58 minute scan - is this time normal?

[Libra]

Hi SpybotSandra,
Thank you for your reply and advice. I'm reluctant to install version 1.6 at this time because I read on these boards that when you scan the admin account with Spybot it closes the other accounts (I have two limited user accounts) and by it's closing the other accounts it does something to the registry and you lose your other profiles.
Do you know if this has been fixed?
Thank you.
Sincerely, Libra

[drragostea]

...because I read on these boards that when you scan the admin account with Spybot it closes the other accounts...

And what kind of boards are these?

You should have no problems, as long you do not switch user accounts when Spybot-SD is scanning.

[Libra]

Thank you for your reply. This is the thread I was referring to (posted on these boards):

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=33102

I've never "switched" users when a scan is running, but I have "switched" users to get to the admin account to update and run a scan.

Are you saying the only way the registry hive can get locked is if you switch users during the scan, otherwise it won't occur...i.e., if one user account is open and I switched and ran a scan, all will be well?

Thank you.

Sincerely, Libra

[jjjdavidson]

Are you saying the only way the registry hive can get locked is if you switch users during the scan, otherwise it won't occur...i.e., if one user account is open and I switched and ran a scan, all will be well?

In general, there are two ways, both triggered by the fact that Spybot 1.5 or later (when functioning normally) locks all the user registry hives when it starts up and doesn't release them until it closes normally.

1) If you try to switch to a user account while Spybot is running (or log on a user account while a Spybot batch scan is running) your registry hive will be locked and you will get errors; the problem will evaporate when Spybot closes.

2) If Spybot crashes or you kill the SpybotSD process, the user hives remain locked until you delete the HKEY_USERS keys manually or reboot the machine. Restarting and closing Spybot will not clear them. (This command will probably clear them, at least on Windows XP or 2000; I don't know Vista.)

These situations have been possible since 1.5, though some posts on these forums seem to indicate that 1.6 is more sensitive to this problem. I haven't noticed a difference myself, but I have noticed that 1.6 scans anywhere from five to twenty times faster. I definitely recommend upgrading to 1.6.

Does that clear up your question?

[one eyed rider]

i would second upgrading. it is a heck of alot faster. it may be slow the first time you run but hey what software isnt? also maybe a defrag would help?

[Libra]

Hi jjjdavidson,

I apologize for my delay in responding (I haven't been online much lately). I appreciate your response in explaining how the registry hive problem can occur. I also read the entire thread where you posted the Run command.

I would have been most comfortable (if necessary) to go into the registry to HKEY_USERS and look for the PE_C for whatever user was affected BUT I just went into the admin account and opened the HKEY_USERS and I don't see any users listed there at all. Also, PepeMK has a tweak that is suppose to fix this in 1.6.0, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to apply this tweak.

I think I will just stop using Spybot for now and wait for version 1.6.1. I do appreciate the information you gave me - I'm just too afraid to have that registry hive possibly occur. I experienced it once due to other reasons, and everything was gone - it was an awful feeling. Rebooting the computer fixed it.

To One Eyed Rider,

Thank you also for your response. A defrag isn't a bad idea.

Sincerely, Libra

[jjjdavidson]

Libra, I'd strongly recommend upgrading to 1.6.0 anyway, rather than waiting for 1.6.1. 1.6.0 is so much faster than 1.5, I personally don't think the occasional problems with user hives are a significant liability.

I run 1.6.0 weekly on several machines. I've had a problem with user profiles getting locked exactly once, and a reboot cleared it up immediately. I had the same problem one time with 1.5, by the way, and so did other people, so it's not a brand-new problem with 1.6.0.

1.6.0 is much faster; 1.5 simply can't handle the number of detections Spybot now checks. On the machine from which I'm writing, the last scan I ran with 1.5.2 took 63 minutes; current scans with 1.6.0 take 7 minutes, a 9:1 improvement. On my older machines, the improvement is more like 15:1.

YMMV, but I'm glad I upgraded.