XP Boot Issues ...

[Dave]

hi folks,

problems lately, booting into XP pro. got all the latest updates, SP3, etc.

for the last 3 months or so, gradual increase of problems booting XP.
Sometimes the computer hangs while window is loading (black screen);
sometimes it hangs, freezing my desktop wallpaper (no icons appear). I used
to be able to re-start by a forced shutdown (holding in the power button),
lately I seem to have to boot once in SAFE MODE, then a 2nd time in "last
known good" config to get back in. Then I'll have a series of a few good
boots, and it's back to the same again.

I figure it's either a corrupt C drive, or a corrupt windows installation
(or registry). Trouble is, when I run CHKDSK, windows always gives me an
error message, something to the effect that the drive cannot be accessed.

any hints, clues or advice will be appreciated..

Dave

 

[123Jim]

hi folks,

problems lately, booting into XP pro. got all the latest updates, SP3,
etc.

for the last 3 months or so, gradual increase of problems booting XP.
Sometimes the computer hangs while window is loading (black screen);
sometimes it hangs, freezing my desktop wallpaper (no icons appear). I
used to be able to re-start by a forced shutdown (holding in the power
button), lately I seem to have to boot once in SAFE MODE, then a 2nd time
in "last known good" config to get back in. Then I'll have a series of a
few good boots, and it's back to the same again.

I figure it's either a corrupt C drive, or a corrupt windows installation
(or registry). Trouble is, when I run CHKDSK, windows always gives me an
error message, something to the effect that the drive cannot be accessed.

any hints, clues or advice will be appreciated..

Run chkdsk from xp recovery console? (booting XP OS CD)

If you don't have an XP CD you could use UBCD
http://www.ubcd4win.com/index.htm to boot from the CD drive and run CHKDSK.

 

[SC Tom]

hi folks,

problems lately, booting into XP pro. got all the latest updates, SP3,
etc.

for the last 3 months or so, gradual increase of problems booting XP.
Sometimes the computer hangs while window is loading (black screen);
sometimes it hangs, freezing my desktop wallpaper (no icons appear). I
used to be able to re-start by a forced shutdown (holding in the power
button), lately I seem to have to boot once in SAFE MODE, then a 2nd time
in "last known good" config to get back in. Then I'll have a series of a
few good boots, and it's back to the same again.

I figure it's either a corrupt C drive, or a corrupt windows installation
(or registry). Trouble is, when I run CHKDSK, windows always gives me an
error message, something to the effect that the drive cannot be accessed.

any hints, clues or advice will be appreciated..

Dave

Is the message similar to "This drive is locked and cannot be accessed. Do
you want to run chkdsk on your next boot (Y/N)?" ? If so, then type Y, press
Enter, then reboot. Chkdsk will then run as it is booting up.

 

[Stefan Patric]

hi folks,

problems lately, booting into XP pro. got all the latest updates, SP3,
etc.

for the last 3 months or so, gradual increase of problems booting XP.
Sometimes the computer hangs while window is loading (black screen);
sometimes it hangs, freezing my desktop wallpaper (no icons appear). I
used to be able to re-start by a forced shutdown (holding in the power
button), lately I seem to have to boot once in SAFE MODE, then a 2nd
time in "last known good" config to get back in. Then I'll have a
series of a few good boots, and it's back to the same again.

I figure it's either a corrupt C drive, or a corrupt windows
installation (or registry). Trouble is, when I run CHKDSK, windows
always gives me an error message, something to the effect that the drive
cannot be accessed.

any hints, clues or advice will be appreciated..

Before doing anything, back up your all data and/or your user directory
to an external source--hard drive, CD, etc. I use a bootable LiveCD to
do this.

Do virus/malware scans. I use one of the many bootable "repair" CDs
available on the 'Net. That way, you won't have to depend on a "sick"
system booting off a possibly "bad" hard drive.

After the scans--do multiples with a few different utilities--run CHKDSK
or whatever disk diagnostic utils that's on the CD. CHKDSK isn't all
that good. Run a SMART hard disk check, too. If SMART indicates the
drive is on its last legs, buy a new drive, do a clean OS install, and
resort your data/settings.

If the problem(s) persists, and the drive checks "good", and you have a
Windows XP Pro install CD, do a Repair install to find and replace any
bad system files. If this works, you'll probably have to update the
system to SP3, etc. The Repair install shouldn't affect your settings or
data, but you backed them up anyway, right?

If the Repair install doesn't work, bite the bullet and do a clean, from
"scratch" install.

If you don't have a Windows Install CD, see if you can do a Restore
install. Hopefully, you have a hidden Restore partition. If this works,
update the system, clone it as a back up, restore your data/settings.

Stef

 

[Dave]

Before doing anything, back up your all data and/or your user directory
to an external source--hard drive, CD, etc. I use a bootable LiveCD to
do this.

Do virus/malware scans. I use one of the many bootable "repair" CDs
available on the 'Net. That way, you won't have to depend on a "sick"
system booting off a possibly "bad" hard drive.

After the scans--do multiples with a few different utilities--run CHKDSK
or whatever disk diagnostic utils that's on the CD. CHKDSK isn't all
that good. Run a SMART hard disk check, too. If SMART indicates the
drive is on its last legs, buy a new drive, do a clean OS install, and
resort your data/settings.

If the problem(s) persists, and the drive checks "good", and you have a
Windows XP Pro install CD, do a Repair install to find and replace any
bad system files. If this works, you'll probably have to update the
system to SP3, etc. The Repair install shouldn't affect your settings or
data, but you backed them up anyway, right?

If the Repair install doesn't work, bite the bullet and do a clean, from
"scratch" install.

If you don't have a Windows Install CD, see if you can do a Restore
install. Hopefully, you have a hidden Restore partition. If this works,
update the system, clone it as a back up, restore your data/settings.

Stef

Thanks to all for replies on this issue. To clarify about CHKDSK, I would
'command' it - either from the drive's properties dialogue or from a CMD
screen issued from RUN. On my next boot, and often many others (meaning,
the command got 'stuck'), I would get an error that said something like
"Drive C is inaccessible... etc". On and on for many boots. There were no
options given.

As an aside, I did get virus alert from AVG on a site I visited (perhaps a
year ago), and I remember sometime after that, I recall hearing a "beep" at
the tail end of the BIOS boot process, which was never there before. I
wondered about a possible MBR virus, but I didn't have the technology or
time to address it. AVG's computer scan showed nothing. So, there may
still be something lurking in the "pre-windows" boot sequence which is
unfriendly. I don't really have the technical smarts to address MBR stuff,
unless a clean install of XP would do the trick.

Stefan, your reply had some good suggestions, but where would I find a
"bootable repair CD" on the internet, something capable of checking the
Master Boot Record? Could you elaborate on "Smart Disk check"? Is this a
utility, or is it a windows command?

thanks to all for your responses..

Dave

 

[Dave]

Before doing anything, back up your all data and/or your user directory
to an external source--hard drive, CD, etc. I use a bootable LiveCD to
do this.

Do virus/malware scans. I use one of the many bootable "repair" CDs
available on the 'Net. That way, you won't have to depend on a "sick"
system booting off a possibly "bad" hard drive.

After the scans--do multiples with a few different utilities--run CHKDSK
or whatever disk diagnostic utils that's on the CD. CHKDSK isn't all
that good. Run a SMART hard disk check, too. If SMART indicates the
drive is on its last legs, buy a new drive, do a clean OS install, and
resort your data/settings.

If the problem(s) persists, and the drive checks "good", and you have a
Windows XP Pro install CD, do a Repair install to find and replace any
bad system files. If this works, you'll probably have to update the
system to SP3, etc. The Repair install shouldn't affect your settings or
data, but you backed them up anyway, right?

If the Repair install doesn't work, bite the bullet and do a clean, from
"scratch" install.

If you don't have a Windows Install CD, see if you can do a Restore
install. Hopefully, you have a hidden Restore partition. If this works,
update the system, clone it as a back up, restore your data/settings.

Stef

Thanks to all for replies on this issue. To clarify about CHKDSK, I would
'command' it - either from the drive's properties dialogue or from a CMD
screen issued from RUN. On my next boot, and often many others (meaning,
the command got 'stuck'), I would get an error that said something like
"Drive C is inaccessible... etc". On and on for many boots. There were no
options given.

As an aside, I did get virus alert from AVG on a site I visited (perhaps a
year ago), and I remember sometime after that, I recall hearing a "beep" at
the tail end of the BIOS boot process, which was never there before. I
wondered about a possible MBR virus, but I didn't have the technology or
time to address it. AVG's computer scan showed nothing. So, there may
still be something lurking in the "pre-windows" boot sequence which is
unfriendly. I don't really have the technical smarts to address MBR stuff,
unless a clean install of XP would do the trick.

Stefan, your reply had some good suggestions, but where would I find a
"bootable repair CD" on the internet, something capable of checking the
Master Boot Record? Could you elaborate on "Smart Disk check"? Is this a
utility, or is it a windows command?

thanks to all for your responses..

Dave

 

[Stefan Patric]

Thanks to all for replies on this issue. To clarify about CHKDSK, I
would 'command' it - either from the drive's properties dialogue or from
a CMD screen issued from RUN. On my next boot, and often many others
(meaning, the command got 'stuck'), I would get an error that said
something like "Drive C is inaccessible... etc". On and on for many
boots. There were no options given.

As an aside, I did get virus alert from AVG on a site I visited (perhaps
a year ago), and I remember sometime after that, I recall hearing a
"beep" at the tail end of the BIOS boot process, which was never there
before. I wondered about a possible MBR virus, but I didn't have the
technology or time to address it. AVG's computer scan showed nothing.
So, there may still be something lurking in the "pre-windows" boot
sequence which is unfriendly. I don't really have the technical smarts
to address MBR stuff, unless a clean install of XP would do the trick.

Stefan, your reply had some good suggestions, but where would I find a
"bootable repair CD" on the internet, something capable of checking the
Master Boot Record? Could you elaborate on "Smart Disk check"? Is this
a utility, or is it a windows command?

This is a pretty good one: http://www.ubcd4win.com/ Runs under XP with
a GUI. No "DOS" terminal. However, you'll need a working XP system and
CD to "build" and burn the bootable CD. There are others. Just Google
or Yahoo them.

If you think your MBR is "infected" and you can boot your system to the
Repair Console (press the F8 key when booting and choose "Repair") and
you're not dual booting another OS, enter this command: fixmbr. That
will install a standard Windows MBR on the System drive, usually C:,
overwriting the old one.

SMART is an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology. It is used to monitor hard drive viability. Most times the
utility CD that came with your system or hard drive will have the SMART
software on it, or you can download it from the hard drive manufacturer's
site, or get it from a software site like http://www.tucows.com/ or,
maybe, even from Microsoft. Although, I've never check to see if they
have it.

Stef

 

[Jose]

Thanks to all for replies on this issue.  To clarify about CHKDSK, I would
'command' it - either from the drive's properties dialogue or from a CMD
screen issued from RUN.  On my next boot, and often many others (meaning,
the command got 'stuck'), I would get an error that said something like
"Drive C is inaccessible... etc". On and on for many boots.  There wereno
options given.

As an aside, I did get virus alert from AVG on a site I visited (perhaps a
year ago), and I remember sometime after that, I recall hearing a "beep" at
the tail end of the BIOS boot process, which was never there before.  I
wondered about a possible MBR virus, but I didn't have the technology or
time to address it.  AVG's computer scan showed nothing.  So, there may
still be something lurking in the "pre-windows" boot sequence which is
unfriendly.  I don't really have the technical smarts to address MBR stuff,
unless a clean install of XP would do the trick.

Stefan, your reply had some good suggestions, but where would I find a
"bootable repair CD" on the internet, something capable of checking the
Master Boot Record?  Could you elaborate on "Smart Disk check"?  Is this a
utility, or is it a windows command?

thanks to all for your responses..

Dave

UBCD4WIN sure comes up a lot, but there is usually one important tip
missing in the suggestions to build one:

You will not build a UBCD4WIN if you do not already have a genuine
bootable XP installation CD.

UBCD4Win recommends that the CD you use to build it has the same
Service Pack as your installation. Hopefully, most systems are
running SP3, but if you have not built by hand a slipstreamed XP
installation CD with SP3 on, you will miss that too.

I would say that most people don't have a genuine bootable XP
installation CD or they are not sure what they have. If they had a
genuine bootable XP installation CD, they would usually boot the XP
Recovery Console from that (they would be using it).

Any System Recovery type CDs that may have come with your system will
not be of use to you to build a UBCD4WIN CD.

Since most people don't have a genuine bootable XP installation CD,
you need to learn how to fix these things without one.

You can build a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and run chkdsk /r,
fixmbr, etc from there there with no XP media required (I would do
that first).

You could also build a Hiren's BootCD and use its dozens of tools with
no XP media required (I would do that for fun after your system is
running).

If your system boots sometimes and only gets to the wallpaper, there
is nothing wrong with your MBR or you would not get that far.

If you system boots as as far as the wallpaper and that is all you see
(no desktop icons, no Taskbar, etc), then you need to say that... and
we can fix that long enough for you to get running and run some scans
for malicious software (that is a classic "is now or was infected"
symptom).

One short beep on a reboot after the BIOS POST (Power On Self Test) is
generally a good sign that the system is happy.

If you can boot okay sometimes, you should run some scans for
malicious software first. It does not make sense to try to start
fixing things on a system that is infected with malicious software:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

When the scans run clean, then troubleshoot any remaining issues.

If you think there is some problem with your chkdsk, boot into the XP
Recovery Console and run chkdsk /r from there and you can see what is
happening and then decide what to do next. When the Recovery Console
chkdsk runs clean, then fix whatever other problems you have trying to
run chkdsk from your running Windows. First, you need to see what is
going on.

If you have no bootable XP media (or are not sure what you have)
create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and be sure.

This is not the same as any recovery disks that might have come a
store bought system.

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and
create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the

C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename,
replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt.

First verify the integrity of your file system using the chkdsk
command.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine even if it doesn't find any problems. It will
not hurt anything to run it.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
a long time for chkdsk to complete or it may appear to be 'stuck'. Be
patient. If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing
something. Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is
still making progress. It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

You should run chkdsk /r again until it finds no errors to correct.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
CD will not be present.

 

[SC Tom]

This is a pretty good one: http://www.ubcd4win.com/ Runs under XP with
a GUI. No "DOS" terminal. However, you'll need a working XP system and
CD to "build" and burn the bootable CD. There are others. Just Google
or Yahoo them.

If you think your MBR is "infected" and you can boot your system to the
Repair Console (press the F8 key when booting and choose "Repair") and
you're not dual booting another OS, enter this command: fixmbr. That
will install a standard Windows MBR on the System drive, usually C:,
overwriting the old one.

SMART is an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology. It is used to monitor hard drive viability. Most times the
utility CD that came with your system or hard drive will have the SMART
software on it, or you can download it from the hard drive manufacturer's
site, or get it from a software site like http://www.tucows.com/ or,
maybe, even from Microsoft. Although, I've never check to see if they
have it.

Stef

SMART is not software; it is built into the HDD and recognized by the PC
motherboard, assuming that the MB and the HDD are SMART compatible. There
are diagnostic utilities that can be downloaded from various sites, but they
don't rely on SMART technology to give you a report. Most of those utilities
will also work on older, non-SMART drives.

 

[Stefan Patric]

[big snip]
SMART is an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology. It is used to monitor hard drive viability. Most times
the utility CD that came with your system or hard drive will have the
SMART software on it, or you can download it from the hard drive
manufacturer's site, or get it from a software site like
http://www.tucows.com/ or, maybe, even from Microsoft. Although, I've
never check to see if they have it.

Stef

SMART is not software; it is built into the HDD and recognized by the PC
motherboard, assuming that the MB and the HDD are SMART compatible.
There are diagnostic utilities that can be downloaded from various
sites, but they don't rely on SMART technology to give you a report.
Most of those utilities will also work on older, non-SMART drives.

I didn't mean to imply SMART was software. I was referring to the
software used to access SMART data. Perhaps instead, I should have said
"...SMART 'monitoring' software...." I use smartmontools.

http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/


Stef

 

[SC Tom]

[big snip]
SMART is an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology. It is used to monitor hard drive viability. Most times
the utility CD that came with your system or hard drive will have the
SMART software on it, or you can download it from the hard drive
manufacturer's site, or get it from a software site like
http://www.tucows.com/ or, maybe, even from Microsoft. Although, I've
never check to see if they have it.

Stef

SMART is not software; it is built into the HDD and recognized by the PC
motherboard, assuming that the MB and the HDD are SMART compatible.
There are diagnostic utilities that can be downloaded from various
sites, but they don't rely on SMART technology to give you a report.
Most of those utilities will also work on older, non-SMART drives.

I didn't mean to imply SMART was software. I was referring to the
software used to access SMART data. Perhaps instead, I should have said
"...SMART 'monitoring' software...." I use smartmontools.

http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/


Stef

Ah yes, by saying it that way, I'm no longer confused. Now that I reread
your other post, I see what you meant. Sorry for the confusion

 

[IanC]

Hi Jose

You could also build a Hiren's BootCD and use its dozens of tools with
no XP media required (I would do that for fun after your system is
running).

I was intrigued by this so looked it up. The CD contents sound like a useful
package, but how would I go about building one of these. The site suggests
that it is a ready-made item, but there's no option to download/purchase
this.

<<remainder snipped>>

 

[Jose]

Hi Jose





I was intrigued by this so looked it up. The CD contents sound like a useful
package, but how would I go about building one of these. The site suggests
that it is a ready-made item, but there's no option to download/purchase
this.

<<remainder snipped>>

I suggest you make a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and a Hiren's
BootCD.

Some problems are best fixed with Recovery Console, somethings are
easier with Hiren's.

If I was running chkdsk /r, I would use Recovery Console. If I needed
to find and replace a missing file, search the HDD, copy a bunch of
files off to a USB device, clear a forgotten password, I would use
Hiren's since the interface looks like the Windows XP desktop you are
already comfortable using.

Make yourself a Hiren's BootCD which you can download from here:

http://www.hirensbootcd.net/

On the left, click Download, scroll down to the bottom, choose the
latest version

The download link is a little hard to see and find for some reason so
here are some ideas (they seem to change it around for some reason,
but that could just me my interpretation). If you can't figure it
out, let me know so I can update my copy/paste directions.

On the page for the latest version are information pages about what
has changed in the latest version. Look near the bottom of the page
and you will be on page 1 of some number of pages (1 of 9, 2 of 9, 3
of 9...).... The link to download the ZIP file is on the very last
page which right now for version 12, is on page 9.

One would think you would just click some link called "Download the
latest version" and that would be it, but it doesn't seem to work that
way (at least for me).

Also check for the download link at the bottom of the page above the
drop down list for older versions and looks like this (click this part
to download the ZIP file:

Direct HTTP Mirror + Torrent + Torrent Magnet

Click the "Direct HTTP Mirror" link to start the download and save the
ZIP file to your desktop of someplace you can remember.

The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little
while to complete. Then unzip the download to extract the
Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable
CD.

Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just
copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that
understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.

In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double
click to launch it. The BurnToCD.cmd will use the extracted
BurnCDCC.exe file to burn the .ISO file to a blank CD using your
existing CD burner. You can also use your own CD burning software as
long as your software is capable of creating a bootable CD from a .ISO
file. Most modern CD burning programs can create bootable CDs from
an .ISO image. Creating a bootable CD from an ISO image is not the
same as just burning the file to a CD.

If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a
popular free program:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer
that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose
the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded
and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of
the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.

Using the Mini XP, you can access the Internet, maneuver around your
system, search for files, copy files, replace files, run various scans
for malicious software, edit text files (like the c:\boot.ini) etc.

There are dozens of free and useful tools included in the CD that can
be used to repair your system or copy your important personal files to
another device (like a USB device or external drive) in the event that
you just give up and decide to reinstall your XP (hopefully you will
not make that decision).

 

[IanC]

I suggest you make a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and a Hiren's
BootCD.

Some problems are best fixed with Recovery Console, somethings are
easier with Hiren's.

If I was running chkdsk /r, I would use Recovery Console. If I
needed
to find and replace a missing file, search the HDD, copy a bunch of
files off to a USB device, clear a forgotten password, I would use
Hiren's since the interface looks like the Windows XP desktop you
are
already comfortable using.

Make yourself a Hiren's BootCD which you can download from here:

http://www.hirensbootcd.net/

No wonder I couldn't find the download link, when I searched I found
inormation about it at hiren.info, but no indication of where to go to
download it.

On the left, click Download, scroll down to the bottom, choose the
latest version

The download link is a little hard to see and find for some reason
so
here are some ideas (they seem to change it around for some reason,
but that could just me my interpretation). If you can't figure it
out, let me know so I can update my copy/paste directions.

On the page for the latest version are information pages about what
has changed in the latest version. Look near the bottom of the page
and you will be on page 1 of some number of pages (1 of 9, 2 of 9, 3
of 9...).... The link to download the ZIP file is on the very last
page which right now for version 12, is on page 9.

Perfect directions

One would think you would just click some link called "Download the
latest version" and that would be it, but it doesn't seem to work
that
way (at least for me).

There's a text link near the bottom of page 9 that simply says
Hirens.BootCD.12.0.zip with filesize and MD5 info. Clicking this link
got me going

Also check for the download link at the bottom of the page above the
drop down list for older versions and looks like this (click this
part
to download the ZIP file:

Direct HTTP Mirror + Torrent + Torrent Magnet

Click the "Direct HTTP Mirror" link to start the download and save
the
ZIP file to your desktop of someplace you can remember.

Couldn't find this, but the link I mentioned earlier started the
download.


At the end of the download I got a message saying the file couldn't be
saved indicating an access error and suggesting the disk might be
full. This wasn't the case so I tried again a few times. After the 5th
attempt. I didn't acknowledge the file copy error and searched the
hard disk for files modified today. It found 5 quarantined files!! My
AV had been quarantining them at the end of the download and before
the transfer from the temporary file to the permanent location.

I've sent an email to them asking if they know about this. The
apparent virus is identified as PAK_Generic.001.