×
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
bjboyle
Former Member
Message 11 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

I appreciate all the help!! I went ahead and deleted Internet Security using the MCPR tool, I'd done this before, but I thought second time a charm.

It did speed up the scan a little, but stil looking at least three days to do a full scan.  I looked at the application and local settings folder and both have many nested copies below the original folder.  Internet Security does scan these folders and I think that this is the main reason for the slow. With a little more investigation in the Microsoft website I found that these are not longer used by Windows 7.   The folder Appdata takes the place of both of these, Application Data and Local Settings are now just "junctions" for legacy applications that still need these folders and their function is to pass on info to Appdata.  Microsoft says that these folders should not be scanned by a virus software, as they are empty and contain no data.  I checked their properties and  they have 0 bytes.   So the questionis why is McAfee scanning them.?

Anyone out there from McAfee know why?

BJ

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 12 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

The home products can't be told to ignore any particular file, folder or area - they scan everything.  It's a feature we've been requesting for some time but hasn't been included up until now.

In my experience slow scanning can be caused by many things, hard drive disk errors, encrypted files, folder or drives, lots of compressed files. folders or drives etc. etc.

jklein4663
Contributor II
Message 13 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

It looks to me that the "AppData\Roaming" folder is the same as the "Application Data" folder(s), not AppData itself.  Deleting the second instance of "Application Data" in each of the numerous paths fixed my scan problems, and still doesn't appear to have any negative effect on any of my programs.

Cheers,

Jim

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 14 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

That's good.  By the way a manual "Custom" scan can be tailored a bit to exclude various things.

That's why I never allow a scan to run on a schedule.

bjboyle
Former Member
Message 15 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

Got me on what to do next. I've run disk check, cleaned up all files defraged, and done every other maintenance item I could think of.

The computer is running great, no damaged files, 0% fragmentation, only around 87GB on the disk and Internet Security still takes forever to scan..

Anyone for Norton??

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 16 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

Have you done a disk check?   Go to Start Run and enter cmd in XP, in Vista/Windows 7 go to start and enter cmd in the Search box, right-click the cmd above when it appears and select "Run as Administrator".

Type in chkdsk /r then hit the Enter key or if you have more than one disk or partition and need to indicate which volume to check chkdsk C: /r  (with the spaces and change C: to whatever the drive letter is).

It'll object saying the volume is in use, proceed at reboot Y/N, type in Y and hit Enter and reboot.   Takes a while.

Also if the drive is compressed or you have a lot of zipped files it will take forever because it has to decompress everything in order to scan.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 20/04/10 10:14:08 EDT AM
JackYan
Contributor II
Message 17 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

Five days? It may be six for me at this point: 49 per cent done, computer on since Saturday morning (Monday afternoon here).

I’ve looked at some of the solutions above. I don’t have any Application Data folders inside other Application Data folders (though I found AppData folders), and I’m AOK on the fragments. I have not run a disk check, which I am hesitant to do at the moment while my computer continues to scan.

It’s running Vista Home Premium. Not sure how to tell you which version of the OS or McAfee I have.

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 18 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

It shouldn't take that long by any means. It may help to know whether or not this is the 2009 version of McAfee which has a square taskbar icon or the 2010+ version which has a shield-shaped icon, also if this is Vista SP2 ..  I hope?

You can check the latter by right-clicking Computer on your desktop or in the Start Menu.

Capture.JPG

If you don't have SP2 you should take steps to get it immediately as it was introduced some time ago and there have been many updates since.  For help see HERE.

Long scanning times is often indicative of disk read errors or having many zipped/compressed files on your hard drive, but you may wish to ask Technical Support Chat for help in identifying what's causing it.  They can go into your machine if necessary to troubleshoot.

Linked under Useful Links above.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 14/11/10 8:13:38 CST PM
JackYan
Contributor II
Message 19 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

Thank you, Peter. I have the McAfee with the shield icon, and yes, this is SP2 (thankfully).

I’ll be running that disk check once this is all done—or, in your opinion, shall I terminate the scan?

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 20 of 24

Re: Full scan takes up to 5 days to complete.

That's good re: versions as you seem to be up to date.

Do that disk check later, yes.   Do you have a lot of zipped folders or have you compressed the drive by any chance as this will prolong the scan considerably?

Are your scans automatic as per a schedule?  I ask that because if you choose to do a Custom Scan you can start excluding certain things to see if it makes a difference, zipped files for instance, also any other drives or partitions that you may have.

You could also try unchecking "Scan using minimal resources" which should speed up the scan but, if your machine has low memory or a small CPU, may slow the machine down generally.

Custom Scan is reached as follows:

Double-click the taskbar icon to open SecurityCenter (or right-click and select that)

Click Virus and Spyware Protection to expand

Click Scheduled Scanning and turn it off

Click Home (top right) then Virus and Spyware Protection again

Now click Scan your PC to expand

Click Run a Custom Scan

Tailor your scan there.  (Scroll down to see it all)

Each time you want to run a scan you can try different parameters to see what works.


Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 15/11/10 6:12:12 CST AM
How Many Badges Can You Collect?
Ready for a little competition? Members like you are earning badges and unlocking perks for their helpful answers. Are you? Click here to find out.

Community Help Hub

    New to the forums or need help finding your way around the forums? There's a whole hub of community resources to help you.

  • Find Forum FAQs
  • Learn How to Earn Badges
  • Ask for Help
Go to Community Help

Join the Community

    Thousands of customers use the McAfee Community for peer-to-peer and expert product support. Enjoy these benefits with a free membership:

  • Get helpful solutions from McAfee experts.
  • Stay connected to product conversations that matter to you.
  • Participate in product groups led by McAfee employees.
Join the Community
Join the Community