Zone Alarm and 'tvdebug'

[celtish]

I know that 'tvdebug.log' has been a pain for Zone Alarm users for yonks. It kicks in every so often when a Desktop or Quick Launch icon is clicked on and freezes up the machine completely.

The only way I've found of coping with it is to force-reboot into DOS and then run ScanDisk or Langa's Clean9x. The dialogue first come up with an error on tvdebug then goes on to say the numbers on the drive are being misreported.

Has anyone here had similar problems and if so have they found a way of curbing tvdebug without having to repeatedly reboot? (tvdebug cannot be deleted in Windows mode.)

I have been though the Zone Alarm forum many times (http://forum.zonelabs.org/zonelabs/) but nobody has explained it or come up with a proper remedy.

postscriptum - I've just noticed other threads to do with Zone Alarm which the MSFN search did not detect beforehand. And not many are happy with Zone Alarm. Should I delete it and use something else Win98SE-compatible (ZA no longer makes new versions for Win98SE) and if so what and where can it be found.

Edited August 22, 2007 by celtish

[Rick Chauvin]

To remove the tvdebug.log file is easy when it gets too big, simply shutdown ZA from the task bar, and delete it. It will recreate itself fresh each time.

It was always good advice to do the same thing once in a while, although less often, with the .rdb and .lbd files too.

All of these files are located in the C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs folder.

I don't quite understand the problem you are having? ..but first what version do you use?

The last version of ZA for W98SE is v6.1.744.001 which is still available to download here:

Free version:

http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/info...aseHistory.html

Pro version:

http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/info...aseHistory.html

FWIW, with this verson I never use and turn Off! the AntiSpyware, AntiVirus, eMail Protection, and the Privacy options on it.

The only older version before this one that was nearly as stable, was v4.5.594, but that version once in a while would hangup/freeze and need to be rebooted, while in the process it would create those pesky ...tmp files in the above folder which after a while you'd end up with dozens of them; v6.1.744.001 does not do that but it does give those other product options mentioned above - which as mentioned I just turn them all Off in all the versions anyway. ymmv

Edited August 24, 2007 by Rick Chauvin

[legacykeeper]

I delete tvdebug.log and other pesky unwanted files in my autoexec.bat file, while in DOS, not in Windows yet. By the way, ZoneAlarm still can generate large junk 'X*.tmp' files in the Internet Logs directory occasionally. So, add another delete command to autoexec.bat.

Edited August 25, 2007 by legacykeeper

[celtish]

I delete tvdebug.log and other pesky unwanted files in my autoexec.bat file, while in DOS, not in Windows yet. By the way, ZoneAlarm still can generate large junk 'X*.tmp' files in the Internet Logs directory occasionally. So, add another delete command to autoexec.bat.

The only reference I have in autoexec.bat is SET TVDUMPFLAGS=8. Did you delete this without ill-effects and do you have more than this in your autoexec - what delete line do you have in there?

@ Rick Chavin - Yes, I use those versions. In fact the later versions do not work with Win98SE

Edited August 26, 2007 by celtish

[davischan]

I suggest you replacing the tvdebug.log file with a dummy file with the same name created by you using notepad. Then right click on the dummy tvdebug.log file and change its property to read only. That will stop Zonealarm creating a new file tvdebug.log or writing to the dummy tvdebug.log to make it bigger and bigger.

Davis Chan

7/8/08

[Bug_zs]

August 11, 2008

Guys/Gals,

I tried Davis' suggestion and came up short. When I rebooted I

checked the tvDebug.log and it was bigger and the "Read Only" was

unchecked.

This is what I came up with:

In place of my ZoneAlarm Icon on my desktop, I substituted a Batch

File shortcut and named it "ZoneAlarm". The batch file reads like so:

DEL "C:\Windows\Internet Logs\tvDebug.log"

wait 2

start "D:\Program Files\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"

This deletes the tvDebug.log file, waits 2 seconds and then executes

the ZoneAlarm exe.

Problem solved!

Bug_zs

P. S. If you STILL wanna kill the tvDebug.log after being online for a while,

just shutdown ZA then click on that desktop Icon to get ZA up and running.

[leejosepho]

To remove the tvdebug.log file is easy when it gets too big, simply shutdown ZA from the task bar, and delete it. It will recreate itself fresh each time.

Greetings to all.

I just found this discussion, and the above is helping ... but I am still having a lockup problem during my Win98se startup. Most of the time, I have to press my reset button at least once before the OS will come all the way up, and I always have to repair "lost chains" in tvdebug along the way.

The last version of ZA for W98SE is v6.1.744.001 which is still available to download ...

I had a much earlier version, and I have now done that upgrade. Following the install, I found two lines setting "tvdump flags" in my autoexec file. The first was set for "10", and the other was set for "8". I have deleted the line for "10". Is that correct?

In place of my ZoneAlarm Icon on my desktop, I substituted a Batch

File shortcut and named it "ZoneAlarm". The batch file reads like so:

DEL "C:\Windows\Internet Logs\tvDebug.log"

wait 2

start "D:\Program Files\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"

This deletes the tvDebug.log file, waits 2 seconds and then executes

the ZoneAlarm exe.

I believe I will try that next ...