Is Microsoft Security Essentials virus scan smart enough to scan different files when stopped and restarted?

Question

If Microsoft Security Essentials is in the middle of a virus scan, and the user stops it, and later Microsoft Security Essentials starts another virus scan, will it scan the files in the same order as it did the first time, or is it smart enough to pick up where it left off, so it is scanning less-recently-scanned files first?

(I ask mainly because I have it set to scan once per week, and a full scan seems to take nearly 20 hours and reduces performance while active, so I tend to check its results and stop it part-way through. I wonder if it is always scanning the same files and never getting to some of the files unless I let it complete all in one scan.)

Answer 1

It will restart from the top, not caring for the previous results.

If you have the on-demand scanner active, you do not really need to use the full scan that often. The idea is to scan if your system behaves strangely or you question one of your recent actions, which may have given you a virus.

If you want to scan once a week, run the quick scan, and use the full scan only when you suspect problems.

Additionally, you can manually scan folders by right-clicking them. You can use this technique to manually scan your system bit by bit rather than a full system scan which will go through every directory at once. It will still take the 20 hours, but now because you are in control, you can divide it as you see fit.