[tex-live] Updating and anti-virus software on Windows

[Siep Kroonenberg]

On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 09:43:13PM +0200, Rainer Göllner wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> In a thread starting about a week ago, installing tex-live, there was
> a hint by some George N. White III concerning "anti-virus software
> not being able to keep up". That's the exact wording for a problem
> I think I'm struck with: One installer run breaks after maybe about
> 1500 packages, the next try after 20. Same for updating with
> texlive manager: It may update 20 packages before it stops or
> just 2. It's completley irregular, just like a hickup - you think it's
> over, then it starts again. If I turn off the virus scanner, all is well.
> Seems to me like the anti-virus software is holding a file back
> while the TeX software wants to access it.
> 
> Does anyone know which part of the virus scanner is the culprit?
> Or is my suspicion completly wrong?
> 
> I use NOD32 with Windows 7, 32bit on a notebook and 64bit on
> a PC. For a while I used Kaspersky, the problem was the same.
> The upgrade from TeX Live 2010 to 2011 didn't make any
> difference either.
> 
> Thanks,
>  Rainer

A plausible explanation is that the virus scanner locks some
directory that the installer wants to access.

According to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329065
directory-scanning processes such as indexers and virus scanners may
lock a directory for minutes at a time.

-- 
Siep Kroonenberg