Hey all,

I'm running ClamWin in an old Windows 98 system (the SourceForge page says it supports all versions of Windows from 98 and on) that doesn't have access to the internet (it's actually in Virtual PC on a Mac), so I downloaded the definitions from SourceForge and manually installed them. However, the scanner claims there's only 800ish known definitions, and it says "malformed database". I set the location of the definitions to another arbitrary place instead of the default location. And when I use the definitions that came with the program, it also says "malformed database" with only 700ish known viruses. I downloaded the setup *.EXE from SourceForge as well. How can I fix this?

Thanks for your help.

Try uninstalling ClamWin and then re-installing it. That can clear up some problems. Also, try to use the default location for the data files (including the virus definitions).

I suppose your problem might be due to the virtual environment. There is not any significant experience with the use of ClamWin in a virtual environment. Developer Alch uses it in a Win 98 VM, and I have not heard of any problems from him.

Regards,

Thanks for your reply. I reinstalled from the same *.EXE, and installed everything to the default locations and overwrote the default definitions with the current ones from SourceForge, and even restarted. Still the same problem. At one point, it said 0 definitions and no memory, but that was fixed by restarting.

Also, when installing, I disabled the "windows explorer integration" and I didn't install shortcuts in the desktop or start menu.

The lack of shortcuts/explorer integration shouldn't cause any problems. There is a fix for some Win 98 problems in ClamWin from a third party that might help. I will try to find it and get back here to you.

Regards,

The fix is at https://www.msfn.org/board/topic/151192-unofficial-clamwin-patch-for-win98se/ on the web. It involves fixing some scanning problems, so I don't think it will help you. Make sure your calendar/clock are set correctly in the VM and that you are using the current .98.1 version of ClamWin. That's about all I can think of unless some other users can help. Malware, malware detection and software/hardware are constantly changing. Win 98 is a fixed application, so it is getting harder to support it.

Regards,

Thanks for your reply. I installed version 0.97 and the patch, and it still said "malformed database", but with 70Kish definitions this time. I put in the new definitions (replacing the default ones) I downloaded from SourceForge and the patch files you linked me to, and it's still the same 801ish known viruses with "malformed database". If I use the latest version of ClamWin (.98.1), it's the problem in the OP.

The time in the virtual machine is auto-set by the clock in the OS outside, which is current.

The only suggestion I have left is to install (if possible) the same version of ClamWin outside the VM and see how it works. If it works okay, the problem is in the VM. If it doesn't, then I guess the problem is with ClamWin. Try that and get back to us here.

Regards,

The problem is that outside of the VM, it's Mac OS X (10.3.9). Unless there's Wine or something for 10.3.9 (I haven't been able to find it), it's obviously impossible to run ClamWin without a virtual machine. I could also try a VM with Windows XP if I ever buy a copy though.

I'm using Virtual PC 6 (old software before MS obtained the rights to it).

There's Clam for Mac, but last time I checked, downloading the latest definitions for the Mac version gives you a "malformed database" error (because apparently they only work with 10.4 or higher), and I don't know if there's a way to fix that.

Thanks again for all your help though. Does ClamWin normally run fine in Win98?

I still want to leave this thread open in case there are other ideas out there.

ClamWin usually runs okay in Win 98. Now and then there are some problems due to it being a "closed" OS, but the developers have been able to work around that in most cases. I sense a growing reluctance (understandably) to work on it, however.

If you have a similar problem with the database in Clam AV for Mac in your VM, that might indicate a VM problem.

I hope someone else can help.

Regards,