What would make Windows defender scan for 58 hours?

robinb9

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i have a client running windows 8.1. on a touchscreen laptop. He set a full scan and it was running for 58 hours till he finally shut it off.
He also has malwarebytes and on a full scan it took 2 days to finsih
Quick scans take about a half hour
I am getting his laptop this afternoon to try to figure this out but I wanted some suggestions please

thanks
robin
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Maybe run

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

&


sfc /scannow
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
How many items are being scanned? I get about 20k per minute on Defender. How many are scanned after (ouch) 58 hours?

EDIT: I left full scan running while I went to the supermarket. When I came back it was 1hr 2 minutes for 156k so about the same rate. If it is significantly slower for you (like orders of magnitude) you have a problem. Something is locking an object perhaps. If the rate is OK then perhaps you are checking a huge amount of items - not just on C:/ but elsewhere.

Just a thought. Please try it and see your rate and whether you are scanning (for example) removable drives when you run a full scan. Look in Settings tab, Advanced.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
i am going to look at the settings and see what is scanning, the same for Malwarebytes and David, thanks I will try that also
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
i am going to look at the settings and see what is scanning, the same for Malwarebytes and David, thanks I will try that also
Well Robin, my full scan still has not finished. I guess it is worth doing anyway. 227k in an hour and three quarters.

I believe I've seen you on 9 forums already right? Same guy/girl?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
First you should make sure the PC is fully updated.

Second, check if there's no other antivirus installed, this sounds a lot like your problem. This might come from an old antivirus app which was not uninstalled properly, check this for uninstallers : List of anti-malware product removal tools - Microsoft Community. I would also disable malwarebytes real time protection if it's on.

Before running a full scan it's recommended to clear your cookies / internet temporary files and all the temporary files you can find (this should lower the total files to scan significantly).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
i am going to look at the settings and see what is scanning, the same for Malwarebytes and David, thanks I will try that also
Well Robin, my full scan still has not finished. I guess it is worth doing anyway. 227k in an hour and three quarters.

I believe I've seen you on 9 forums already right? Same guy/girl?
not, guy, not girl, but woman, lol and yep that is me
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Got his computer and noticed windows 8 not 8.1 is on it, did a bunch of scans, took off a few spyware, cleaned all temp files, did a chk disk and defrag, checked to make sure all security updates were done, only one antivirus program is on, ran ccleaner and removed old registry items. Tomorrow will put 8.1 on and see if it cleans up the problem
btw quick scans run 15-20 min. Have not checked long scans but i did check settings and found it was doing archives which could be why it was taking so long
will let you know once i put 8.1 on and sees what happens
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
now I cleaned everything up on this computer, took off a bunch of spyware, updated any drivers, prepared it for windows 8.1. During this whole thing I noticed he has 3 partitions on the drive, 1 is C one is E (recovery with 25gigs) one is F (another recovery with 10 gigs). When looking at Windows defender when it does a full scan it scans ALL Drives unless you do a Custom Scan and pick which drive. I have a feeling it was getting stuck on the E/F drive because when I tried clicking on them, Windows came up and said I could not get it, it was protected. So I am assuming neither could WD and that is why it took so long to do a scan. But I still continued to prepare it for 8.1
After installing 8.1 and checking everything out I did a custom scan and scanned only the C drive
The scan took 1 hour.

And I tell my clients not to do a full scan unless something is suspected, if he got a Trojan or virus. I tell them to do a weekly Quick scan.
So everything now is great! I think he will be very happy with the results especially since he was so frustrated with windows 8 (besides I put on Classic Shell to make it a bit more user friendly and tweaked Windows 8.1 in the Metro side to make it also more user friendly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Nice job robin9...wish they were all that easy....lol.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD XFX HD Radeon 6790D
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2l Samsung SyncMaster S20B300
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 GB w/OS
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB data storage
    PSU
    Ultra X4 750 watt fully modular
    Case
    Thermaltake OverSeer RX 1 fulltower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper212 120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Razor DeathAdder 3.5

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Robin9

Over the years, I've determined one thing.....Windows (any version) right out of the box runs at about 30 to 40% efficiency.
If you're a professional PC person, you should have come to the same conclusion.

It's seldom that I work on a PC for the first time, that I cannot almost Double the running efficiency. It's what I've been doing for the past 30+ years. Call it my speciallity.

Speaking of efficiency, I suspect that there are AV/AS programs that will run a lot faster than WD.
But first you have to get rid of the built in redundancy in Windows. I personally NEVER trust MS to protect Windows.
Look at the horrible track record they have with I.E. !!!

Good Luck!
TechnoMage :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
OK...what the heck is WD??????? OH CRAP .... windows defender.....never mind.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD XFX HD Radeon 6790D
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2l Samsung SyncMaster S20B300
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 GB w/OS
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB data storage
    PSU
    Ultra X4 750 watt fully modular
    Case
    Thermaltake OverSeer RX 1 fulltower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper212 120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Razor DeathAdder 3.5
Lol, WD windows Defender for short!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Actually WD is made especially for 8.1 and i find out of all the free ones for 8.1, it works the best and the easiest to use for an antivirus program. Of course it is not enough and Malwarebytes Pro compliments it greatly
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
Had the same issue on one of 5 computers. All with the same operating system and software. Very odd! Did the C:\ without issue and turned on hidden drives. I only see one drive so something else is going on with the Dell 3135.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    dell 3135
    CPU
    amd a6
    Memory
    4 gb
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    SPYBOT / DEFENDER
essentials

I noticed in programs it says essentials is installed but in the execute icon it says defender. Is it possible there are two versions of this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    dell 3135
    CPU
    amd a6
    Memory
    4 gb
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    SPYBOT / DEFENDER
Yep, the other 4 do not list essentials as a program. Must be Dell special IE 8.0 load and I upgraded to 8.1 so it must have left essential in the wood pile.

So movie maker is in essentials.:mad:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    dell 3135
    CPU
    amd a6
    Memory
    4 gb
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    SPYBOT / DEFENDER
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