Millennium Defrag

Q: For the past two weeks my hard drive has failed to be able to be defragged. It will only go 4% and starts all over. This goes on as long as I keep the defrag operation going. I have even let it run for two hours. I recently downloaded 23 recommended Windows ME up grades, which included a restore upgrade. I did this because my restore program was only operating to 50% and locking up. I was able to restore back to Aug 7, 04 this morning. What do I do about defrag? I like to do defrag at least twice a month.
Don G.
A: First and foremost I want to say that your fastidious maintenance routine will benefit the life of your computer and information. Your troubles appear to originate from the mass downloading of the recommended system updates. What you are experiencing is not uncommon when numerous patches having been introduced to a system all at once. I don’t say this to discourage you from downloading update patches. I encourage you to download the updates, but I would advise that you do it in smaller quantities.
The first reason that you want to delay some downloads is to protect your system. I know that you are probably thinking that the protection of my computer and information is the reason that I am downloading the updates. Unfortunately, patches don’t always function as they were designed. For this reason, I like to apply a measure of caution. I usually wait at least a week or two before downloading an update. This affords me enough time to determine if other users have had any major problems with the update before I introduce it to my computer. This way you solve a problem before it exists, better safe than sorry.
The other reason not to download all of the updates at once is because it can render the result that you are experiencing. I am speaking from personal experience. Several years ago I had a similar problem from a similar cause. Remedying your computer woos will take time. I would suggest setting aside a weekend to devote to getting your system back in shape. I would start by starting your computer in safe mode. This will reduce the number of process and applications that are running. Next I would run a scandisk and then the defrag. If you have an anti-virus program on your system it may not hurt to disable it before starting the defrag. You should not be surprised if the defrag runs in excess of twelve hours. The important thing is that the defrag completes. Defrags put the information on your computer into a contiguous order. When you have a high influx of information activity such as downloading updates, music, or pictures then you should expect the defrag to take longer than normal. Once you have completed the defrag, reinstall the upgrades preferably no more than 2 or 3 per week.