I've been running McAfee on my Windows 7 Home Premium System for 10 months now. Beginning yesterday, when the scan gets to a particular Security Catalog file, the scan hangs and if I am running other programs when this happens, it crashes my hard drive. I can re-boot and use my computer, but every time I try to run a scan, it hangs at this particular file. I have tried cleaning out temp files & cookies, restoring my system to a point prior to the problem, and uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee. Nothing seems to work. Also, I am unable to open the offending file. The system hangs and the hard drive crashes if I try. Can Security Catalog Files be deleted safely? I'm at a loss. I haven't been able to find anything about this specific problem on the web. McAfee said to contact Microsoft as my McAfee product is working properly. Can anyone help?

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:59:58 +0000, KathiMcN wrote: I've been running McAfee on my Windows 7 Home Premium System for 10 months now.  Beginning yesterday, when the scan gets to a particular Security Catalog file, the scan hangs and if I am running other programs when this happens, it crashes my hard drive.  I can re-boot and use my computer, but every time I try to run a scan, it hangs at this particular file.  I have tried cleaning out temp files & cookies, restoring my system to a point prior to the problem, and uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee.  Nothing seems to work.  Also, I am unable to open the offending file.  The system hangs and the hard drive crashes if I try.  Can Security Catalog Files be deleted safely?  I'm at a loss.  I haven't been able to find anything about this specific problem on the web.  McAfee said to contact Microsoft as my McAfee product is working properly.  Can anyone help? In my view, McAfee is one of the poorest of the anti-virus programs available. I recommend uninstalling it and getting something better. For an anti-virus program, I recommend eSet NOD32, if you are willing to pay for it. If you want a free anti-virus, I recommend one (do not run more than one) of the following three:   Avira AntiVir Avast Microsoft Security Essentials   You also need anti-spyware software. I recommend that you download and install (freeware) MalwareBytes AntiMalware. Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

I downloaded and ran MalwareBytes. That didn't help - it found nothing. Can I safely delete the offending file? I don't know anything about Catalog files, and don't want to damage my system by deleting it. I realize I'll have to take ownership of it because it is owned by the dreaded "TrustedInstaller". I know how to do that and give myself full permission on it. I just don't know if it's safe to delete it. I have no problem paying for anti-virus software. I have paid for McAfee and My subscription doesn't run out until April of 2012! Thanks for your help!

I use Microsoft Security Essential fine, and its very good.My MVP is for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 IT, and I am getting increasingly good with Visual Studio. Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews

Hi, As for the hang issue, we generally need to analyze the performance monitor logs and memory dump file to locate the root cause. You can follow these steps to collect the Minidump Files: ================= 1. Click "Start", input "SYSDM.CPL" (without quotation marks) in the “Search” bar and press “Enter”. 2. Switch to the "Advanced" tab and click the "Settings" button under "Startup and Recovery". 3. Under "Write debugging information" section, make sure the "Small memory dump (128KB)" option is selected. 4. Make sure "%SystemRoot%\Minidump" is in the "Small dump directory" open box and click “OK”. If the issue appears again, please refer to the following steps to collect memory dump files: 1. Click “Start”, type “%SystemRoot%\Minidump" (without quotation marks) in “Search” bar and press “Enter”. 2. Go to your Desktop, right-click on it and create a new folder named "Dump". 3. Copy all the memory dump files (looks like [Mini092008-01.dmp]) in Minidump to this folder. 4. Right-click on the Dump folder, click "Send To", and click "Compressed (zipped) Folder". 5. Please send the ZIP file to us. You can refer to the following link to upload the information: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/4fc10639-02db-4665-993a-08d865088d65 You may also analyze them with Debugging Tools by yourself. You can install it and it’s Symbol Packages from the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/Devtools/Debugging/default.mspx WinDbg will tell you the possible cause. For more information, please read Microsoft KB Article: How to read the small memory dump files that Windows creates for debugging. If no clue can be found, you may contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) via telephone so that a dedicated Support Professional can assist with your request. To troubleshoot this kind of kernel crash issue, we need to debug the crashed system dump. Unfortunately, debugging is beyond what we can do in the forum. Please be advised that contacting phone support will be a charged call. To obtain the phone numbers for specific technology request please take a look at the web site listed below: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;OfferProPhone#faq607 Regards, MiyaThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. | Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.