Defrag stuff ...
Before you defrag your disk, start windows in 'Safe Mode' by holding down Function key 5 while Windows starts. Your screen should look ugly with 'Safe Mode' written in the corners. The paranoid could double check this by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys simultaneously and making sure only 'explorer', which is required, is running. This is a good, and safe, operating environment to defrag your disk.
I agree with the other posts about Norton's defrag programs: they're fast; they offer some useful options such as file sorting and placement; and they point out hidden problems before they get a chance to cause trouble. Once I back-up my working disks, I use Norton's defrag to put the back-up at the end of the disk where it'll be 'out of the way', and with any luck, will never be needed. This reduces the disk head 'travel time' since it needn't be constantly 'skipping over' this large chunk of data.
My disk defrags take about 10-15 minutes with Norton. I've run out of patience with the Win98 (Intel) defrag and terminated it, unfinished, after an hour.
Hope this helps, PW.
P.S. I also use Norton's defrag to sort my files. |
