Another defrag question

leisuresuitlary · 28 Jun 2003, 01:25 AM

My girlfreind bought a laptop about 6 months ago. She was complaining that it doesn't appear to be working as well as it used to.

I scatched my chin and said 'when was the last time you defragged it?' She said 'did what to it?'

Clearly it has never been done. There is an awful lot of stuff on it including almost every major programme under the sun. Her hard drive is 20GB.

I have tried to run defrag but after 36 hours it is still on 0%.

I do not take this as a good sign. Can anyone suggest what is wrong and how to fix it?

Larry

robert@fm · 28 Jun 2003, 04:29 AM

Have you tried either of the tricks I suggested in the other thread?

Before running Defrag (or anything else resource-intensive) shut down everything not essential to its operation, by using the Close Programs menu ([Alt][Ctrl][Del]) if need be.
In the rare occasions where this doesn't work, try running Windows with Defrag as the shell instead of Explorer.

If even the second option doesn't work, there's definitely something wrong!

mister · 28 Jun 2003, 07:05 AM

Another way to do it is to start your computer in safe mode and then run defrag.Press f8 when the computer is booting and choose safe Mode from the menu, it loads Windows with minimal drivers so there is less going on in the back ground.

Raymond · 1 Jul 2003, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robert@fm
[*]In the rare occasions where this doesn't work, try running Windows with Defrag as the shell instead of Explorer.[/list]
If even the second option doesn't work, there's definitely something wrong!

You have to make sure that only Explorer and system is running and then try running defrag.

mammaduck · 1 Jul 2003, 01:22 AM

And make sure that you're screensaver isn't going to start up after x minutes. I once spent 24 hours defragging before I found out that as soon as the screensaver comes on, the defrag will start all over.

Hanneke

Raymond · 1 Jul 2003, 01:26 AM

ouch that must have really hurt....

mammaduck · 1 Jul 2003, 01:31 AM

Yes, it did

But it will never ever happen again

Hanneke

squabsy · 1 Jul 2003, 02:50 AM

Startint in Safe mode worked for me with a 40gb hard drive

robert@fm · 1 Jul 2003, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mammaduck
And make sure that you're screensaver isn't going to start up after x minutes. I once spent 24 hours defragging before I found out that as soon as the screensaver comes on, the defrag will start all over.

The system I look after for a friend is occasionally used for CD-burning (old-technology burner), and for that reason the screen-saver and auto-shutdown features are disabled...

(I once read that no CRT display manufactured in the past five years (or maybe longer) actually needs a screen saver; nowadays such programs are just ornamental, unless used to password-protect one's system during an absence.)

mammaduck · 1 Jul 2003, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robert@fm
(I once read that no CRT display manufactured in the past five years (or maybe longer) actually needs a screen saver; nowadays such programs are just ornamental, unless used to password-protect one's system during an absence.)

That's what I use it for: to protect my pc from my boys. Allthough it's not a foolproof method, as I just found out.
I have to change the time in which my screensaver will start because they just messed up my browser and I am trying to get it back to normal for the last 30 minutes

Hanneke

robert@fm · 1 Jul 2003, 04:40 AM

You can always manually start your screen saver by going to the Screen Saver tag of Display Options and clicking Preview; but I don't know if Preview requires the password to get out of it.

leisuresuitlary · 23 Oct 2003, 12:46 AM

Sadly I have not been able to get anywhere with this (and as you can see the problem has dragged on for a while).

Safe mod does not make defrag work. I have made a boot disk and although it seems to boot the computer inot DOS I cant seem to make any head way with the instructions below provided by Robert@fm.

""Boot into DOS mode. (This is possible even with Windows ME, by using the boot floppy you should by now have made for emergencies; on Windows 9x press [F8] immediately when the "Starting Windows" message appears.)

CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called).

EDIT WIN.INI

Find the line SHELL=EXPLORER.EXE (I don't recall if that's exactly what it says; it'll mention Explorer, anyway. It will be near the start of the file.)

Replace EXPLORER with DEFRAG.

Reboot into Windows."""

Can you provide the idiots instructions as to what to type? This PC is running XP Home and although I once did exactly what was described above to replace the shell in windows 98 on another pc I cant seem to make it work here. Is it something to do with XP that i am not doing right?

Any help much appreciated,

Larry

robert@fm · 30 Oct 2003, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by leisuresuitlary
I have made a boot disk and although it seems to boot the computer inot DOS I cant seem to make any head way with the instructions below provided by Robert@fm.

"Boot into DOS mode. (This is possible even with Windows ME, by using the boot floppy you should by now have made for emergencies; on Windows 9x press [F8] immediately when the "Starting Windows" message appears.)

CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called).

EDIT WIN.INI

Find the line SHELL=EXPLORER.EXE (I don't recall if that's exactly what it says; it'll mention Explorer, anyway. It will be near the start of the file.)

Replace EXPLORER with DEFRAG.

Reboot into Windows."

That's because I made an error.

When I had to do this myself, I found that it isn't WIN.INI which contains the crucial line; it's SYSTEM.INI.

I got the rest right, however (or I think I did

) — the crucial line is indeed shell=explorer.exe, and replacing explorer with defrag and then rebooting, makes Defrag run at least twice as fast on my machine!

Remember though, as mammaduck said, if you have a screen-saver or anything else which is going to kick in, disable it before you reboot...

leisuresuitlary · 30 Oct 2003, 03:35 AM

i actually never made it past

CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called).

i tried typing any number of cominations of this but i must have been doing somehting wrong.

Larry

Adrian Bell · 30 Oct 2003, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by leisuresuitlary
i actually never made it past

CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called).

i tried typing any number of cominations of this but i must have been doing somehting wrong.

Larry

If you're booting from a floppy you need to type:

c:<enter>

then

cd \windows<enter>

28 Jun 2003, 01:25 AM	#1
leisuresuitlary Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK Posts: 168	Another defrag question My girlfreind bought a laptop about 6 months ago. She was complaining that it doesn't appear to be working as well as it used to. I scatched my chin and said 'when was the last time you defragged it?' She said 'did what to it?' Clearly it has never been done. There is an awful lot of stuff on it including almost every major programme under the sun. Her hard drive is 20GB. I have tried to run defrag but after 36 hours it is still on 0%. I do not take this as a good sign. Can anyone suggest what is wrong and how to fix it? Larry

28 Jun 2003, 04:29 AM	#2
robert@fm The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 4,681	Have you tried either of the tricks I suggested in the other thread? Before running Defrag (or anything else resource-intensive) shut down everything not essential to its operation, by using the Close Programs menu ([Alt][Ctrl][Del]) if need be. In the rare occasions where this doesn't work, try running Windows with Defrag as the shell instead of Explorer. If even the second option doesn't work, there's definitely something wrong!

28 Jun 2003, 07:05 AM	#3
mister Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 433	Safe Mode Another way to do it is to start your computer in safe mode and then run defrag.Press f8 when the computer is booting and choose safe Mode from the menu, it loads Windows with minimal drivers so there is less going on in the back ground.

1 Jul 2003, 01:22 AM	#5
mammaduck Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 706	And make sure that you're screensaver isn't going to start up after x minutes. I once spent 24 hours defragging before I found out that as soon as the screensaver comes on, the defrag will start all over. Hanneke

1 Jul 2003, 01:26 AM	#6
Raymond Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 118	ouch that must have really hurt....

1 Jul 2003, 01:31 AM	#7
mammaduck Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 706	Yes, it did But it will never ever happen again Hanneke

1 Jul 2003, 02:50 AM	#8
squabsy Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: UK South Coast Posts: 152	Startint in Safe mode worked for me with a 40gb hard drive

1 Jul 2003, 04:40 AM	#11
robert@fm The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 4,681	You can always manually start your screen saver by going to the Screen Saver tag of Display Options and clicking Preview; but I don't know if Preview requires the password to get out of it.

23 Oct 2003, 12:46 AM	#12
leisuresuitlary Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK Posts: 168	Sadly I have not been able to get anywhere with this (and as you can see the problem has dragged on for a while). Safe mod does not make defrag work. I have made a boot disk and although it seems to boot the computer inot DOS I cant seem to make any head way with the instructions below provided by Robert@fm. ""Boot into DOS mode. (This is possible even with Windows ME, by using the boot floppy you should by now have made for emergencies; on Windows 9x press [F8] immediately when the "Starting Windows" message appears.) CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called). EDIT WIN.INI Find the line SHELL=EXPLORER.EXE (I don't recall if that's exactly what it says; it'll mention Explorer, anyway. It will be near the start of the file.) Replace EXPLORER with DEFRAG. Reboot into Windows.""" Can you provide the idiots instructions as to what to type? This PC is running XP Home and although I once did exactly what was described above to replace the shell in windows 98 on another pc I cant seem to make it work here. Is it something to do with XP that i am not doing right? Any help much appreciated, Larry

30 Oct 2003, 03:35 AM	#14
leisuresuitlary Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK Posts: 168	i actually never made it past CD \WINDOWS (or whatever your Windows directory is called). i tried typing any number of cominations of this but i must have been doing somehting wrong. Larry