X

Virex error with September definitions: a follow-up

Virex error with September definitions: a follow-up

CNET staff
2 min read
Many users responded to Friday's item of error messages in Virex after installing the September definitions. We are still not certain of the underlying cause, but something is clearly amiss. Given the number reports of trouble we've received (and considering those who successfully performed a scan from the control panel) we recommend holding off on installing the September update until this gets sorted out.

Some users found that scanning with the Control Panel worked just fine, yet for others it had little or no effect. Two users noted that the problems seemed to be triggered by scanning a very large file, such as a VPC image or a Mac OS update. One user also reported that at least one of his large files was corrupted, evidently by the scan and subsequent crash. Louie Berry writes:

    "After receiving errors, performing the initial scan from the control panel, and running a subsequent scan from the application, I noticed multiple errors where the app said it couldn't decompress certain files. They were all .BIN files common to flight sims and ROM flashers. When scanning these same files from the control panel, Virex had no trouble decompressing these same files. Moreover, when Virex got to a very large .smi or .smi.bin file (such as the Mac OS 8.6 Update) it would lock up the machine and the file would become corrupt. When I downloaded a fresh version of the file and Virex would scan it at download, the same thing would happen. Smaller .smi files worked fine."

Further suggesting that large files may be at least part of the problem, several users also added that bumping up the memory for Virex to about 16 MB solved the problem. (Thanks also to Michel Tavir, Frank Thomas, Richard Hungerford, Gerry Moravec, and others. )