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W98 and Scandisk, Defrag

Got a friend with a W98 machine, AMD 350, FIC VA-503 MB, 2 HDD, CD-ROM, cable internet connection. It's running Outlook, Excel and Word 2000 (most used programs). It seems fine, he creates files, open files, saves files, reads and sends emails. I went to run scandisk and defrag, something he would never do, and as soon as either program gets to the point where it starts actually running its magic on the disk, it freezes to the extent that it must be shut off and restarted via the power button. I have no clue what to check first. Everything in device manager shows as fine, and there are no other indications that anything is wrong. This machine does seem to run a bit slower than 5 other machines I've worked on running the same chip, motherboard, memory combination. I've never been able to pin down anything specific that might be slowing it down, and just mention it because I wonder if it is related to this scandisk problem. Any ideas appreciated. TIA, Bill

stevenlewis

first shutdown any screeensavers, then press ctrl+alt+del and end task on everything except explorer, and try it
also suggest going into safe mode and end task on all but explorer and try it there, and lastly, give it time. If it hsan't been run in a while it will take some time
give it overnite

Ajnin

Try running disk cleanup. Also try running msconfig and check the startup tab and remove any un-needed apps from starting automatically. In addition ensure nothing is running in the background including screensavers. Ensure the latest updates are installed. Also try running SFC to see if any files are corrupted. You'll need the Win98 cd if it does find corrupted files. Also try rebooting to DOS mode and delete the win386.swp file it will be either under the Windows directory or at the root of the C drive sometimes it will be in both locations. While in DOS mode also run scanreg /opt and scanreg /fix.
This would be the first thing I'd try there are other options however.

Ajnin

Only by seconds stevenlewis :)

Also you can run scandisk from the command prompt.

westone

ASKER

Ajnin, I will try your suggestions. However I think maybe I wasn't clear about the problem. I am familiar with the common issues running scandisk and defrag. In this case the programs don't get started before locking up. I select the drive to scan or defrag, click start, and bam it's locked immediately, in less than 1 second. No blocks on the progress bar at all, and status says "Initializing". Now that I think about it, it could be solely a scandisk issue because defrag runs scandisk before defragging, correct? I'll be at this machine tomorrow to try your suggestions, and let you know the results. Thanks, Bill

CrazyOne

>>>defrag runs scandisk before defragging, correct

It checks for errors but it isn't the same as scandisk.

Has scandisk been tried in safemode. MS advises that this is where scandisk should be ran. However most of us don't do that. Try running it in safemode and see what happens. If it doesn't work there then try running it in DOS. If that doesn't work there then chances are there is a problem with the hardware.

The Crazy One

rschafer3

My niece's HP Pavilion exhibited the same symptoms. As a last resort I ran Norton Disk Doctor and Norton Win Doctor (Norton Utilities 2001) which are executable from the CD without installing. I let both utilities make corrections and now ScanDisk and Defrag behave normally.

Regards,
Ron

westone

ASKER

Ah, rschafer3, I have an older version of Norton Utilities which I will try. None of the other suggestions has worked. Unfortunately, I will not have access to this machine again until next week. I will report back on the results with Norton. Thank you.

pleasenospam

You might try cleaning up the system before trying to reorganize the files. The less garbage, the less to reorganize. Here is a batch file program that might help. Be sure to read the comments and follow the instructions before trying to use it.

http://personal.cfw.com/~write/purgeall.txt

Also, note that it assumes you have a particular configuration based on Windows password mode. If you have a different configuration, you will have to change the batch file to fit that configuration.

The program must be run after shutdown and restart in DOS mode.

amp81

Hi Westone,

I have experienced similar problems when running ScanDisk when my background virus scanning software is running. Try disabling this and running ScanDisk.

amp81

westone

ASKER

Okay amp81, I believe there is virus software running, but I did shut it down. I will disable it, restart, and see if that does it. Thanks

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Ajnin

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amp072397

westone:

Please don't ignore my requests for feedback:

https://www.experts-exchange.com/jsp/qShow.jsp?qid=20230398
https://www.experts-exchange.com/jsp/qShow.jsp?qid=20151403

amp
community support moderator

stevenlewis

?????

Ajnin

Westone, why did you accept that comment. I was just checking to see how severe the problem was. Running scandisk from the command prompt is not a solution unless after doing so you were able to run scandisk in the GUI.

westone

ASKER

The community moderator amp has really gotten a wild hair about me having any question open for more than a few days regardless of whether a solution has been found or not. Just for the record, none of the 4 open questions I had had resulted in a solution. When my questions are answered the points are awarded to the appropriate person. You are correct it is not a complete solution as far as being able to run scandisk automatically with task scheduler. However, to satisfy amp I have closed all my open questions. You know, I have stuck around here while EE has gone through months and months of very poor availability of the web site, non-functioning search engine and intermittent email notification, and this amp person gets all in wad about my questions being open for a while. It's not like I'm holding out points on anybody. Damn, I feel unappreciated as a member of this community.