when i try to defragment, it starts then stops in a few seconds and
says:  the connection to the disk deframentor has been lost, restart -
deframentation.  i did that but it keeps doing the same thing over and
over again.

Reboot your computer into safe mode and you will have no problem
defragging. But before you do that, you should run a scandisk prior.
To boot your computer into safe mode, after it has POST'd, keep
pressing F8 until it comes to a menu. Select safe mode.

Thank you! kim