Microsoft Safety Scanner
Do you think your PC has a virus?
The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.
After you run the Microsoft Safety Scanner, you receive a message that states that errors were found during the scan, and you are directed to this article for more information.
Note: Some of these errors are informational messages or minor issues and may not require additional action. Specifically, failures that are marked as a warning in the log are less serious than failures that are marked as an error.
How to troubleshoot specific errors
To determine why you received an error message, follow these steps:
- Click Start, then click Run.
- Type the following command: %systemroot%\debug. Click OK.
- Note: %systemroot% is the path and the folder name where the Windows system files are located. Typically, this is C:\Windows, although you can designate a different drive or folder when you install Windows.
- Double click the file named msert. Notepad will open.
- In the new Notepad window, scroll until you find the error(s). They will usually start with 0x.
- Match the error code(s) with the ones listed in the table below, then follow the instructions listed in the Use this procedure section. If your error code is not listed in the following table, see the How to obtain Help and Support section.
Error code | Cause | Use this procedure |
0x80508019 | The scan destination file or drive does not exist. | 0x80508019. |
0x80508007 | The system has low memory. | 0x80508007. |
0x8050800C | System not running in a specific user context. | 0x8050800C. |
0x8050A005 | The signatures are not signed. | 0x8050A005. |
0x8050A002 | The signature database is corrupted. | 0x8050A002. |
0x8050A004 | The signatures are not valid or are corrupted. | 0x8050A004. |
0x80508002 | The signature database is corrupted. | 0x80508002. |
0x80508004 | The signature database is corrupted. | 0x80508004. |
0x8050A001 | Could not load, there are signatures missing. | 0x8050A001. |
0x80508001 | The engine could not load. | 0x80508001. |
0x80508025 | The user must follow a procedure. | 0x80508025. |
0x80508024 | Run a full scan and then take the action again. | 0x80508024. |
0x80508026 | The resources is a file in an archive. | 0x80508026 |
To perform a procedure that is listed in the table, see the following procedures:
Change the scan destination file or drive
- Start the Microsoft Safety Scanner.
- In Scan Type, click Customized scan, then click Choose Folder.
- In Browse For Folder, click a different file or drive, click OK, and then click Next.
- Start the Microsoft Safety Scanner, then click Next.
- In Scan Type, select which type of scan you prefer, and then click Next.
Restart the computer, then retry the scan
- Restart your computer.
- For Windows XP: click Start, then click Shutdown. Under the drop down list, click Restart, and then click OK.
- For Windows Vista or Windows 7: Click the Start button, click the arrow in the lower right corner of the Start menu, and then click Restart.
- Start the Microsoft Safety Scanner, then click Next.
- In Scan Type, select which type of scan you prefer, and then click Next.
Download the Microsoft Safety Scanner again
- Go to http://safety.live.com to locate the download link.
Follow the instructions in the log or in the notification
If the Microsoft Safety Scanner notifies you of an error and gives you instructions, follow those instructions. If there are no instructions from the tool, you can look for instructions in the log file for the tool. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click Start, then click Run.
- Type the following command: %systemroot%\debug. Click OK.
- Note: %systemroot% is the path and the folder name where the Windows system files are located. Typically, this is C:\Windows, although you can designate a different drive or folder when you install Windows.
- Double click the file named msert. Notepad will open.
- In the new Notepad window, scroll until you find the error(s). They will usually start with 0x.
- Follow any instructions listed in the most recent entry of the log. If there are no instructions, note the error code number and see the How to troubleshoot specific errors section.
- Start the Microsoft Safety Scanner, and then click Next.
- In Scan Type, click Full Scan, and then click Next.
Identify the file archive, and remove the file manually
During a scan, Microsoft Safety Scanner detects possible malicious software contained in a file archive, such as a .zip file. You should determine whether the file is malicious software, and remove it from the archive manually. To determine whether the file is malicious, follow the steps below:
- Visit the Microsoft Malware Protection Center at: http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/
(http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/)
- Click Learn more about malware.
- In the Search the Encyclopedia box, type the name of the file and click the magnifying glass button.
- If the file is listed as malicious:
- Click Start, then click Run.
- Type the name of the file and click OK.
- Windows Explorer will appear. Find the file in the window and right click it, then click Delete.
- If a User Account Window appears, click Yes.
- If the file is not listed in the Encyclopedia and you are certain it’s malicious, click Submit a sample. Follow the onscreen instruction to send us the file for review.
How to obtain Help and Support.
This article describes how to use the error codes provided by the Microsoft Safety Scanner. If you are receiving an error code that is not discussed in this article, free Microsoft Customer Support Services is available by submitting a support case
. For more information about how to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary, visit the following International Support Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx
Microsoft also provides Microsoft Security Essentials, a free program that helps protect your computer from being infected by viruses and malware. To download Microsoft Security Essentials, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx