Running Scandisk and Defrag 

(Note:  These procedures apply to systems running Windows 9X operating systems.  They are not necessary for Windows XP.) 

The following procedures will enable users to run Scandisk and Defrag on their systems with a minimum of difficulty.  Often both of these programs will fail to complete because some running program is writing to the hard disk, causing the program to restart repeatedly. 

1.  Go to Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools.  Click Disk Cleanup.

2.  Making sure that drive C: is selected to be cleaned, check the boxes for Temporary Internet Files, Temporary Files, and Recycle Bin.  Confirm the selections.

3.  Close antivirus program and firewall program by right-clicking their icons in the taskbar and choosing End/Exit.

4.  Simultaneously press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to bring up the Close Programs box.  Click to select each of the programs in turn (except for Explorer and Systray) and choose End Task until only Explorer and Systray are shown running, then click Cancel.

5.    Delete Windows Temp items by double-clicking each of the following,  My Computer, Drive C: icon, Windows folder, Temp folder.  At this point click Edit, then Select All.  Click File, then Delete.  Return to desktop.  (One can also reach the Temp folder by opening Windows Explorer which should open to Drive C:, then browsing to the Windows folder and following the instructions above from that point onward.)

6.   Right-click an empty spot on the desktop.  Choose Properties.  On the Screen Saver tab set Screen Saver to None, click the Settings button and set the monitor to never turn off.  Click Apply, then OK.

7.  Go to Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools.  Click ScanDisk, select the drive to check, select Thorough, and click Start

8.  When Scandisk is complete, go to Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools.  Click Disk Defragmenter.  Specify the partition to be defragged and click OK.

9.  When defrag is complete, reboot.

Notes:

A.  To avoid the need to repeatedly click End Task in step 4. users can download and run a utility called EndItAll, which is available for download here.

B.  For users with more than one partition on their hard disk another utility, ScanFragAll.vbs, available at the same link will enable them to scandisk and defrag all partitions without requiring user intervention.

C. Some users with DSL or cable broadband connections may have difficulty with these programs because their system does not release the modem connection.  In this case, go to Start|Run, type winipcfg and click OK.  When the window opens, press the "Release" button to terminate the connection.

These instructions are based on the procedures specified by Steve Anderson, a frequent contributor to the DellTalk forum