Resolve a scan that will not start

If a cPFence v4+ scan does not start, read the actual error before retrying.

1. Confirm the target server is connected, licensed and available to your account. Support users need scan permission.
2. Check Scan Summary for an active scan. Wait for it, or stop that scan deliberately; do not start duplicates.
3. Check Diagnostics or the command’s reported log for the failure stage.
4. As root, check memory and swap with free -h. Look at available memory and sustained swap use, not just the free column.
5. Resolve the reported condition and retry once the server has spare capacity.

Open Diagnostics on the relevant scan record. This example is a completed clean scan; names and paths are blurred. Select the image for full size; use browser Back to return.

RAM is preferable to swap

More RAM is the better solution for persistent memory pressure. Where an immediate upgrade is not possible, an administrator can consider 2–4 GB of swap appropriate to the server as a temporary fallback. Swap does not guarantee a scan will start or improve performance; sustained swapping is a reason to reduce work.

Do not force work onto an overloaded server

Repeated scans can worsen website latency. Pause additional work during resource pressure and consider disabling proactive scanning on a constrained server.

If the cause remains unclear, contact support with the error, scan mode and time. Omit credentials and unrelated private data. See scan progress and results.