Defragging takes 12 hours !

[sandralynn4]

Hi ,

My computer has been taking 12 - 14 hours to defrag lately , and I'm not sure why. Can anyone help? I have turned off all programs in the task bar and by using " Control/Alt/Delete " ( except Explorer ), as well as the wallpaper and screen saver. I also tried turning off my cable internet connection. I've run my Norton anti-virus , Spyware program , cleaned up my files,etc , and run scan disk. I can't seem to find anything wrong there. So what could it be? I should add that I have run it in safe mode, which takes between 5 - 8 hours. Is that normal ?

Thanks :)

[qball15j]

I assume your running either 95, 98, or ME? If you are, next time your computer boots, startup into safe mode and run Microsoft's defrag in safe mode.

[chpalmer]

I have an older laptop that took a long time but was cured when I tripled the amount of RAM. I believe it was continually writing to the virtual memmory during defrag. Just a thought.

[iflog]

I use Diskeeper by Executive Software. I think its one of the best defraggers out there. I used to defrag every day but now I do it about once a week. Takes about 30 seconds.

[qball15j]

Originally posted by iflog
I use Diskeeper by Executive Software. I think its one of the best defraggers out there. I used to defrag every day but now I do it about once a week. Takes about 30 seconds.

WOW, once a day!
That's a little extreme, heck even a week is a little much if you ask me.

[iflog]

Well, you can do it once a week and it will take about 30 seconds or you can do it once a month and wait hours.

[Kip Patterson]

Looking at your other post, it appears that you may be running NAV. If you try to defrag while it is running it may never finish . . .

[Amro]

if the rest of the computer seems sluggish, there's a chance the hdd is going.

[Kip Patterson]

Good point! Had one of those 10 days ago.

[Joel]

I hate the built-in Windows 98SE defragger - Is there a good freeware one out there?

:D

[yaabaa]

Hi all. I use Diskeeper also, (Ver 8.0), and I think its great. I have it set to screensaver mode, where it defrags whenever the screensaver comes on, maximum of once an hour. I admit it sounds crazy, and EVERYONE I have spoken to thinks that once every three months is too often, but I figure that Executive Software, (Who did the standard XP defragmenter), knows slightly more than I do about defragmenting. Also I like it because it can defrag the MFT, and paging files.

Andy :cool:

[Joel]

So I just downloaded Disk keeper, I'll have the full version for 30-days.

Windows 98se sucks when it comes to keeping the files de-fragmented...I guess its just this out-dated file system. I should get XP Pro.

:D

[§I€MFKR™]

Perfect Disk 6:)

[sandralynn4]

Hi Everyone ,

Thanks for the ideas. Yes, I'm using Windows 98 SE. I had no idea that I could use any other defrag - thought that was the only one. I will try Disk Keeper and see if that helps. I only have 64 MB of RAM. I'm not sure what HDD is, and I'm not running Norton Anti Virus while defragging. My computer didn't used to take so long .... just over the past few weeks. Anyway, thanks again ;)

[Microsoft 98]

Before you run defrag disbale norton anti virus, close most of the startup programs in your taskbar. Delete all cookies, temp files, and anything else you don't need, Uninstall anything you don't need and delete the main exe,zip,folder for it also. Then run defrag. May take 2-4 hours if this is the first time, may also take that amount of time anyway if there was alot added to your harddrive. Other words don't use your computer when running this let it be. You can download Defrag To Shutdown from my site which would turn,reboot your pc when finish.


Defrag To Shutdown

Defrag_to_shutdown launches the Windows Defrag program on all local fixed drives with three options:
1 Full defragmentation
2 Files only
3 Freespace only

After Defrag has completed you can choose to shutdown, reboot or no action. There is also a additional option to optimize system and hidden files, this feauture allows Defrag to move and optimize system and hidden files. WARNING! This for experimental use only, advanced users only. It has been tested and has not caused any filedamage on any testruns. Shutdown is optional and so is disabling the screensaver during defragmentation.
Defrag_to_shutdown has been tested in 95/98/ME, but its not for use in
Windows NT/Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Optimizing system and hidden files is only a experimental feature, it is an
undocumented switch and should be used with care

DownLoad Now??? (http://webzoom.freewebs.com/communications_gateway/dfshut10.zip)

[cyberskye]

A disk has a certain number of hours it will spin and a certain number of writes before it goes.

The more often you defrag the closer you get to that day.

I'd also get more ram. 64M is hardly enough to run two apps at once.

FAT file systems are also extremely frag-prone (compared to UFS, ext, or ntfs)

[Joel]

Yep - Unfortunatly Win98 doesn't support NTFS...

[qball15j]

Originally posted by sludge
Yep - Unfortunatly Win98 doesn't support NTFS...

Upgrade to Windows 2000 your machine should handle it well.

[cyberskye]

Upgrade to Windows 2000 your machine should handle it well.

I agree - but you'll need more than 64M RAM. 256 is the usable minimum for w2k - it'll run with 128, but less than 256 is kinda slow when multi-tasking. 512 would bevery yummy :)

[sandralynn4]

Hi .... I downloaded Disk Keeper and it defragged in 35 minutes! That was great : ) . I didn' have to close down any programs either ( not sure if I'm supposed to, but it seemed to work okay ).

Sandra

[Joel]

You guys should know that I have a brand new PC, that I built myself.

Athlon XP 1600+
128mb RAM(I'm getting 256mb more shortly)
20.4gb 7200RPM HD
514mb HD(from an old, old Dell computer. I use that for mp3s
Now, for the heck of it i'm going to tell all of you how much I paid, because I'm so proud of it: $200. Brand new, from Tiger Direct (http://tigerdirect.com).

thats pretty much all that matters...I was just letting you know that I wasn't the one who had the 64mb machine.

:D

[Joel]

I wonder if they have the uprade on a p2p prog....

j/k...I'm sure one of my friends has the upgrade, I should probably find out.

[Microsoft 98]

sludge but you where once a 64mb user when you first got your pc lol
;)

[Joel]

No I wasn't.

Last pc I had was a 128 - The one before that was 32...

:D

[Joel]

EDIT: Double post!

[Microsoft 98]

NOW NOW NOW you don't need to post another message to gain some post score points .LMAO :D

[Joel]

But I did!

And you'll never know if it was for posts score or a mistake!

muhahaha

:D