Minimum to run

[[lhomme]]

I've been trying to defrag my computer for a month now (down to 59% unfragmented) and I always come across one of two problems:

1. If I try Microsofts Disk Defragmenter, it keeps constantly restarting.
Question: What is the minimum processes (in the Ctrl+Alt+Del task manager) do I need to keep running in order to allow Defrag to finish?

2. If I try Norton, I always get one error or another and by the time I wake up (I allow it to work overnight) my drive has been completely filled with gibberish and freezes. I have to reboot.
Question: How do I fix this?

Thanks.

My system specs:

1gig AMD processor
256 Megs Ram
4 gig harddrive (yes I know, buy a new one, but thats not going to happen until the summer, when I get a job).
Windows ME

[MN-Carl]

ME sucks ...

Upgrade to 2000 or XP pro

IF your gonna update to XP pro ... load ALL the patches except the movie maker :)

[meow]

Don't take my word for it (I'm on 95) but I think you can kill off everything except Explorer and Rundll.

How on earth did it get that fragged? The most I've had is 3%. Usually it's 1 or 2 and I don't do it often at all.

[Giancarlo]

I most likely recommend you upgrade to Win2k, because the NTFS file system is more stable than FAT 32.

[[lhomme]]

I can't upgrade to 2k because my motherboard has a defect that wont support it (again, need to wait for the summer to get a new one).

[trenzterra]

Originally posted by cdudeuk18
ME sucks ...

Upgrade to 2000 or XP pro

IF your gonna update to XP pro ... load ALL the patches except the movie maker :) umm I think he was looking for a solution, not buy a totally new OS.

[invalid]

go into safe mode when you boot up your computer (press F8 until a dialog pops up, select safemode and run the defrag there)

[guitarnerd]

Oh well I really hat fat32, did you know sony ships there XP boxes formated in fat32? I have fixed a lot of those computers because they ship them like that, no adobe programs will run, and it seems to me like absolutly now programs that require a video codec will work either.

[TFA Network]

Upgrade to RedHat and use the ext3 file system, no more fragmentation............

[meow]

guitarnerd - how do those programs manage to run on Windows OSes that don't have NTFS?

[stu]

why does it seem that the advice that people usually give around here is either:

1) reformat and reinstall windows

or

2) change operating systems


Those should be last resort fixes. It is possible to fix a problem without doing a massive overhaul of your system.

[guitarnerd]

Originally posted by stu
why does it seem that the advice that people usually give around here is either:

1) reformat and reinstall windows

or

2) change operating systems


Those should be last resort fixes. It is possible to fix a problem without doing a massive overhaul of your system.

1)Because once your OS is acting funny, chances are that is the only way to fix it entirely.
2)Because 95, ME, and in my case but not everbody's 98, sucks and are unstable, and are non-NT. When you buy an OS from Microsoft your not paying for the version your paying for the reliability.

Meow-I am kinda confused by your question cause you said "how do they manage", umm if you meant how they run, it is better than Fat

[meow]

I said how do those programs manage to run on Operating Systems that don't have NTFS? Aren't able to use NTFS. Seems to work fine to me. :confused:

[guitarnerd]

Ohhh:chicken:

They work fine most of the time, but not if you use them on Win2k. or XP

[stu]

Originally posted by guitarnerd
1)Because once your OS is acting funny, chances are that is the only way to fix it entirely.
2)Because 95, ME, and in my case but not everbody's 98, sucks and are unstable, and are non-NT. When you buy an OS from Microsoft your not paying for the version your paying for the reliability.
I worked in a pc technical support department for two years at a large company. We only did those things seldomnly and as a last resort, since doing a huge overhall like that is difficult... and it isn't just easy to switch operating systems, not everyone can switch to a new version of windows so easily.

There are "real" solutions out there, other than the common reformat/change windows advice I see going around. Meow's and invalid's answers seem more appropriate to follow.

[meow]

Stu, it could be that everyone around here work as support persons for software companies or ISPs. They also favour the reinstall windows solution. :D
1)Because once your OS is acting funny, chances are that is the only way to fix it entirely.
If defrag starts over it's because something has changed on the disk - a program is doing something in the background and it ain't Windows.

2)Because 95, ME, and in my case but not everbody's 98, sucks and are unstable, and are non-NT. When you buy an OS from Microsoft your not paying for the version your paying for the reliability.
I don't understand. Aren't all those OS versions bought from Microsoft?
I've run the same installation of Windows95 for more than 3 years without reinstalling or formatting. I typically install and remove new software more or less daily but I try to clean up after them. I seldom have to reboot. Guess I'm missing something.