Defrag problems

See if this helps!

The Windows Disk Defragmenter is a great tool. It organizes your hard drive and can make your system a bit faster. But it is sensitive. It needs a good deal of space on the hard drive while it moves things around. And it cannot abide interruptions. Whenever you use Disk Defragmenter, it should be the only program running.

Before we get into solutions, update and run your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. A malicious program running in the background could cause Disk Defragmenter to fail.

Also, I’ve heard from some people that they could not get Disk Defragmenter to work when connected to the Internet. It’s never happened to me. But anything is possible. Try disconnecting and see what happens.

Ready? Let's look at some possible solutions:

1. Tidy up your hard drive. Start by running Disk Cleanup (Start>>Programs>> Accessories>> System Tools>>Disk Cleanup). Be sure to dump temporary Internet files and clean out the Recycle Bin.

   After running Disk Cleanup, check for programs that you don't use. To delete them, click Start>>Settings>>Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Find the programs in the list and click Add/Remove. Use care. Only delete programs that you know you do not use.

2. Hard drive flaws also can stop Disk Defragmenter. So it's a good idea to run ScanDisk before Disk Defragmenter. You'll find ScanDisk at Start>>Programs>>Accessories>>System Tools>> ScanDisk. Select Thorough and Automatically Fix Errors.

   Next, click Options. Under "Areas of the Disk to Scan," select "System and Data Areas." Click OK>>Start.

3. If Disk Defragmenter just won't go, try your luck in Safe Mode. This loads only essential drivers and Windows files.

   To get into Safe Mode, shut down your computer. Wait 10 seconds and boot up. Tap the F8 key during boot up. The boot up process should stop, and you should see a menu. Highlight Safe Mode and press Enter. If you don't get the menu, reboot and try again.

4. Another possible—though improbable—thing to consider is that spyware or a virus could start in Safe Mode. If so, they could make Disk Defragmenter stop. So, when all else fails, check the processes on your machine.

   Boot into Windows and pare it down to essential processes. "Process" is a term for any program currently running. You can do this using the Windows Task Manager. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del.

   You'll see a list of files there. Malicious programs may be included. If so, they might well have innocuous names, to mislead you. This list also includes necessary Windows files. You don't want to disable them. Non-essential processes should be shut down. Here are the files that you should leave alone:

   csrss.exe
   dllhost.exe
   explorer.exe
   kernel32.dll
   lsass.exe
   msgsrv32.exe
   mstask.exe
   services.exe
   svchost.exe
   taskmon.exe

You probably will find anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall files there. Shut them down, but disconnect from the Internet first. Don't tempt fate. To stop a process, click it once to highlight it. Then click End Task.