Why won't my computer completely defrag?

Question

I have a Toshiba Satellite with XP and a 20 gig HD. The report indicates that 1000's of files could not be defragged. Anybody?
Thanks...

Answer 1

The defragmenter provided with windows is not that much great. You should have atleast 25% of free space in the drive u r defragmenting and no process should run from that partition. Try a third party defragmenting tool. I use system mechanic and it is great. Download a trial from

www.iolo.com/sm/

This tool contains much more than defragment tool. Try out and you will see amazing results with your computer

Answer 2

There are several possible reasons.

1.) You have programs running in the background. I would suggest disconnecting from the Internet, closing all programs possible other than defrag including your anti-virus software. You might even want to do it in safe mode, but that really isn't necessary.

2.) You do not have enough free space to do an effective defrag. I would suggest at the least having 20% of your hard disk free before completing a defrag.

3.) Some files essential to running the computer at the time of defrag are not movable. Defrag works around these files and there really is nothing you can do to move them.

4.) In addition to everything mentioned above, it is not necessary for absolutely everything to be defragmented. The program actually will not do a perfect defrag because it is unnecessary to performance. You might note that if you run defrag and then try to defrag again the program will often tell you it is not necessary even if there are still fragmented files.

I wouldn't be too worried about it. I would be worried about a 20 GB HDD though. I don't run an exorbitant amount of programs on my Compaq Presario laptop and I am worried about my 80 GB HDD. 20 GB just seems to be too small of a HDD to effectively run a computer these days.

Answer 3

Boy you must have an old laptop with 20 Gb HDD. I think the newer ones have 40 Gb minimum. Anyway.

Now forget about the report now. You probably misread it like all the other computer geniuses. lol Anyway, when you defrag, I presume it goes to the whole cycle. In other words, you start and maybe 5 or 10 minutes later, you get a window that says defrag completed. Sometimes if you have not defragged for a long time (like yours truly) it takes a little longer than usual. I have had 20 minute defrag times. But then the following week, only a couple of minutes. I run it on automatic now. That NEVER hurts.

When you run analysis, on the c or d drive, it will indicate if it should defrag or not. In your case, do it once a week, with that big of a HDD. And defrag before you go online.

As long as the window says defrag completed you are ok. The report takes too long to explain.

Go to these sites for more help. Go to the download sections for the real goodies though.

http://www.cnet.com/
http://www.pcworld.com/

Answer 4

Most likely, you are running Windows 98 or Windows ME. What interferes most with a defrag in these operating systems is the screen saver. A blank screen is the best screen saver, as it uses the least computer resources and does the least damage due to heat or phosphorus burn. Other than that, it's the programs running next to your time in the lower right-hand corner, called the system tray. Single-right-click on these and close them as every time a program on your computer makes a change, defrag notices that and starts over. The best way to defrag your computer is to go into Safe Mode (details below), then your computer will be 'clean' of running applications. Hope that helps!

"To start Windows 98 in Safe mode, restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears, and then choose Safe Mode."

PS If you're running Windows 98, and are a bit computer savvy, check out the link below to change your Win98 defrag for the better WinME version.

Answer 5

This relies plenty at the dimension of the tough force and the volume of documents you've gotten. Generally, an entire defrag of the tough force will take approximately an hour. A pc simply purchased from the shop will best take part that point due to the fact that there are only a few documents one it. On the opposite hand, a pc with 500GB of song on it should take a few hours to defrag. The nice train is to begin it earlier than you pass to mattress and it's going to be performed whilst you get up. Using the pc at the same time defraging will prolong the method and frustrate you with gradual reaction

Answer 6

Because you can't defrag all files using the built in Windows defragger. Files such as the system files and the paging file, etc., need to be defragged "offline", meaning they can't be defragged while in use. If you want those files defragged too, use a utility such as Raxco's PerfectDisk.
http://www.raxco.com/products/perfectdisk2k/

Answer 7

Because you have something running in the background like anti-virus software. Do control, Alt, delete select task manager and kill your anti virus

Answer 8

Try diskeeper. I use it and it works a treat

www.diskeeper.com