scanning time

[bilmcg]

How long should a through scan take.I downloaded and installed avast last night and started a through scan. so far it been scanning for 7 hours and only 9% done. Is this normal or is something wrong. 

[DavidR]

Insufficient data to compute.

What is your OS, CPU, RAM ?
How big are the hard disks and how much data is on them ?

Did you also select scan archives ?

However, questions aside 7 hours for 9% would have to be a very large amount of data to be scanned and a slow system with limited RAM. So there is possibly something else going on behind the scenes, excuse the pun.

Have (or did) you another AV installed in this system, if so what was it and how did you get rid of it ?

What other security applications do you have installed ?

[cinchez]

"thorough scan" maybe thats why? ^^

For best results, answer DavidR's questions^^

-AnimeLover^^

[bilmcg]

I am running a quad core Q9300 (intel) with 4 GB memory, 3 hard drives, total of 1680 MB. Vista Home Premium, 64 bit. I did not scan the archive`s. I uninstalled COMODO because it was not running right and re installation of it did not correct the problem. There are no other anti virus apps running. I tried Avast because of the excellent reviews it received on other forums. Avast has been  running for over 10 hours now and is only 37% done. After 3 days of trying to correct a problem, (not responding message and computer freezing when trying to start any application), finally got it running right, I tried to scan with Comodo thinking I had a virus that screwed up the registry. Comodo would not start so I decided to try Avast. So far it has found 5 Trojans.

[DavidR]

Well your system is well up to the task.

I think you mean 1680GB not 1608MB, if that is the actual data size rather than the HDD capacity, then yes this could take some time.

It isn't just if there are any other AVs running, even if disabled they can cause issues and many also leave remnants when uninstalled. That is why I specifically asked about previous AVs, to see if we can't find a specific tool to ensure all remnants are gone.

One of the problems when avast finds one Trojan the sensitivity bumps up, but if you already had it on Thorough it can't go any higher, but I don't know if it would then also scan Archives (you didn't mention if you also selected archives ?). So it may well be better to stop this scan and do another one but Use the Standard sensitivity not Thorough without Archives. The problem being if it finds more trojans, etc. then it would bump the sensitivity.

If you haven't completely removed the Comodo AV element (but just disabled it) you should do so.

The other option is to do a selective scan (Folder Selection, rather than Local Disks) if you have a partition which has just Media files.

[bilmcg]

The computer shut down, at 91% complete and 18 hours of running. avast found 6 Trojans up to that point. don't know why it crashed. I fired it back up and all seemed well. I`ll try your suggestions

about standard sensitivity scan and individual selective scans and see what happens. thanks for all your help, I see I`m going to like this forum. bill

[DavidR]

No problem, glad I could help.

Welcome to the forums.

As strange as it may seem, what is your firewall ?
There is one that I know of which seems to lock the tracking.log file in the system volume information folder/s (Zone Alarm) and this can have this impact.

[Lisandro]

If during an avast! scan,
1. avast! freezes or crashes, it's probably avast! problem.
2. The computer freezes or restarts, it could be e.g. a conflict with some other program, or a hardware problem.
3. The computer powers down - it's probably a hardware problem (e.g. overheating). The scan generates a lot of hard disk activity (and is also CPU intensive), which may increase the temperature of your hardware. I suggest to check the coolers in the case.
4. If you get a blue screen, it could have a bug in avast! drivers (but then, there is not a power down).

[bilmcg]

For DavidR: I was using Comodo which has a built in firewall, I see that Avast does not. Which firewall do you recommend? Bill

For Tech: The computer crashed and restarted, I will check for conflicts. I checked at the time, no overheating. No blue screen either. I believe it

 may be a conflict because of the earlier problem with the "not responding " problem. bill

[Lisandro]

No blue screen either. I believe it may be a conflict because of the earlier problem with the "not responding " problem. bill

Disable Automatic Restart:
System Properties > Advanced > [Startup and Recovery]Settings
Remove the checkmark from "Automatically Restart" in the System Failure section.

[DavidR]

For DavidR: I was using Comodo which has a built in firewall, I see that Avast does not. Which firewall do you recommend? Bill
<snip>

Well some find Comodo OK as a Firewall others don't particularly like Comodo the company, me I have never used it. If you still have it and are happy with it then no problem.

Many forum users are using these:
- PC Tools Firewall seems to have the least user headaches as it doesn't seem to be constantly asking the user questions about this and that.
- Online Armor for the most parts fine but it has caused some users grief after avast program updates and that is something you have to watch out for.
- Comodo is now a suite and you have to do a custom install so as not to install the antivirus element (or use the add remove programs to remove the AV element if already installed), of all the firewalls listed this seems to be the noisiest in asking questions, depending on settings and elements used, so it could be daunting for those not to familiar with firewalls or their systems.
- Outpost Firewall 2009 free, a cut down version of the Outpost Firewall Pro version, which should still provide good protection, http://free.agnitum.com/. Download, http://www.filehippo.com/download_outpost_firewall/