# (Yet Another) Computer Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346 "2003-05-01T11:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teleute12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@teleute12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teleute12)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/1 "2003-05-01T11:48:54Z")
OK, so I have a two-year-old Gateway computer, with WinME on it. It works fine, mostly, but it has a habit of freezing up at odd moments. So, I try to run a virus scan on it, to make sure I haven’t picked up anything nasty - and it stops 5 files in. It’s Norton AntiVirus 2001, and it stops on C:\_RESTORE\TEMP, if it helps any. I’m sure that if I had anything for it to pick up, I’d know it by now, but the fact that the program apparently isn’t working right is kind of worrisome. So, any advice/suggestions/etc, preferably ones that don’t involve me spending money, would be much appriciated. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/2 "2003-05-01T11:58:25Z")
There’s probably a solution to this specific problem, but if you want to fix the many problems associated with WinME, you’re going to have to get a new OS. There are a whole bunch of ‘little issues’ with WinME that makes it the single worst OS ever made. It’ll be easier to just go up to XP, or even go back down to Win98. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/3 "2003-05-01T12:01:48Z")
Things to try: 1. Update your WinME OS using Windows Update. 2. Update your NAV definitions if possible. 3. Exclude the C:\_Restore directory from being scanned by the anti-virus software and see if that helps. Additionally: Defrag your hard disk, keep atleast 200mb free on the C: drive, run a full scandisk, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Yuki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@Yuki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yuki)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/4 "2003-05-01T12:55:52Z")
For one, get another virus scanner. My roomate has ME as well and her Norton would never work. So I downloaded a very good free scanner, AVG ([www.grisoft.com](http://www.grisoft.com)) and it found over 800 corrupted files. Turned out her computer was infested with a worm. AVG is a great program, I use it all the time. And the best part, not only is it free to download, but you get free virus definition updates. And another suggestion…get rid of ME. It’s a joke of a OS. ---
**Author:** ![idol\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/94ad74/32.png) [@idol\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idol_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/5 "2003-05-01T13:33:45Z")
i second the avg solution. i recently had a worm on my computer and i ran all sorts of virus scanners to find it but none could. the reason i knew i had a worm was becuase my friends were recieving spam e-mail from my address and i wasn’t sending them anything. once i found out about avg i used it and my computer stopped working as a result, but it did tell me what worm i had before my computer stopped working. once i got the worm info. i looked around on the internet (on another computer) for software to get rid of it, found some, ran it on my comp. ever since avg has worked great ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/6 "2003-05-01T16:17:50Z")
It stops? Are you sure its not working really long on one huge file? What sort of maintence are you doing? I use ME on one computer & its just fine. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/7 "2003-05-01T16:53:41Z")
The \_Restore folder and subfolders makes backups of your operating system’s files. Unless you had been hit with a virus, you don’t need to scan it. If you have had a virus, the virus will remain there, but since the files there are read-only, you can’t clean it. The virus would only be an issue if you restored your system, however. Best bet is to program Norton to ignore the folder. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-computer-question/172346/8 "2003-05-01T17:43:04Z")
Your ME System Restore is set to save a restore point every time you start your computer, and the file has become so big that Norton appears to stop when it is in fact still scanning all the restore points. To solve this, you can manually purge the data store: > [@](#): > > \*\* Manually Purge the Data Store\*\* > > To completely and immediately remove the infected file or files in the data store, disable and re-enable the System Restore feature. > > \*\*WARNING: Using the following steps will completely remove all restore points from the data store. Do not use this method if this will cause problems. When you enable the System Restore feature again, the System Restore feature will create a new restore point and then resume monitoring your computer. \*\* > > 1. Click **Start** , point to **Settings** , and then click **Control Panel.** > > 2. Double-click **System** , and then click the **Performance** tab. > > 3. Click File **System** , and then click the **Troubleshooting** tab. > > 4. Click to select the **Disable System Restore** check box, click **Apply** , click to clear the **Disable System Restore** check box, click **Apply** , and then click **OK**. > > 5. Restart the computer when you are prompted to do so. When the computer restarts, the data store is purged and the System Restore feature begins monitoring the system again. For more information on this, read [this Microsoft article.](http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;263455)