Defraging

[TOT]

I have always defraged on a regular basis, the computer has always seemed to go a bit better afterwards and for what it is worth often looked at the graphics displayed on the details during defraging. Just recently at the completion a message appears saying "Could not defrag 2 sectors 1255 KB shell icon cache, also 3 sectors 894 KB documents and settings" Also the graphics now displayed don't look as "reshuffled" as they used to. Any ideas whats going on?? I have a Pentium 111 850MHZ, 20 GB hard drive and WINDOWS 2000. thanks

[ 06 January 2002: Message edited by: TOT ]

[ 06 January 2002: Message edited by: TOT ]

[ 06 January 2002: Message edited by: TOT ]</p>

[malanda]

It can't defrag files which are in use. To minimise the number of files in use, try booting in safe mode.

But really a bit of fragmentation doesn't matter much - I wouldn't worry about it.

In fact, a couple of time I known defragging to break systems, so I only do it now when really necessary.

[SLF 999]

I agree that it looks like the files are in use and cant be moved, in theory you dont need to defrag a disk until it gets really fragmented, but I would recommend doing it on a weekly basis as it does (slightly) improve the performance of the machine, especially since its a 20Gb drive. if you dont do it for a long time the defrag will take ages to complete, it can also be worth doing a scandisk maybe once a month just to verify the physical condition if the disk.

[onya]

I'm relatively new to the in/outs of my computer and I'd really appreciate some help if anyone can.

When I select defrag it only goes to 10% and then won't go anymore. I don't have a clue how to fix it. But it really needs to be defragged. I don't use a screensaver/wallpaper or the like and I always run discscan prior to trying to defrag.

If anyone can offer me some assistance I'be very appreciative.

Thanks
Onya <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

[TR4A]

"Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting..." Message When You Use the Disk Defragmenter Tool (Q186978)

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The information in this article applies to:


Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows 98


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SYMPTOMS
When you use the Disk Defragmenter tool to defragment your hard disk, you may receive the following message:

Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting...

CAUSE
This issue can occur if a program (such as an antivirus program or a screen saver) is running on the drive when the Disk Defragmenter tool is running.

RESOLUTION
To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Clean Boot the Computer
A "clean" boot is a method of reducing problems that may occur because of your computer's environment. Many problems that may occur when you run Windows or other programs can occur because there are conflicting drivers, terminate-and-stay-resident programs (TSRs), or other settings that load when you start your computer. Windows Millennium Edition (Me) and Windows 98 include a System Configuration Utility tool (Msconfig.exe) to make performing a clean boot easier. To clean boot your computer:
Click Start , point to Programs , point to Accessories , point to System Tools , and then click System Information .


On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility .


On the General tab, click Selective Startup , and then click to clear the following check boxes:


Process Config.sys File (if available)
Process Autoexec.bat File (if available)
Process Winstart.bat File (if available)
Process System.ini File
Process Win.ini File
Load Startup Group Items


Click OK , and then restart your computer when you are prompted.


After your computer starts, run the Disk Defragmenter tool. After Disk Defragmenter finishes, start the System Configuration Utility tool again by repeating the above steps. In step 3, click Normal Startup on the General tab, and then click OK . Restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.
Use Safe Mode
Instead of performing a clean boot, you may want to restart your computer in Safe mode, and then start the Disk Defragmenter tool. After you run Disk Defragmenter, restart your computer. To use Safe mode, restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key after your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and then choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu.

For additional information about how to start your computer in Safe mode, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q180902 How to Start a Windows 98-Based Computer in Safe Mode

[bluskis]

I could not defrag or scandisk for two years, finally I ran scandisk but told it not to correct errors automatically.
Scan disk then ran through its complete routine, and I was then able to defrag.
Originally I thought I had caused the problem by using disk compression on my then 2 GB drive.