Sometimes a virus scan might loop over a section of files and stop making progress.
A few days back someone brought me a computer that had started as Windows 10, then updated to Windows 11. Now, after perhaps five years, it was very slow, they claimed. I powered it on for examination.
Their computer wasn’t as slow as some I’ve seen, that’s for sure. Yet, apparently it had been much faster in the past.
Asking them about programs they use or not, I uninstalled a lot. It seemed this computer had been with them through various periods while they had pursued diverse projects. The device showed one or two behaviours which seemed a little dodgy, but its antivirus suite, which was still in force, seemed content enough.
After I’d done enough to hopefully improve the computer’s performance, I started a full virus scan. Yet, awhile later it started looping: it would mention files it was examining, then a minute later mention the same ones.
I had looked earlier at the temporary files, but there didn’t seem enough to cause much issue. I wondered, now, if they contained problem files that were causing the loop. I decided to clear them out.
Yet, when I tried to remove the temporary files, the same looping idea seemed to happen again: the computer seemed frozen at a certain point. I restarted it, then resumed the same operation.
This time, the computer was able to purge the temporary files. Afterwards, I ran a full system scan which worked briskly.
This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered a problem in the middle of removing some temporary files, so had to restart the computer and then the removal process.
I think it’s probably good to remove temporary files (that one doesn’t need anymore) at least twice a year from a Windows PC. Moreover, the Windows computers I use, I do a fresh install of them every two years or so.
After I returned the computer, its owner told me it was much faster, so I guess it worked out all right:)