Hamlet
Manic Depressive
Never defraged this comp. Really should sometime.
Hard Drive Defragmation
- Thread starter King of Camelot
- Start date
BlueMonday
Can I Kick It?
I use ZoneAlarm Pro 3 (and Neotrace when I want to track script kiddies down). ZAP3 works the best out of all the software firewalls I've used. Since my last reformat, repartition, reinstall episode (on May 1) it's stopped 6268 access attempts in and out of my computer. I'm not joking either, I just pulled up the stats on it just now and it says 6268 access attempts in 30 days about 300 of which were high rated alarms.
On all the Windows systems I've used all you have to do is Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter. Select your hard disk on the following menu and defrag away.
Sanaz
Gorilla Joe
I do it every Friday night at 8:00. It reminds me that I really shouldn't be playing games all weekend, but should get out and see the real people.
I tried defraging on my Win98 home comp, but gives me a msg about not enough memory and exiting applications. But I wasn't running any programs and I have 256 Mb of RAM.
What's the solution?
What's the solution?
Switch625
I don't care.
My guess would be that your swap file is too small.
Are you sure there weren't other programs running? If there were, you'd see their icons in the bottom right corner of your screen. Also, make sure you don't have a screensaver running (it's running even when the screensaver is not displaying) while you try to defrag. Usually, it wouldn't say you're out of memory, it would just start over again. That used to happen to me a lot and caused defrag to take hours.
BlueMonday
Can I Kick It?
What I would do is first download a program called "Maxmem" from http://www.analogx.com (you can find it in his software section under 'system'). After install and booting you pull up a little menu from its system tray icon and select 'free' and select how aggressively you want it to clear your memory (I always go for aggressive clearing). Then try to run the defrag program.
If you still get the same error about memory, then hit ctrl-alt-del and when the window pops up with all the programs that are running close out a bunch that you don't need (which will be just about all of them). Many of these programs are probably starting up when you boot your computer; the possibility exists that they could be various forms of malware. If you'd like to keep them from starting on bootup then in your run command line enter "msconfig" and in the following window click the tab that says 'startup.' From there you will be presented with a checklist of all the programs that are started when you boot your computer. Uncheck all the unnecessary programs.
I recomend you figure out what those programs do; some of them could be spyware or other forms of malware -particularly if you haven't secured your computer- and most likely you have a few annoying-as-hell popup programs that are watching your every internet move. Some are probably just there to make opening a program faster (like with RealPlayer or Winamp). I'd disable all the programs that aren't essential to your ease of use or security. For instance, programs that I have start up on bootup are my firewall (ZAP3), System Tray, MS Office shortcut bar, and a few others. Ones that I have unchecked on the start up list are Winamp, Adaptec, Direct CD -you know, programs that I only use now and then, and can just start up on my own.
Clearing many of those useless programs from starting up when you boot can fix a good deal of headaches people get from Windows OSs. Your system will boot faster and you'll have fewer system crashes. Since Windows has less programs that it's running simultaneosly it can operate much smoother.
I defraged my HD today- over and over and over again. For some resone that was the only way. Started with a lot of big files 600MB+ that where fragmented over 600-8000 parts?
Bugs me that the program(that comes with winXP) was not able to do this in one run. Insted I hade to start it over and over again. Phu.
but now the hd is defragmented.
Bugs me that the program(that comes with winXP) was not able to do this in one run. Insted I hade to start it over and over again. Phu.
but now the hd is defragmented.
Switch625
I don't care.
As for firewall software, I use ZoneAlarm. The free version. It's been the best since day one. It stops all unauthorized traffic both ways.
It, and Tiny Personal Firewall, are far better than most firewalls you have to pay for. I'm thinking, in particular, of Black Ice Defender.
Rotten piece of software. Waste of money.
It, and Tiny Personal Firewall, are far better than most firewalls you have to pay for. I'm thinking, in particular, of Black Ice Defender.
Rotten piece of software. Waste of money.starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
by PH76:
Actually, you are talking about the file system. This refers to the organization and indexing method to store bits on a media.
There are several common formats, including FAT, FAT32, NTFS, HPFS, LinExt2, and LinSwap. The first two are the typically ill-conceived MS formats. Guess the readers are likely using on their machine, LOL. FAT32, which means "File Allocation Table, 32-bit" is predominate on home machines. NTFS is "New Technology File System", and its pompous name betrays is creator, MS. HPFS is "High Performance File System", which is superior to all MS formats and does not need defragging due to how it works. This is likely how your financial records are stored (by banks and about 70% of the ATMs), ever since MS illegally knocked OS/2 out of the consumer windows market in the 1993-1994 time frame. OS/2 is now used mostly by a small group of professionals who need a file system and OS that works properly and efficiently. The LinExt2 is the Linux data storage system, ans is a superior and very very secure system. Linux has a special, highly optimized file system just for swap files called LinSwap or Linux Swap. It buries MS's attempts. Linux is an open architecture OS, based on Unix, but developed by over 1,000,000 people worldwide... and it is free. Some companies, like Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, etc. package the distribution in a nice box and market it with some extra bells and whistles, but it and all the drivers are free. I recommend SUSE (I've tried them all, of course). That said, I mostly use Windoze (Win95 and W2K) because that's what the "world" uses, esp. in the gov't. The classic Catch-22.
So for defragging.... keep in mind this is only necessary because a concentration of the higest paid programmers in the world are unable to deploy a decent file system to the consumer market. Everytime you defrag (and yes, I do too), you are paying for MS's mistakes. Defragging is, in essence, fixing MS's errors.
For those that want to know, it was Steve Gibson who created a program called SpinRite in the circa 1984 era, and claimed he could speed up disk access, reduce wear, and extend the life of hard drives. MS told him he was nuts. He was right, and it was amazing.
About today's defragging, the MS defragger is slow, inefficient, and actually "defrags" in such a way that lends itself to rapid fragmentation after it is done. Norton Utilities and even Fix It Utilities (Ver 4 is best) do a much better, more logical, and longer lasting defragementation... in a fraction of the time in most cases.
BTW, do not defrag with Norton or FixIt, then defrag with MS.... you won't damage your data with MS, but you will jumble the order and logic into disorder and chaos (relatively speaking), and wait for a long time.
If you really want to speed your machine up (assuming you have only about 32 to 128 MB of RAM and actually use the Swapfile, then you need to do 4 things:
1. Never use the MS "defragger" again (it will make your system slower again).
2. Make your swapfile permanent.
3. Move the permanent swapfile to a contigious outer disk track.
4. The easiest way to do step 3 is to use Norton Utilities' Defragger.
The results can be astounding... lots of system speedup. Exact amount of speedup depends on lots of factors, though. If you use Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, and large memory programs in general, you may notice an even more profound increase in the decrepit MS system speed.
Extra credit for advanced users: If you want to be amazed at how fast your system hardware really is, try running Linux as your OS.
Bouns question for movie goers: What OS was incapable of satisfactory performance when making the digital effects, like the ship shots and ocean and seagulls and faraway people in the movie "Titanic"? And what OS came to the rescue to complete the movie? MS bungled it badly. NT proved to be a dismal failure. The bright shining star of Linux (a distribution called Red Hat version 4.2) did it with ease. Almost 200 PC's, networked together, churning at full speed for over 6 weeks provided the muscle to render the scenes, particularly the outdoor and special effects, like the sinking.
Actually, you are talking about the file system. This refers to the organization and indexing method to store bits on a media.
There are several common formats, including FAT, FAT32, NTFS, HPFS, LinExt2, and LinSwap. The first two are the typically ill-conceived MS formats. Guess the readers are likely using on their machine, LOL. FAT32, which means "File Allocation Table, 32-bit" is predominate on home machines. NTFS is "New Technology File System", and its pompous name betrays is creator, MS. HPFS is "High Performance File System", which is superior to all MS formats and does not need defragging due to how it works. This is likely how your financial records are stored (by banks and about 70% of the ATMs), ever since MS illegally knocked OS/2 out of the consumer windows market in the 1993-1994 time frame. OS/2 is now used mostly by a small group of professionals who need a file system and OS that works properly and efficiently. The LinExt2 is the Linux data storage system, ans is a superior and very very secure system. Linux has a special, highly optimized file system just for swap files called LinSwap or Linux Swap. It buries MS's attempts. Linux is an open architecture OS, based on Unix, but developed by over 1,000,000 people worldwide... and it is free. Some companies, like Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, etc. package the distribution in a nice box and market it with some extra bells and whistles, but it and all the drivers are free. I recommend SUSE (I've tried them all, of course). That said, I mostly use Windoze (Win95 and W2K) because that's what the "world" uses, esp. in the gov't. The classic Catch-22.
So for defragging.... keep in mind this is only necessary because a concentration of the higest paid programmers in the world are unable to deploy a decent file system to the consumer market. Everytime you defrag (and yes, I do too), you are paying for MS's mistakes. Defragging is, in essence, fixing MS's errors.
For those that want to know, it was Steve Gibson who created a program called SpinRite in the circa 1984 era, and claimed he could speed up disk access, reduce wear, and extend the life of hard drives. MS told him he was nuts. He was right, and it was amazing.
About today's defragging, the MS defragger is slow, inefficient, and actually "defrags" in such a way that lends itself to rapid fragmentation after it is done. Norton Utilities and even Fix It Utilities (Ver 4 is best) do a much better, more logical, and longer lasting defragementation... in a fraction of the time in most cases.
BTW, do not defrag with Norton or FixIt, then defrag with MS.... you won't damage your data with MS, but you will jumble the order and logic into disorder and chaos (relatively speaking), and wait for a long time.
If you really want to speed your machine up (assuming you have only about 32 to 128 MB of RAM and actually use the Swapfile, then you need to do 4 things:
1. Never use the MS "defragger" again (it will make your system slower again).
2. Make your swapfile permanent.
3. Move the permanent swapfile to a contigious outer disk track.
4. The easiest way to do step 3 is to use Norton Utilities' Defragger.
The results can be astounding... lots of system speedup. Exact amount of speedup depends on lots of factors, though. If you use Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, and large memory programs in general, you may notice an even more profound increase in the decrepit MS system speed.
Extra credit for advanced users: If you want to be amazed at how fast your system hardware really is, try running Linux as your OS.
Bouns question for movie goers: What OS was incapable of satisfactory performance when making the digital effects, like the ship shots and ocean and seagulls and faraway people in the movie "Titanic"? And what OS came to the rescue to complete the movie? MS bungled it badly. NT proved to be a dismal failure. The bright shining star of Linux (a distribution called Red Hat version 4.2) did it with ease. Almost 200 PC's, networked together, churning at full speed for over 6 weeks provided the muscle to render the scenes, particularly the outdoor and special effects, like the sinking.
I have tried all the steps above. I have absolutely nothing running in the background. Still can't defrag and having the same problem, using the Win98 defragmenter.
Tried the Speedisk in Norton Utilities too; but unless I'm mistaken, seemed to be repeating itself i.e. defrag up to a point, then repeat the process up to that point again.
Any other ideas? I got a 40 gig hardisk and only 25% or so utilised if it helps.
Tried the Speedisk in Norton Utilities too; but unless I'm mistaken, seemed to be repeating itself i.e. defrag up to a point, then repeat the process up to that point again.
Any other ideas? I got a 40 gig hardisk and only 25% or so utilised if it helps.
I thought so too. Well, I'll reinstall one of these days......Originally posted by PaleHorse76
@K-D:
Reload the OS
Now to look for all the drivers and the CD.... 
Good thing I don't whip my home comp that hard anymore.
Sanaz
Gorilla Joe
There are two thing to try (which you may or may not have already). First, Use Start->Run->msconfig. Once running this, uncheck the box to load applications at startup. Second, in the Display control panel, turn off the screen saver, and disable the power management (set it to an Always On mode).
It is likely that you have something running somewhere that you are not aware of. Windows does that.
I have already done the msconfig thing per BM's advice. I don't use any screen saver at all. Have to check my power thing though. Thanks!
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2001
- Messages
- 3,136
I have a feature on that auto-runs defrag everytime my screen saver would turn on, that way I never have to worry about it and it doesn't take long each time.
starlifter
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2001
- Messages
- 4,210
That tells the tale. What is happening is some program is accessing the HD during defrag. When that happens, the defrag must start again. The defrag process will usually go pretty fast up to about the point it was interrupted, then start chugging along.
You must find and deactivate the offending program (or setting) that is causing the interruption. It may even be an OS setting you've made, or that was a default (or set by another program). It could be an MS Explorer setting (not MS IE, but the desktop Explorer).
If you have Norton Speedisk, esp. a recent version, you have lots of options that you can set that affect the defrag speed (once you find out what is accessing the defragging drive).
Here are the basic options:
Note the light brown segment at the top of the drive data representation (benind the pop-ups). That is the properly defragged and positioned Swap File, which MS is not capable of doing, hehe...
PS, you always have about a dozen programs running, even if you don't realize it. Most are system-related, and one way to see them is with WinTop (a specialty utility from MS). I run WinTop all the time, to keep an eye on all processes at all time, and nail hackers.
