Running a full virus scan is likely good once in a while. Yet, how much time might such a scan require?
I mention in my post from July 17, 2026 running a full virus scan on a computer after giving it a tune-up. Assuming no hang-ups, how long might a full virus scan take?
Of course, the duration of a full virus scan will depend on the CPU, whether the hard drive is solid state (which I guess most primary ones are by now), and how many files are stored on the device. However, some examples might be good, just to give perspective.
The desktop I’m using right now, purchased in 2022, I believe, has a SSD and an i5 chip with six cores. It shipped with Windows 10, but has auto-upgraded since to 11. Its SSD (the primary hard drive) has about 100GB on it, with another 50GB on a HDD (old school).
I run Norton360, and a full virus scan takes about six minutes.
In my experience, full virus scans take less time, the more often one does them. I try to do it about once per week.
I’ve had devices that took much longer than six minutes to scan; in fact, this one, right now, likely has the fastest scan time I’ve seen in years. Why that might be, and how one can get their computer more quickly scannable, I hope to discuss in coming posts.
PS: I always hope to post more often than has been happening lately. However, I’ve been tending to some problems that will likely be material for future posts:)
Leave a Reply