mscan64a.dat is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like mscan64a.dat, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like AlertManagerReg.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. McAfee Total Protection) could share the same mscan64a.dat file, saving valuable memory allocation, therefore making your computer run more efficiently.
Unfortunately, what makes DLL files so convenient and efficient, also makes them extremely vulnerable to problems. If something happens to a shared DAT file, either it goes missing or gets corrupted in some way, it can generate a "runtime" error message. Runtime is pretty self-explanatory; it means that these errors are triggered when mscan64a.dat is attempted to be loaded either when McAfee Total Protection is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common mscan64a.dat errors include:
- Access Violation at address - mscan64a.dat.
- mscan64a.dat could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\AMContent\scanners\x86_64\avengine\6010.8670\mscan64a.dat.
- Cannot register mscan64a.dat.
- Cannot start McAfee Total Protection. A required component is missing: mscan64a.dat. Please install McAfee Total Protection again.
- Failed to load mscan64a.dat.
- The application has failed to start because mscan64a.dat was not found.
- The file mscan64a.dat is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because mscan64a.dat was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your mscan64a.dat file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with McAfee Total Protection), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, mscan64a.dat file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading McAfee Total Protection, system crash while loading mscan64a.dat, bad sectors on your storage media (usually your primary hard drive), or quite commonly, a malware infection. Thus, it's critical to make sure your anti-virus is kept up-to-date and scanning regularly.