Defrag not working

[SLF 999]

Im running a win ME system and trying to do a defrag on the c drive, it starts and starts doing error checking on the drive but only ever gets to about 4 % complete.. .I have run scandisk on the disk, no problems, I have also rn a full virus check after getting the latest definitions, again no problems.. .The last time a defrag was run was 20 days ago and it ran without problem.

Before I really go digging to get it fixed, does anyone have any ideas?

[Nightstop]

Sounds like program(s) writing to disk are interupting the Defrag process. Before Defragging I always disable the screensaver (select "None") and close down all individual programs running in the background (except Explorer) using the Ctrl Alt Del technique.

[SLF 999]

Tried closing all progs except Explorer and the same thing happens.. .Could it be a virus, worm etc thats causing it not to work ?. .The question is if it is how do I find out ???. .The AV prog I use is Norton

[Mango3]

Profess to be no expert, but here goes. I'm running XP, Nortons 2002. Had similar problem and did all the above. I got to 80% before defrag quit. I then did another run at defrag, then another before Nortons accepted 100% completed. Initially I ran Nortons, but then tried XP to defrag. Windows advised all was now well, however Norton's disagreed. Got me tossed but all is well now - for the time being!

[Golden Rivet]

Not sure whether it works but works with win ME, but try going into system configuration utilty via msconfig on start/run menu, select selective startup and deselect all ticked boxes and OK.

Run defrag and when complete rerun sys config utilty and select normal startup/OK.

[ 22 February 2002: Message edited by: Golden Rivet ]</p>

[Molly1]

I had exactly the same problem,the only thing that worked for me was to close down the whole anti-virus system (I'm running Norton 2002)not just disabling the auto-protect but actually unchecking every ticked box by going into the options menu on Norton.

[Julian]

I had the same problem with ME, it turns out it was the screensaver causing the problem so make sure you disable it before you start.

P.S. Plus I have decided ME is the worst operating sstem I have ever used - prefer '98 on my PC!!!

Julian.

[BEagle]

Interesting that everyone seems to consider Win ME to be an utter dog. Good old Win 95 OSR2 with all the upgrades works just fine for those of us who only want a little word processing, e-mail and Internet access!

Such is progress - the hard-up Mr Gates has announced that support for earlier versions of Windows such as Win 98, ME, certain NT and 2000 will end much sooner than people ever thought. Planned obsolescence, I guess! I call it greed!!

[Mac the Knife]

Boot into Safe Mode (F8 or Ctrl just as Windows starts) THEN run Defrag (or Maintenance Wizard).

Much faster since in Safe Mode Windows isn't doing much and has a minimal set of drivers.. .Byebye eternal 4%..... .Note that it is "normal" for Defrag to appear to be doing nothing for quite long periods - best schedule it to run when you are asleep or out (Task Scheduler). Most defraggers are a compromise between reasonable speed and throughness though I suspect that M$ Defrag is another typical example of Micro$oft code bloat.

Better still, use Partition Magic to divide up your 40Gig monster into more manageable logical partitions. You can then use Funduc Software's "Application Mover" <a href="http://www.funduc.com/" target="_blank">http://www.funduc.com/</a> to migrate installed apps.

Note that some DOS apps and a surprising number of Windows apps are really only happy in the default folder that the installer presents, even though they seem to indicate that you can choose. Presumably the default location is still hard coded into some of the modules (sloppy coding).

If you have zillions of files in My Documents you can move all these to a MyDocs folder on a new logical drive and gain a lot of speed generally. Leave the My Documents folder on the C:\ drive (Windows gets upset if you delete it completely) but tell Windows to look elsewhere for your documents [Desktop/My Documents/Properties/Target Folder location]. This makes a huge difference to access speed and defrag speed.

You can also relocate your Temporary Internet files to another logical volume and do the same with your Windows swapfile. Don't try this unless you know what you are doing (in which case you will probably already have done it).

Cheers from MTK

[SLF 999]

Thanks for all th help and suggestions, finally got it working by emptying the temp internet files, closing down all applications and norton, and unticking everything in the startup, maybe a sledgehammer to crack a nut but at least its done now.. .Also gave me a chance to do a good clear out of the folders and unused programs. . .Thanks again