tips for newbies

What Do I Do When Scandisk and Defrag Won't Run In Win9.x/ME

If you review past posts, many people have this same problem. Prior to running Scandisk or Defrag, be sure to shut down all programs running in the background by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete (at the same time)and "End Task" on each program listed except for Explorer and Systray. It's usually best to do the Scandisk first, then Defrag. Virus Scanning programs and Find-fast can make your Scandisk loop over and over again. If it's any consolation, if you do it frequently (once every week or two), it goes much faster. Also make sure you delete all the unneeded files (Cookies, History, and Temporary Internet Files) prior to doing the above. No need to scan and defrag all those extra files. Shut down your screen saver temporarily as this can also freeze scandisk and defrag. After opening Scandisk, place a CHECK mark in “Automatically Fix Errors. Click on the "Advanced" button, then make sure the settings look like this:Display Summary=AlwaysLog File=Replace LogCross-linked File=DeleteLost File Fragments=FreeCheck Valid Files For=Place a check in ALL of the optionsCheck Host Drive FirstIf for some reason, it still doesn't work, run both programs in "Safe Mode". Restart the computer, pressing the F8 key once per second, till it loads a selection screen. Use the up and down arrows to select "Safe Mode", press enter, and the computer will load into a safe mode. It looks like a normal screen but with Safe Mode in each of the four corners. The various drivers don't work in Safe Mode but it allows you to Scandisk and Defrag. When you’re done, restart the machine and it will boot normally.If all else fails, run Scandisk in DOS. For Win95/98 users: Reboot the computer, pressing F8, once per second, till the selection screen loads. Use the up/down/left/right arrows to navigate to the MS DOS Command prompt section, then press enter. When the DOS prompt loads, type "scandisk" (without the quotes). Press enter. After it runs in the standard mode, it will then ask you if you want to run the "thorough" version. Choose yes or no. “Thorough” takes a very long time, but does check your hard drive sectors. When you’re done, navigate to the “Exit” selection, press “Enter”, then press the power button to turn off the puter. Restart the computer and it will boot into Windows normally. Gain access to a Command Prompt in Windows ME this way: Shut down the puter, place the Windows ME start up disk in the floppy drive, start the machine. When the menu appears choose "Minimum Boot". Press Enter. When the command prompt appears, type "scandisk", then press enter.