defrag causes bootup problem--what to do?

Question

Greetings, I defragmented my C drive on my Inspiron 2600. I use Windows 2000. After the defrag, my laptop will not boot up unless I have the 'drivers, utilities, and applications' CD in.  I can access all my files fine when I do get it booted up.   I had completely backed up the laptop on an external drive before the defrag, so when it would not boot up, I used the backup program's 'restore' function to try to put back the original program files and Window and WINNT folders. Still not way to boot up.   Does anyone have any thoughts on what went wrong and what I might do to fix it?   I'm wondering if I should have partitioned my hard drive so that all the programs are on one partition--and never defragment that partition.   Another question. Is it recommended to keep all files in the 'my documents' folder? I have files strewn all over, and I'm wondering if the 'my documents' folder has some special status that would require you to have files in there for certain procedures?   May thanks for your thoughts on these questions.   buried_forest

BBraxton · Answer

Inability to boot happened on a desk PC of another brand recently to my offspring and the end result was that it (just) required rebuilding the MBR (Master Boot Record) which the dealer where he bought the PC was able to do quickly.

Windows General

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