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Watch what you're doing, and don't blame me if something goes wrong.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Fix your Windows 'defrag' program with this Microsoft replacement


June 9, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   The hard disks that Windows PCs use get sluggish after a while. The fix is simple: You run the built-in disk defragger, which reconnects the fragments of files on the disk. Running the defragger every few weeks can speed up Windows quite a bit.
   But many Windows users find that Defrag, the built-in defragging program, doesn't work properly. In many cases, the defragger stops working because of interference from other programs.
   This problem plagues Windows 95 and Windows 98. Unfortunately, many Windows users seem to feel that they're doing something wrong when Defrag reports that it can't finish the job. But what's actually at fault is Defrag itself. It's not able to move file fragments when it encounters even the slightest amount of Windows activity.
   By the time it created Windows Me, Microsoft had fixed Defrag. That version of the disk utility performs well, and does not complain if other programs are running at the same time. (Windows 2000 and Windows XP use different operating-system code, and don't have the same sort of problem. Their version of Defrag works very well.)
   So Windows 95 and Windows 98 users would seem to be out of luck. Even though Microsoft had enough sense to fix Defrag in Windows Me, it did not make the new version available for owners of older PCs. This is odd, to say the least.
   But you can get the fixed version and install it yourself. I'll tell you how.
   Here are the basics. First, download the Windows Me version of Defrag and place it in your Download folder. (It doesn't have to be a folder named "Download," of course, but you do need to create a folder for downloaded files if you haven't done it already. Never download anything directly to your desktop; files just pile up there needlessly, getting in the way of items you have to keep track of.)
   Then disable the old Defrag program. I'll tell you how shortly. After you do that, move the new Defrag program to the Windows folder. The next time you run the defragger, Windows will choose the new one instead of the old one, and you'll be able to defrag your hard drive without a problem.
   Before I explain how to do this, I've got to give you a warning. Changing any part of Windows can cause problems. Anything can go wrong. I can't imagine how this simple change could cause any difficulty at all, but I also can't imagine all the goofy things that could happen if you type the wrong thing or look the wrong way while you're making this change. So please watch what you're doing, and don't blame me if something goes wrong. You are on your own.
   Ready? Download the new Defrag program from this link -- Defrag.zip. Put it in your Download folder. (You can choose what folder any file is downloaded to. The download dialog box opens each time so you can choose a new location if you want. Please look at what Windows shows you if this is not clear.)
   Unzip the file. (Get the Adaddin Expander if you don't know how to deal with zips. It's free. This article explains what it is and tells how to get it.)
   With your Download folder open, open the Windows folder. (Here's a fast way to do it if you don't know how to do it the normal way. Click the Start button, click Run, type a backslash and the word "Windows" without quotes -- and without a space between the backslash and the word "Windows" -- and then click "OK." The backslash character is not a slash; it's a backward slash. Get it by pressing the key directly on top of the regular Enter key. It shows a backward-leaning slash.)
   Windows might ask if you really want to see all the files in the folder. Respond in whatever way is needed to see them. Then click anywhere inside the Windows folder and type these three letters quickly: D E F. Windows will then highlight, or select, the Defrag program. Press the F2 key when Defrag is selected and then press the End key. Type the letters O L D and press Enter. This renames Defrag to DefragOLD.
   You should have two folders open on your screen -- the Windows folder and the Download folder. Right-click the Defrag program in the Download folder and hold the right button down. Drag the file to the Windows folder and let go of the button. Windows will ask what you want to do. Click "Move Here."
   You should now have the new, properly engineered defragger in the Windows folder alongside the older one. Windows won't use the old one, since it doesn't have the proper name. It will use the new one no matter how you run the defragger. (There are at least four standard ways to run it -- from the Accessories section of the Start Menu, from the Properties -- Tools window of a drive (right click on the drive icon), from the Run line and from a DOS window (type "defrag" without quotes and press Enter in both cases).
   If something goes wrong and you have to restore the old defragger, open the Windows folder, type D E F to get to the first of the two Defrag programs, then select the one named Defrag and add NEW to the name, making it DefragNEW. (Press F2 when a file is selected to rename it.) Rename the old one from DefragOLD to Defrag.