[radio309]

My friend has a IBM Thinkpad OS windows 98. He can no longer defragment his hard drive. After hours his hard drive flashs 0-2 percent done. I told him it's a hard drive problem. Anyone have any ideas? His computer is very slow. Thanks in advance. Fred :confused:


OS

[colbtech]

How full is the hard drive?
How big is the hard drive?

Delete some old user files if necessary.
Delete the Temporary internet files
Empty the recycle bin.

When you defrag you need a certain amount of disk space for a scratchpad (temporary store for moving files about)

[LTheobald]

It sounds like you have some software on the PC that's stopping the defrag from being able to run properly. It's probably accessing the hard drive a lot while the PC is attempting to defrag.

Try download some spyware removal tools such as Ad-Aware, Spybot: S&D and Microsoft Antispyware.

Also, try running the defrag in safe mode as there will be less processes running to interfer.

[ScottGem]

Defrag is best run from Safe Mode where a minimum of processes are loaded. Reboot the machine and keep tapping the F8 key during the boot process until you see a menu listing Safe Mode as an option.

[fredg]

Hi,
If you will perform these steps in order, it will probably get your Win98 back to operating good.
Here are Maintenance Steps for 98, which I also use:

Registry Repair should be done whenever there are problems:

To Repair the Registery:
Turn off the computer; or reboot; then immediately press F8, (or, could be F5) located on top of the keyboard. Keep it press down until an options window comes up, then release it.
(If F8 or F5 doesn't work, then re-boot, and immediately press down the CTRL key, hold down until it comes up to the options screen).
Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select "Command Prompt Only".
Press Enter
You will now see C:>
Type in SCANREG /FIX (there is a space between the G and the / ).
You will now see C:>SCANREG /FIX
Press Enter
This will take about 5 minutes or so.
When finished, press Enter for OK.
Manually, turn off the computer, wait a few seconds, the turn it back on.
If you don't have the "Command Prompt Only" option, then re-boot the computer normally.
Go to Start/ShutDown, then choose "restart in ms-dos mode".
It will come up to C:\windows.
Type in CD C:\
It will look like C:>windows CD C:\
Press Enter.
It will then be at the C:> prompt.
Then type in SCANREG /FIX
Press Enter
When it returns to the C:> prompt, then manually turn off the computer, and turn it back on.

Win98/98SE Regular Maintenance
All of these should be run whenever Win98/98SE starts giving problems. It will keep the computer running smoothly.

Before doing any of the following; turn off wallpaper and screensavers before re-starting or re-booting the computer.

Safe Mode is best where indicated, because most programs are not running meaning their files are closed, or not in use. This allows them to be scanned much better, repaired, or defragged better.

1. Scandisk
Start in Safe Mode by:
Re-boot the computer, and immediately after starting up, Press and hold down, F8, at top of keypad.
When the options show on the screen, use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select
"Safe Mode".
Press Enter
After it boots to Safe Mode, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools, and click on Scandisk.
(It is faster if set on "Standard", the "Thorough" usually is not needed and takes a long, long time).
Click on "Start" and let it run until finished.

2. Defrag
When Scandisk is finished, click on "Close".
Now, go back to the same place, but this time, click on "Defrag".
Click on OK, and wait until it finishes (might take 1 hour if not done within a month).
After it finishes, Click on OK or whatever.
Then, re-boot.

If the above doesn't work, then the other posts suggesting maybe Spyware might be true.
Please post back if the above doesn't solve the problems.
Best of luck,
fredg

[radio309]

I hope all is well.I sent your information to my friend Cliff. Cliff told me your advice was great.He has a new problem.He called Lexmark and told them his printer would not print return addresses.The nice people at Lexmark billed him for advice that did not work.It is great to pay for bad advice. He was told the computer was the problem. He tells me the printer works fine, only the return addresses will not print. I hope one and all had a great labor day.