Defrag problem

[truenorth]

O/S win98se.2 physical HDD.1="C" 2= D&E. I cannot defrag my drive "C". It starts goes to 1% and then starts over at 0%.Same result many tries. Successfully defraged "D&E" Using windows defrag tool from assesories. No addaware,spyware,virus programs,firewalls running. Sreen saver selected to none.Power reduction selected to "never". Suggestions please. Hope i have supplied sufficient info. truenorth

[soybean]

Start in Safe mode and try running defrag.  That often works when you're having trouble with it in normal mode.

[WillyW]

...
Successfully defraged "D&E"

Before running defrag on C: ,  have you run Scandisk on it?
Any problems?

... No addaware,spyware,virus programs,firewalls running.

Ctrl-Alt-Del ,  and checked?     and closed everything you can?

...
Suggestions please.

This could be a waste of time,  but it can't hurt:    Do you have a cable modem?  or DSL modem?     If so,  disconnect it from the computer.

[truenorth]

Ok guys a bit more info.No i have not run a "scan disk" before trying the defrag. I cannot do a defrag from "safe mode" (even though i would definetly prefer to do so) because on this particular computer i cannot get into safe mode. Why? Because when i try to it wants a password. I have been the sole owner and user of this computer since new (about 1998) and have NEVER input any passwords for adminisrator or user. However this computer was made expressly for me at a computer shop and they are long ago out of business. If there is a password they created it not me.Did not go the "ctl-alt delete" route when i tried to shut everything off (but i will). One of the results of my trying to eliminate interference from anything was that unintentionally (just yesterday) i completly lost AVG Free 7.5 (not even in the add remove programs) Although a file search does bring up tons of AVG files including many applications? I have today reinstalled it (AVG free 7.5) and as i write this it is scanning everything).So far it has been running for 1hour and 30 mins. Is still on "C" and has found one threat "Trojan Horse Generic 3.DSQ" . No cable or DSL yet (hopefully by the end of the month) 56k dial up.Was offline when trying defrag. Remember absolutely no problems with "D" & "E". Thanks for your assistance. truenorth

[soybean]

Your password scenario sounds odd.  Did you follow the procedure given here for starting in Safe mode?: http://www.pchell.com/support/safemode.shtml

[WillyW]

No i have not run a "scan disk" before trying the defrag.

Give it a try, and let us know what happens.

I have been the sole owner and user of this computer since new (about 1998) and have NEVER input any passwords for adminisrator or user.

Interesting....   in that for about 9 years, you've never had to re-install Windows.

Did not go the "ctl-alt delete" route when i tried to shut everything off (but i will).

Let us know if you find anything that you can shut off,  and what it was.

Remember absolutely no problems with "D" & "E".

That's what made me think of scandisk.   Thinking of something that could be different from drive to drive.

[truenorth]

Soybean,WillyW, Progress! However i can only relate to what has happened--not why.
1.As i write this "C" drive has been running (in safe mode) since 8 am now nearly 1pm. It is at 84%.
2.As a result of the reinstall of AVG free 7.5 and running a complete scan eventually 4 "Trojans" were found and automatically deleted.
3.One trojan was in C:\Windows\Temp and the other 3 were all in C:\program files.
4.After i saw that the trojans were gone i decided to try the normal F8 at boot method of accessing "safe mode" (which is what i had been doing all along).So i did NOT do a scan disk before,nor did i do the "start.run,msconfig" either. I wanted to do exactly what i had been doing before when i got the password requirement and then go from there (as per your guidance) if it became necessary so i could see what if anything had changed.
5.F8 at boot got me into safe mode (no password). The rest is history as i assume this defrag will complete.
   Yes it is indeed a rarity that an original install of an O/S could be still running after 8-9 years but such is the case on that computer. However i have a number of others with various operating systems where such has not been the case. The one in question was a replacement for one i had stolen in a home robbery and originally had win98 on it and all i did was upgrade (when it became available) to SE and have not had to touch it since. I have other computers much newer and operating systems up to and including Vista (which i am reluctant to install on anything) that have given me many more problems than this one. Thus it is my favorite and the one i use the most. I know this is a terrible addmission but in fact while i regularly defrag my other computers i had NEVER done one on this computer. So it hit me that maybe it was about time. Hense this thread. Thanks guys--assistance really apprecited. This should end the thread on this post unless someone wants more info. truenorth

[WillyW]

Soybean,WillyW, Progress! However i can only relate to what has happened--not why.

Sounds like AVG cleaned up some dirt that was in the way.

   Yes it is indeed a rarity that an original install of an O/S could be still running after 8-9 years but such is the case on that computer.

Let alone the hard drive lasting that long.   
I think that's pretty good.

I know this is a terrible addmission but in fact while i regularly defrag my other computers i had NEVER done one on this computer.

Wow!

So it hit me that maybe it was about time. Hense this thread. Thanks guys--assistance really apprecited. This should end the thread on this post unless someone wants more info.

Just wanted to add:
I use Win98SE too.   I had troubles defragging a couple times too.   It's been a while though.   Vaguely,  I remembered something with Scandisk.
I seem to think that a run of scandisk is built right into the first part of running defrag.   It would appear that defrag was starting,  then quit after a few moments.   It was really scandisk that was having some sort of problem.
That is why I suggested running scandisk alone -  so you could see what it was doing.       
Again -  it has been a while,  so I could have some details muddled.   
Can't hurt to run scandisk anyway though.   

Glad you got it whipped.     Thanks for letting us know.