Antivirus Scan Always Locks on this File…

[technomed]

And I don’t know how to test or replace it: MSONSEXT.DLL

Here are the strange symptoms:
-   Whenever I run my freshly-updated McAfee virus scan, it locks up both the scan and my computer when it reaches that file.
-    My Webroot SpySweeper program would often conflict with McAfee and also stall mid-scan, so I uninstalled SpySweeper--but the McAfee scan still crashed on MSONSEXT.DLL.
-   When I try to upload the file to test it at VirusTotal.com, the file won’t upload: it locks the upload.
-   When I try to make a copy of the file to place on my desktop for testing, it displays a “redundancy” error and won’t let me copy the file.
-   The file resides in 2 places
        1.  C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Folders (where it hangs up)
        2.  C:\i386

My setup:
-    Dell Inspiron 530 with XP Home, SP3 (1 year old)

I want to solve this (apparently) corrupt-file problem before attempting to replace the existing anti-malware program with an integrated suite. I thought about using a registry cleaner, but heard horror stories about how they sometimes make things worse.

Any help is sure appreciated.

[Hoov]

That file is part of MS sharepoint server. Are you running that?

[technomed]

No, not using it, nor ever did. But the file is so "locked" that I can't read its properties or delete it by normal means.

[Hoov]

Are you using MS Office 2007?

[technomed]

Yes.
Also, I noticed MSONSEXT.DLL is bundled with the SP3 update (but not sure if that's relevant).

[Hoov]

I have not been able to find anything definite on how to do it, but I have found out that it is part of office. So someplace in office there should be a place to either turn it off or uninstall it. If you can't find it, I will get one of the Microsoft experts to chime in.

[technomed]

Hoov,
Good clue! I'm looking into how to turn SharePoint off or uninstall it. Will keep you posted.

Thanks for your help. I have already spent over 11 hours (with Dell, McAfee and Microsoft) trying to solve this, and I appreciate your interest and assistance.

[technomed]

Hoov,
No luck getting the answer to reinstalling or turning off SharePoint. Perhaps your contacts can hlep me. Feel free to copy and paste info from this previous posting I made:
SharePoint Corrupt File

How do I remove and reinstall the following corrupted SharePoint file?
MSONSEXT.DLL

The file is so botched that I:
* cannot delete or copy it by normal means
* cannot open it with any text reader
* cannot right-click to see its Properties
* cannot even scan it with any of 11 different antivirus apps

Doing any of these things stalls and locks my computer, requiring a hard reboot.

At this time I do not need to use SharePoint, so I would be willing to install it at a later date. But I can't do a full anti-virus scan now, since the scan locks on this file--which is scary.

The file is located at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Folders.
Another copy of this file is also located at C:\i386 (but is not corrupt).

My setup: Inspiron 530 (less than 1 year old) with Windows XP and SP3, Office 2007

Thanks for any help!

[Hoov]

while I am trying to get more information for you, reboot into safe mode and then open windows explorer and right click on the C:\ drive and select the McAfee scan option from the menu. Lets see if it will scan the file in safe mode when it shouldn't be doing anything.

[technomed]

I ran it in Safe Mode and it hung up again.

[Hoov]

Have you in the past uninstalled a McAfee product then installed your current version? Do you run the McAfee Removal tool between the two?

The person I asked is fairly sure that this is a problem with the scanner and not the file, or that some security scanner that you had installed and then uninstalled, is still casing problems because they were not fully removed.

Also are you aware that the Dell thread that you started is awaiting your answer?
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19255535.aspx

Also there are better forums for McAfee problems. I have seen other people have problems with the McAfee scanner hanging on files they were scanning.

If you want to stick here and have us try to figure out the problem, my next suggestion would be to follow the suggestion on the Dell Forum, scan your computer with ESET online scanner and find out for sure, is it the file or is it the scanner causing the problem. Without that information, we are stuck.

[technomed]

Hi Hoov,
I don't remember having uninstalled McAfee, though I did "renew" it when the first 90 days were up.
And no, I wasn't aware of a response to my Dell thread; I marked it for e-mail notification, but never got an e-mail for the last post to me. So I didn't check back there.
I'll try the Dell suggestions and ESET first.
Sorry, my mistake. I should have double-checked back at Dell, rather than counting on just an e-mail notice.
I truly appreciate your help. I'll get back to you after I run those suggested tests.

[Hoov]

Dell had some issues with their forum a while back, it could be you were a victim.

[Hoov]

Per a PM from the originator, the problem here turned out to be hardware in nature. A harddrive failure to be exact. 

As this issue has been resolved this thread will be closed.