Defrag
 

Since I got BB I have been unable to defrag my laptop. I have tried doeing it while disconnected from the BB, with the anti virus and firewalls turned oof but every time it stops at 10% and restarts.

The screen saver is switched off and no other windows are open.

I've just uninstalled aload of stuff which is why I want to defrag it.

Any ideas on where I am going wrong?

It's win98 BTW.

close EVERYTHING, antivirus programs, the LOT, or disable them, also pause task scheduler etc

everything was closed. anti virus shut off. firewall shut off. task schedualer has not beena ctive for ages. MSN shut off. Not online.

Any more ideas?

ctrl+alt+del and see what else is running

nothing at the mo coz I gave up and closed the thing down. Was getting too hot with that on as well :(

Start up in *SAFE MODE* to do your defrags ;)

Believe me, it's WAY quicker!

Yep, I agree, safe mode is the way to go :)

Easier maybe, but quicker deffinatley not. Dont forget windows doesnt load any highspeed IDE drivers in Safe mode so your Drive at maximum will only be going at ATA33, this will actually make your Defragging considderably slower.

To speed up defragging I use the following tricks:
1) keep programs, data, virtual memory and copies of CDs on separate partitions - that way they get less jumbled to begin with.
2) avoid booting from the partition that I want to defrag - that way its not trying to use the same partiton for several things at once.
3) use some decent defrag software - the one that comes with Windows is slowww.

I have to disagree here, not with the use of the IDE port by Windoze, but with the overall timming isue.

It is faster to defrag in safe mode because far less files are locked. Admitedly, the HDD will not be capable of transfering data over the IDE cable to the RAM/Proccessor, but have you considered just how defrag works?
The data stays on the drive by means of the HDD controler.

When you derag, you don't move lots of data from the HDD to the PC, then put it back, the data is moved from one part of the HDD to another, then the FAT is adjusted.

If you want a more techie explanation, google it! I realy can't be bothered to go into it at length, but if you want simple proof......

First, defrag your PC using your prefered method, then wait 1 week.
1: Get a stopwatch
2: Start defraging in Windows, start the stopwatch
3: Note the time when defrag completes.
wait another week
1: Find stopwatch from last experiment.
2: Start windows in SAFE MODE and start the defrag. Oh, and the stopwatch of course!
3: Note the time when the defrag completes.
Now just compare the 2 times. simple.

That just means that there is a program still writing to the hard drive.

Defragging in safe mode is best. You also need to switch off any firewall and anti-virus software. I also pause the task scheduler and the personal web server that I have. In the end I have only about 6 icons in the system tray and none are writing to the hard drive.

Might be an idea to let it run for a bit. In normal mode, I used to find that it got to 10% and restarted. After a while I got a message telling me that something was preventing the defragger from working. When I did it in safe mode it still reached 10% but because it had not been defragged for a while there was a lot to do and it was a little while and a few restarts before it finally crept over to 11% and onward.

It's possible that you have done everything right but are perceiving the 10% restart message as an error when in fact it's just part of the process. If you don't get the message about some other application preventing the defragger from working chances are it is working OK but just needs time.

Hope this helps.

Thankyou people.

Will try the safe mode thing later

Ive alway's wondered what that LARGE green block is that won't move. Can anyone tell me cos it is a pain and does it affect performance? Also a tip if your system is slow and if you have a load of icons in the system tray then go to

Start:
Run:
type msconfig

then once that appears go to the startup tab and select diable all, accept antivirus, firewall etc. For people who own Norton products DO NOT disable the following.

IAMAPP - Norton Internet Security
navapw32 - antivirus auto protect

For those of you who have windows 2000 and above, MSConfig doesn't appear to exist any more, but there is a very useful utility called Startup Control Panel by Mike Lin which is available for download from http://www.mlin.net

If you're not sure what some of the programs are that may be trying to load at startup, visit http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup...artup_full.htm which gives a comprehensive list and helps you decide which programs are unnecessary and that you can switch off to make your system boot quicker.

MSconfig for Windows 2000 doe's exist it was just taken out of some copie's for administration reasons. If you wont it you should have just searched for it ;-)

http://www2.whidbey.com/djdenham/Msconfig.htm