David Geer Talks Tech
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Use msconfig to keep programs from writing to the drive during defrag Courtesy of http://www.GeerCom.com.
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
The selected MSFT knowledge base article linked here shows you how to defragment your hard drive, which should be done every 10 days to keep your computer from getting buggy.
If your system has gone from being able to get through defrag OK to telling you it can't complete because something keeps writing to the drive, here is a simple solution to make sure defrag completes every time.
First, disconnect from the Internet. This process will temporarily disable your security programs as well as others.
Next, go to Start, Run and type in msconfig. Click OK.
Go to the Startup tab.
Take screen shots or notes of what items are checked as you will need to go here and check them again when the defrag is done.
Now go to the General tab, uncheck load startup items, and click apply and OK.
Restart as prompted.
On restart, there won't be any startup or other programs running to write to the drive.
Now follow MSFT's instructions to defrag your HDD (hard drive).
Once completed, go back into msconfig as before. Go to the startup tab and recheck each item that was checked before. Click apply and OK. Restart again. Reconnect to the Internet. You should be good to go.
If you have any doubts about the procedure, don't do it, unless you're familiar with system restore. Not that this won't work, but if you don't think you can do it right, these are your backup options.
To save time, I've suggested screenshot(s). When under the msconfig startup tab, make sure you are scrolled to the top of the list of programs in the window and hit the PrintScreen or PrtSc button on your keyboard. Go to start, programs, accessories, paint. Open paint. Select the square button for cut and paste under Edit, upper left, then point your cursor to the white area and right click and left click on Paste. Go to File in the menu and save the file to your desktop with a unique name.
Go back to msconfig and scroll down in the Startup window until the last program that was showing is not and the next one is. This will allow you to take a screen of the next group of visible programs in the list. Repeat and so on. Print out your screen shots and you have a list of the programs to recheck with check marks at the end of the process.
And, hallelujah, we are saved, or at least our computer ... from fragmentation.
The best to you and yours
Good night, good people
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
Geer Communications
Cowabunga!
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
The selected MSFT knowledge base article linked here shows you how to defragment your hard drive, which should be done every 10 days to keep your computer from getting buggy.
If your system has gone from being able to get through defrag OK to telling you it can't complete because something keeps writing to the drive, here is a simple solution to make sure defrag completes every time.
First, disconnect from the Internet. This process will temporarily disable your security programs as well as others.
Next, go to Start, Run and type in msconfig. Click OK.
Go to the Startup tab.
Take screen shots or notes of what items are checked as you will need to go here and check them again when the defrag is done.
Now go to the General tab, uncheck load startup items, and click apply and OK.
Restart as prompted.
On restart, there won't be any startup or other programs running to write to the drive.
Now follow MSFT's instructions to defrag your HDD (hard drive).
Once completed, go back into msconfig as before. Go to the startup tab and recheck each item that was checked before. Click apply and OK. Restart again. Reconnect to the Internet. You should be good to go.
If you have any doubts about the procedure, don't do it, unless you're familiar with system restore. Not that this won't work, but if you don't think you can do it right, these are your backup options.
To save time, I've suggested screenshot(s). When under the msconfig startup tab, make sure you are scrolled to the top of the list of programs in the window and hit the PrintScreen or PrtSc button on your keyboard. Go to start, programs, accessories, paint. Open paint. Select the square button for cut and paste under Edit, upper left, then point your cursor to the white area and right click and left click on Paste. Go to File in the menu and save the file to your desktop with a unique name.
Go back to msconfig and scroll down in the Startup window until the last program that was showing is not and the next one is. This will allow you to take a screen of the next group of visible programs in the list. Repeat and so on. Print out your screen shots and you have a list of the programs to recheck with check marks at the end of the process.
And, hallelujah, we are saved, or at least our computer ... from fragmentation.
The best to you and yours
Good night, good people
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
Geer Communications
Cowabunga!
But give it two years ... and I'll probably be "Longhorny" too Courtesy of http://www.GeerCom.com.
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
I am not a Microsoft hater. That I say of my own accord, as I haven't heard anything negative on the previous MSFT blast I spewed out. I do hate the amount of time the new MSFT products have to be on the market before all the bugs are out. And, with computing a small bug or bugs can mean big problems.
For example, I pretty much trashed XP when it first came out. Now my main computer is running XP and I can't wait to get more laptops running XP for easier networking to use as my backup and test computers, file servers and what-have-you.
Laptops take up a lot less space and its the best way to have a lot of boxes to work on and with in a comparably small office. Some of the new boxes will not be running XP. Obviously you can't text everything on XP.
But to continue my analogy, which it is, two years after Longhorn, by whatever name, has been released, I will probably flock to it. I use MSFT software that has been out at least a few years to make sure it's stable and that it's similar enough to what I'm used to that I don't have to relearn the interface or find that a prized feature is missing.
However, I have to say that if Google ever codes an operating system, I may not wait two years to try it out. None of their betas so far have seemed like betas. Everything has seemed to work fine from the moment it was available. 'Sorry Mr. Gates, but that's been my experience.
Microsoft is powerful though (I say to myself as I wonder if MSFT really will refuse any future interviews with this journalist over these blog entries). But of course, one does not actually get interviews with MSFT, one gets e-mails from Wagged that come from someone at MSFT, sometimes even on time to make deadline.
OK, I'm done talking trash on Bill's playground, for the moment. So, comments anyone? What do you hope to see or not to see in Longhorn? When do you think it's really going to get here? What have you heard it will come with or without?
The 3D stuff sounds pretty cool. Two or three different 3D walls to kind of use as desktops and hang your files or whatever on.
I'd sure like a much thinner, more ergonomical and very ruggedized desktop replacement to go with it. Something that can connect worldwide and last two days on a battery charge. Yeah, that would rock. You do know they already have laptops that can go eight hours without a charge, don't you?
Well, if you want me to stop posting about only me and my thoughts, you need to share a little. If you have topics you'd like to hear addressed or hear my opinions on, I can oblige with informed detail. I think I will next write a blog that doesn't suck. Would you like that? Something genuinely useful? All right then, useful non-sucking blog entry it is, coming right up.
Chow,
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
( … and once childhood fan of Ricochet Rabbit, who in today's world would be a network admin yelling, "Ping, Ping, Ping!" instead of "Bing, Bing, Bing!", don't you think?)
Geer Communications
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
I am not a Microsoft hater. That I say of my own accord, as I haven't heard anything negative on the previous MSFT blast I spewed out. I do hate the amount of time the new MSFT products have to be on the market before all the bugs are out. And, with computing a small bug or bugs can mean big problems.
For example, I pretty much trashed XP when it first came out. Now my main computer is running XP and I can't wait to get more laptops running XP for easier networking to use as my backup and test computers, file servers and what-have-you.
Laptops take up a lot less space and its the best way to have a lot of boxes to work on and with in a comparably small office. Some of the new boxes will not be running XP. Obviously you can't text everything on XP.
But to continue my analogy, which it is, two years after Longhorn, by whatever name, has been released, I will probably flock to it. I use MSFT software that has been out at least a few years to make sure it's stable and that it's similar enough to what I'm used to that I don't have to relearn the interface or find that a prized feature is missing.
However, I have to say that if Google ever codes an operating system, I may not wait two years to try it out. None of their betas so far have seemed like betas. Everything has seemed to work fine from the moment it was available. 'Sorry Mr. Gates, but that's been my experience.
Microsoft is powerful though (I say to myself as I wonder if MSFT really will refuse any future interviews with this journalist over these blog entries). But of course, one does not actually get interviews with MSFT, one gets e-mails from Wagged that come from someone at MSFT, sometimes even on time to make deadline.
OK, I'm done talking trash on Bill's playground, for the moment. So, comments anyone? What do you hope to see or not to see in Longhorn? When do you think it's really going to get here? What have you heard it will come with or without?
The 3D stuff sounds pretty cool. Two or three different 3D walls to kind of use as desktops and hang your files or whatever on.
I'd sure like a much thinner, more ergonomical and very ruggedized desktop replacement to go with it. Something that can connect worldwide and last two days on a battery charge. Yeah, that would rock. You do know they already have laptops that can go eight hours without a charge, don't you?
Well, if you want me to stop posting about only me and my thoughts, you need to share a little. If you have topics you'd like to hear addressed or hear my opinions on, I can oblige with informed detail. I think I will next write a blog that doesn't suck. Would you like that? Something genuinely useful? All right then, useful non-sucking blog entry it is, coming right up.
Chow,
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
( … and once childhood fan of Ricochet Rabbit, who in today's world would be a network admin yelling, "Ping, Ping, Ping!" instead of "Bing, Bing, Bing!", don't you think?)
Geer Communications
