more of the experienced members here will be able to assist you.
I agree with F4E, a run of the NRnR may do the trick - I am curious if perhpas you have already tried the Support > Get support and see if it can automatically fix your installation or finds other errors.
Also in regards to "I don't get a safety report anymore when I download .exe files", please go to Settings > Firewall > Intrusion and Browser Protection Tab > and under Download Inteligence besure you have that turned ON and also click on the and read the Help section. It may also provide an answer why you are not getting the notification upon download.
Hi F4E, I used that tool from the link you provided me and followed the instrcutions. After the restart I ran live updates until no more were available and was able to run a quick scan shortly after that. The problem is that after leaving my pc off for about 1 hour I went back on and the quick scan does not appear to work again. Thanks so far, but do you have any other suggestions?
Hello yank, I just tried the get support option and it seemed to have repaired my installation. However I am still not able to run a quick scan after that.
My download intelligence is turned "on" whith the following sub settings (pretty sure these are dafault settings as I have not tampered with it):
Download Insight Notifications - On
Show Report on Launch of files - Unproven Only
Alert on Poor Stability - off
Reading the ? page tells me that all should be fine. I have not yet downloaded a .exe file since I did the reinstall of Norton so I'm not sure whether I am still getting reports on downloaded files or not.
Hello F4E, I've only been trying to run a quick scan from the UI. So I;ve just given it a try to run a quick scan from right clicking the tray icon and it still doesn't work. So yes, neither works.
and read the Help section. It may also provide an answer why you are not getting the notification upon download.