How do I stop activity on my computer while I defrag? Every time an
application asks for access to the internet or an automated function
turns on (aside from the screensaver - which I turn off) the defrag
process stops and attempts to restart all over again!! Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by tisme-ga on 23 Nov 2002 05:22 PST

Please clarify what operating system you are using? Are you using the
general degram program that coes with Windows?

tisme-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by tisme-ga on 23 Nov 2002 05:23 PST

general defrag is what I mean.

tisme-ga

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Clarification of Question by zoso-ga on 23 Nov 2002 07:01 PST

I'm using Win '98 and the defrag that came with that OS. I'm using
ZoneAlarm and it will pop up with question as to whether or not I want
a particular program to access the internet and this stops the defrag
process. Also I may have some Works calendar reminders that pop up and
this does the same thing to the process.

Hi zoso,

Here's what to do before every defrag:

1. Go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk CleanUp/C Drive.
As a minimum, tick off "Temporary Internet Files" and "Temporary
Files" (plus your Trash if you want to) and click OK.
2. Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display/ScreenSaver. Set it to
"Wait 60 minutes". You'll have to remember to reset your time after
you are finished defragging.
3. Rather than going into every program that is set to perform
automatically and changing all the autos to manual or changing the
times, it would be easier to just close down all of your programs. So
close ZoneAlarm, your calender, any instant messengers, any programs
such as Word, your Virus program - in other words, close everything.
4. Make sure you are offline.
5. Ok, now you are ready to defrag. *
6. When it is finished, restart your computer and you should have a
nice perky machine to work with.

* Note: if the same trouble happens again, exit defrag and try to
figure out what program you forgot to close, close it and try again.

I hope this solves your problem, but if not, please let me know before
rating this answer and I will have another look. Actually, when your
question came in, that is what I was doing, defragging our Windows 98
computer.  I do it several times per week - good luck with yours - let
me know how it goes.

Sincerely,
hummer

Hello,

I was working on this question in the Answers box but whehn I
submitted it I had lost the lock. I am going to include my answer
below in case it may prove to be useful:

Hello,

In response to your question, I would start out by suggesting that you
allow your computer to defrag overnight. It does not really matter if
the defragmentation process is interrupted temporarily because this
does not reduce the overall effectiveness of defragging your hard disk
(unless it is being interrupted often enough to prevent it from
actually doing anything.)

If you want to prevent your screensaver from starting while the defrag
process is running, follow the instructions at the following URL and
it will disable your screensaver automatically during the
defragmentation process:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;229057
Please be careful and follow the instructions closely because
modifying the registry can be risky and can damage your computer data
if a mistake is made.

Next, I would recommend that you close ANY open programs that might be
running. In the taskbar, you can close Zone Alarm by right clicking
the icon and exiting or closing it. Do this for all applications that
are running before starting the defragging process and it is likely
that this will solve your problem. Anti Virus programs, email
programs, instant messaging etc., are common culprits that will cause
the problem you are having. They write new information to the hard
disk and defragging has to start over again.

If you are not able to find the program that is causing this program
for you, then I recommend you follow the instructions at the following
URL:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;186978
Two solutions are offered here, and suggest that you try the second
one (using safe mode) because it is less intrusive. If you want more
detailed instructions about how to boot up with Safe Mode see this
URL:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;180902

These suggestions should solve the problems you are having. Let me
know if you need any clarifications.

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

Past experience and http://support.microsoft.com

Dear tisme,

I'm so sorry, I didn't intentionally take this question from you - I
guess our timing just happened to be "right" ("wrong").

Hopefully, between the two of us, zoso will be able to solve her
problem.

Sincerely,
hummer

Hi hummer,

No problem! Even if you were nuking my internet connection (j/k) the
important thing is that zoso's problem is solved.

All the best,

tisme-ga