Cant Defrag My Computer

[the gentleman]

I have been trying to defrag my computer - - In 24 hours it only gets to 1% and then starts again.

What is the cause of this and what do you guys suggest?

Thanks in advance.

[chonabot]

When was the last time you defragged it? I ask because I used to defrag my laptop every week , it took between 1 and 2 hours max. Then I didn't bother for about 6 months , I tried one , the same as your results. There was a huge build up of Temp files mainly internet related, shedloads of file movements were required , the package was not happy at all. In the end , after various attempts, I gave up and reformatted the drive , after saving important data on a separate partition.

Alternatively you could try uninstalling IE or whatever you browser software is, then attempt the defrag , renistall browser after. After working in IT for 20 years I am sure of one thing , PC software is designed to work well only if maintained properly , and then some!

Good Luck

[Pink Mist]

If it's windows XP I guess you could "free up space on hard disk" options in control panels, that should rid you of temp files etc. Empty recycle bin also thats probably chocker.

I have got a capture card and defrag after every movie (after putting on disk of course), so that's 2 to 3 times a week.

[francois]

PC software is designed to work well only if maintained properly , and then some!

that's for sure ... and defrag is the most simple thing to do, and has to be done on a regurlar basis !

as backup should be done, but too often, we think about when it's too late

well, what windows are you on?

in any way, get rid of junk files, .tmp, .temp, .bak, .log, temp-internet files, etc etc ... and then run scandisk.

if you cannot (may causes possible), run, in the run command chkdsk C:\, you'll have probably a message telling you that you can't do that now, but will be done on the next restart, restart ...

on the boot the disk is going to be scanned and surely will tell taht you have some "lost-clusters", let chkdsk correct the problem, and when reboot afte this check, you can attempt to defrag again ...

if it still does not work, you can try to install a program for defrag like diskeeper,

and run it, the job is a lot better done, and sometime does what the win-defrag cannot do ...

if it does succeed, keep this program and set it as a scheduled task at least once a week ... you could set it for anytime the screensaver is on ... it's perfect

good luck ...

did you make any backup of the system?

if so, you'd better restore the clean image ...

francois

[fat_bald_farang]

maybe you haven't got enough paging space. sure get rid of all the data you can. if you are still having problems then disable system restore on your system and that will free up loads of space.

then let the defrag run over night!

fatty

[TizMe]

Defrag restarts because of changes made to the hard drive. This occurs because you always have many tasks running.

If you want to continue to use MS-defrag then you need to prevent them from running while the defrag runs. The easiest way to do this is Ctl-Alt-Delete and then kill all running applications from the Task Manager. Then start defrag and it should run OK.

The better alternative though is to install Diskeeper. If you don't want to spend any money, you can download Diskeeper Lite which will still do defrag but is missing some of the automation in the Diskeeper Pro.

PC World article - Diskeeper Lite Tidies Files

[randyksf]

Mr Jent

********** First with a problem like this back up all your data++++++++++++

It could be Hardware and or Software.

What Os are you using. XP, 2000 or Win98?

How much free space do you have on the disk?

What application are you using to Defrag? Win or other?

As the group said. delete all your junk. This includes temp files. Windows needs about 10% free space to defrag.

However it should say give an error to this effect.

Hit us back once your data has been backed up and give more detail.

[the gentleman]

Thanks for all your responses!

The computer I am having trouble with is running ME, which has had problems every week since Ive owned it. I run win 2000 in my office computers and should of opted for that - seems to late now as I have so much "important" stuff on this computer I dont want to install 2000 as I fear I will lose everything.

I also have another problem now, I cannot shutdown my computer as it says synch....?? (Cant remember the actual word/code) is still running and when I try to end task nothing happens.

It seems everyday there is another problem!, should I copy all my important stuff on a cd and start again?

I f I go to system restore will I lose all info that I have on my hardrive from that date?

[buasaard]

Do you have the screen saver on?

It happened to me once, I noticed that every time the screen saver starts the defrag restart its job.

[randyksf]

Have you backed up your data yet? It sounds like you might be having a hard drive failure or you have corrupted your OS. How this happened one could only know. However ME is junk, and the most unstable OS they have ever had. It was a beta test at best for the new interface of XP and 2000. I could go in to details for hours with tech gibberish.

Back up you data ASAP.

If you can’t defrag and you are having shut down issues; my advise would be to pay someone to take a look who knows what that are doing. At this point we can give conjecture and advice. The simple fact is your system is at least 2 – 3 years with a poor OS on it. If you are in BKK I would gladly to take a look.

Having someone back up you data should be simple enough if you have any special programs for work those too should be simple enough. I just built and specked out a great system for a friends school, for around 20000 baht. Sometimes if a system is older it just best to junk it and start new.

At one point I had a lot of letters by my name from Microsoft so if you want me to boar you with Tech gibberish I can. Really it would be no problem. I did carry some of the MS Press books to Thailand. For some reason other than to dust every day. Still have not had a reason to use them.

[Guest IT Manager]

I agree... needs a tech to work at core level, in DOS and a salesman to get you to upgrade O/S

[randyksf]

The world is a funny place. Just 4 days ago I cam across a winME with a the exact same problem as The Gentleman. Golly I followed my own advice and that of the other posts no avail. Change swap settings cleaned out 15% of the drive and all the MS defrags and check disk to no avail.

Then I grabbed my copy of Disk Keeper 7.0 (Original not a copy.) It defragmented the drive without any problems.

Although the system Hard Drive makes noise now. They sound normal to me but to him it’s unusual. The owner agrees it’s time to upgrade so in a week we are of to Pantip

Just wanted to share that I thought it was quite funny that I found the same issue after this posting.

[penzman]

2 words.... SCREEN SAVER!!!!!! disable it!!!!

[randyksf]

Screen saver has nothing to do with the files in question. If the screen saver goes on during he defrag yes, I could see an issue . However the screen saver was not activated I can't see how it could cause a root system error. I was sitting watching it loop at about 10% No screen savor.

In fact it was disabled.

The mere fact that and external program was able to perform the operation confirms the fact that a core system file has corrupted.

With the Mr. Gents problem of not shutting down it I would think there is more going on.

oH BTW I counted 4 words.. 1. Screen 2. Saver 3. disable 4. it Please post facts not rhetorical comments.

the purpose of my posting this was more how funny it was that I ran across the same problem. Tried everything that the group said and one thing worked “Disk keeper.”

[the gentleman]

2 words.... SCREEN SAVER!!!!!! disable it!!!!

I have never run screen saver, so it cant be that. No luck yet with any of your ideas - I might have to save on cd and trash!

Got an email today with a attach - laykn.exe - yes I know not to open any .exe file - anyone heard of this one?

[Allyt]

Hi guys

Defrag on most operating systems before XP requires no other applications to to exist within memory. The ideal way to do this ( albeit you can close them through Task Manager or CTR Alt Del) is to boot up in safe mode by pressing F8 during a black screen phase of the process and then selecting "safe mode" from the options given. This will load windows without any programs running and therefore enable defrag to perform uninterupted.

Sawasdee ka

[haha]

I had a customer who had that problem, and it was solved when we turned off his laptop, uninstalled his memory, and reinstalled it.

another possibility is you may have bad memory.

also, disable all your tsr (terminate stay resident programs), then, do scandisk, and defrag.

norton utilities has similar tool like scandisk, and defrag. try that.

after fix, remember to do your backup. I recommend "ghost".

[bonsaimax]

While I am able to defrag my PC, there just remains one file which came out of nowhere and couldn't be defragmented. It's quietly nestled in C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP . It's about 261 MB, but I don't have the slightest clue how the **** it got into my system. Any ideas???

thnx

[huski]

It's quietly nestled in C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP . It's about 261 MB, but I don't have the slightest clue how the **** it got into my system. Any ideas???

MEMORY DUMP

the gentleman, you problem is your hard disk is full or corrupted and just stumbling...a 24 hour defrag thats at 1 percent, its time to delete some files and let that disk breathe and/or back up and reformat.