Defrag-Scandisk

1- I wanted to run defrag overnight BUT see that in XP you can only select ONE drive at a time? In Win98 you could select ALL the logical drives and it would defrag them in tandem. Is there another way to do that in XP? I thought about scheduling a defrag sequentially for each drive BUT will it know to wait if another its still defragging before it AND would it run the next once the first is done?

2- I notice there is no scandisk in the system tools anymore. Is there a way to run it from within XP, or do I just assume that when I boot, and there are no errors, that all is well and I can just run defrag without worrying about running scandisk first?

Thx,

 

BTW, I found something ODD. I have an empty logical drive right now that I ran the defrag 'Analyze' option on, just for fun (yippee). The resulting message said to DEFRAG the drive (which I found strange). Soooo, I ran defrag on it which finished instantly (duh!) but when I run analyze on it again it says to defrag it again. What gives? Is Xp's defrag nearsighted?

 

1. Here and toward the bottom for how to schedule multiple drives for defrag.

2. Scandisk - doesn't exist in it's 9X form in XP. But you will not see a defrag stopped by an error like you did with 9X.

3. BTW - put a small file on the "empty" partition and your problem should clear up.

 

Tried adding a small text file to the empty drive and defragged it. BUT the analyze options still says to defragment it again. Silly.

 

mikenowo

I have had comparatively little to do with XP. But I am starting in again today.

But one thing that I have learned. I think we can almost FORGET all we learned about doing things in 98. XP is a whole new ballgame. That may be one reason why I am having problems getting used to it.

The Info page that Newt points to says ( as far as I can read ) it will only do one drive ( OOPS ! sorry. VOLUMNE ) at a time. Well tell me something else new. 98 will only do one partition at a time.

But It can be ( in 98 ) set to do them all one after the other. ( C: thru H: ) and walk away. I believe sequencially is what mikenowo is refering to.

I do not think that the message that mikenowo is getting is an actual error message. It may just look like one. I believe if there were actuall problems they would be stated there. After all he did ask it to analize. In other words ( I believe ) check drive for errors.

BillyBob

 

On #2.... subject XP scandisk.....

Windows XP Special Instructions

In WinXP, the word SCANDISK has mysteriously disappeared and been replaced by the words CHECK, ANALYZE and/or CHKDSK (the latter being a throwback to pre-Windows DOS commands). In any case, they all mean your hard disk will be "analyzed" before you run DEFRAG.

Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Click the Analyze button, and then click Defragment after the analyzing has been completed. However, if you click the Defragment button first, you'll be told your disk is being "analyzed," after which defragmenting will begin.

Another approach is to go to Start, My Computer, and right-click Local Disk C. Click Properties, Tools and you'll find buttons for Check Now and Defragment Now. Having done this, you may be told that these programs can't run without rebooting your computer, and asked if you'd like to run them the next time you restart.

If this all sounds rather convoluted, there is yet another approach. You can go to Start, Run and type CHKDSK. Click OK and WinXP's equivalent to SCANDISK will commence in a DOS window.

In depth MS info on chkdsk:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;314835

 

When I start/run chkdsk in 98 it informs me to run scandisk.

Right at the top of screen is a line tor two that says'

" This drive HAS NOT been checked for errors. You must run Scandisk. "

And then a bunch of numbers showing the size of and how much space is used and remaining.

Has this changed in XP and it actually runs Scandisk ?

BillyBob

 

I had the same problems.

1) Write a BAT file that sequetially defrags each drive then schedule the BAT execution.

2) XP has 'chkdsk' (the more things change the more they stay the same). However, unlike the old DOS command of the same name, XP requires the disk be locked. The C: dirive cannot be lock while XP is running so 'chkdsk' will prompt you to run it on the next reboot. It does not lend itself to scheduling. I don't know if there is a way to force 'chkdsk' to run on each reboot but I would assume there is. However, because of the nature of the NTFS filesystem, I don't think you need to run 'chkdsk' unless you suspect a problem.

Hope that helps.

 

Sorry BillyBob,
I have not investigated or dug into the differences between win98 scandisk and XP's revamped chkdsk. I assume chkdsk, with switches, will do what ever scandisk did and then some. Do not confuse win98's limited chkdsk functions with XP's.

I know this is a rather simplistic answer but I'm relatively new to XP myself and am still trying to get a handle on the who/what/hows/whys. Not having any prior Networking/Server_ Foundation [worth mentioning] has added many additional cross-eyed blackout sessions.

F.Y.I., in case your interested:
http://www.spcug.org/reviews/bl0210.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prkd_tro_jhvn.asp

click through additional chkdsk sublinks for a clear picture.

=============

 

Well, I have just finished putting XP Pro on top of SE and I will now be able to ask better question and.or find out what realy does happen.

BillyBob

 

1- As for multi-vol defrags, yeah, I can just write a batch file to run the 'defrag' program multi times. Still baffled as to why the analyze says I should run defrag on that one 'empty' logical drive EVEN right after running it (even though I added a small text file).

2- OK, then 'analyze' is what I was looking for. As long as it checks the disk, that's fine by me.

 

Try start~run~cmd then chkdsk /? for your options. usually chkdsk /f does a pretty complete scan and fixes what it finds wrong. chkdsk /r will do even more and with NTFT, lots more.

And if you want to defrag your drives with one command, from the link I gave is

but you will probably want to read up on the task scheduler if you intend to automate the process. In fact, you should take a look at the task scheduler anyway. Great utility. Especially great for us old control freaks.

 

After posting my querry last night I finally did find the culprit that was causing my "Check Now" button to jut bounce back at me.

It's Logon Loader http://www.radfiles.com/logonloader/
which is a little utility that will allow the user to launch a different logonui.exe each time that Windows XP Launches.

Could you also supply me with all the switches that will allow chkdsk to run through all 5 phases of scandisk in DOS?

The only one I can now remember from the old DOS days was
chkdsk /f

Thanks so much,

 

Feel like a little reading?:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prkd_tro_tvlq.asp

Just expand category and everything you want to know about chckdsk is at your finger tips.

Not knowing if your using fat32 or ntfs, I suggest a subcategory from suggested reference that includes the switches and what they do:[shows and explains how to run 1-3 phases or all 1-5, plus tips on when you should and shouldn't do this as this may be time comsuming and/or uneccessary as a routine check but may be best used when os system errors indicate it is needed].

Title of suggested subcategory 'The Chkdsk Process on NTFS Volumes'

 

Thanks so much to all for the great help.

I have printed out hard copy of both links -- haven't run the chkdsk c: /c /i as yet but did run the chkdsk c: /f /v and it did run through all 5 phases when I re-booted the system.

I am running on the NTFS platform.

I no longer have to be frustrated about preforming this important maintenance on my system as these commands will definitely work around the Logon Loader utility that I enjoy using.

What a great BBS and such nice folks,

Thanks Again,

 

Ditto.