I have a Toshiba Satellite L755 running Windows 7 Home Premium (currently) Avast Free Antivirus 17.8.2318.
Yesterday I my laptop ran its scheduled full computer scan, which I ave set to scan "all removable media". This normally takes between nine and ten and a half hours, most of which is spent scanning my 500GB Toshiba Canvio USB hard drive. I also connect my 16GB flash drive during the scan.
However, when I checked on its progress about four hours and twenty minutes in, my external drive showed no sign of activity, and Avast showed zero percent progress. As I have previously gotten inaccurate progress indications corrected by going to the Antivirus screen and clicking on "Full Virus Scan" again, I did so, and still saw "0%" displayed. I canceled the scan, and clicked"SCAN HISTORY", where the scan was listed as having been completed in "1:20:44", testing 115.6GB,instead of the usual 1.1TB. Normally, my laptop would go to sleep when the scan is completed, as I leave my laptop alone aside from occasional progress checks.
Therefore, I checked my inbox, then restarted my laptop; after, when I was unable to open the Avast UI. As I have been unable to open it before, I restarted again, and was able to open the UI.
However, when I started a full computer scan, the problem recurred (supposed run time: 1:16:14, 116.0GB tested), so I tried using the "Repair" function from Programs and Features.
After restarting again, I ran the same scan, which supposedly lasted 1:25:43 and scanned 117.7GB. The scan still showed zero progress when it came time for Backup and Restore to make a backup, over fifteen minutes after the supposed completion. I tried to open Backup and Restore to stop the backup, which I expected to fail, but everything except Avast and the cursor froze, including the Start Menu. After waiting in hopes of anything changing, I forced a shutdown, then started my laptop again.
My final scan attempt supposedly lasted 1:13:02, scanning 116.0GB.
These results my be caused by scanning until getting to my external drives, hitting a problem, and getting stuck there, but I don't know what that problem is.
Can anyone help me?