what happens when a virus scan says a corrupt file is in a read only partition?

Answer 1

it means it cannot clean or delete it.

Answer 2

That is when the file is locked so that nothing can change it or remove it.

You need a better virus prevention program.
Try updating your virus program, better yet get AVG free.
If for some reason it is not a virus and it is just an actually corrupted file, you will need to run scan disk on your computer to verify that the hard drive is not bad, if it is you had better get a new hard drive and copy you important files over before the drive go's completely out, and it will go out taking everything with it.

You can find the scan disk program in windows XP by going:
Start/all programs/accessories/command prompt/

Then type in CHKDSK C: /F /R

The /F option means to fix any errors found, and the /R option tells CHKDSK to check scan for bad disk sectors and recover any readable information.

If you're strictly a point & click person, you can still run CHKDSK. Click on My Computer, then right-click on the C: line and select Properties. Now click the Tools tab and under the Error Checking heading you see a button labeled Check Now. Give that sucker a good whack and you're off to the races.

NOTE: Sometimes CHKDSK cannot correct disk errors because it needs exclusive access to certain files that are in use. In this case, CHKDSK will offer to run the check automatically when the computer is re-started.

If CHKDSK offers to "convert lost chains to files" or otherwise recover lost data, you should accept. After CHKDSK finishes, you should look for files named FILE0000.CHK, FILE0001.CHK, etc. You can open these files with Notepad or another text editor to see if they contain any useful information.

If it is a virus you really need to get rid of it by using a virus protection program.

My favorite ones are ZoneAlarm, AVG, Spybot - Search & Destroy, CCleaner In that order.

Answer 3

Usually that means the file is being loaded during boot up, and it "in use" by the time you run your virus scanner, so it can not delete the file.

CLean the rest of the virus, reboot and then rerun the virus scanner. Often removing the rest of the files for the virus will prevent it from loading on the next reboot, and then you can finish cleaning it.

If that does not work, reboot the computer in Safe Mode. (Turn on the the PC and repeatedly press the F8 key until you get a screen with the Safe Mode option. ) When in Safe Mode,your computer will only load the minimal number for files needed to start Windows. The Virus file should not be loaded, and you should be able to run the virus scanner and clean it.

Finally, if even that fails, get the name of the file, search for it using the Search function of the Start menu, and manually delete the file.