Scandisk errors

I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors and then i try defrag
again. Again it stops and says there are errrors. I tried running the
computer in safe mode to stop anti-virus software etc. Still no luck. Is
there another way i can check my computer for errors and therefore use
defrag??

Peter

"Peter Brown" wrote in message
...

I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer
has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors and then i try
defrag
again. Again it stops and says there are errrors.

If ScanDisk cannot repair the hard drive reliably,
this is a strong hint to buy a new hard drive, instal
it as C:\, instal the operating system, then see
what you can copy from the old hard drive before
it fails coompletely.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Are you doing a Thorough (surface) scandisk, or just a file system scan? Often when
Defrag says there are errors, it refers to bad sectors which must be repaired or
marked bad by a thorough scan.

Boot to MS-DOS Mode, and run scan disk the
Click Start Shutdown Restart in MS-DOS Mode.
At the DOS prompt, type:
scandisk /all /surface
and press Enter.
It will take a while, depending on the disk capacity. When done, it will return you
to a DOS prompt. Then type EXIT and press enter, to restart Windows.

Have a look here, by MS MVP Ron Badour:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/scandisk.html
and
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/defrag.html
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Peter Brown" wrote in message
...
I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors and then i try defrag
again. Again it stops and says there are errrors. I tried running the
computer in safe mode to stop anti-virus software etc. Still no luck. Is
there another way i can check my computer for errors and therefore use
defrag??

Peter

But the computer is running fine. Somebody suggested that i run defrag to
possibly speed up the computer. Is there a real risk it could die on me?

"Peter Brown" wrote in message
...
I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer
has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors and then i try
defrag
again. Again it stops and says there are errrors. I tried running the
computer in safe mode to stop anti-virus software etc. Still no luck. Is
there another way i can check my computer for errors and therefore use
defrag??

Peter

"Peter Brown" wrote in message =
...
But the computer is running fine. Somebody suggested that i run defrag =
to
possibly speed up the computer. Is there a real risk it could die on =
me?

Yes!! As Glen mentioned you need to run scandisk to check for bad =
sectors and repair them if/when found. What it does is mark the bad =
sector as unusable so it can not be accessed again and copies the data =
in that sector to another. Once sectors start going bad, most likely =
others are soon to follow.

You could also run a drive diagnostic utility obtained from the =
manufacturers site for the drive in question.

If you choose to do neither, then you set your own fate for the drive.


--=20
Brian A.

Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 11:41:17 +0100, "Peter Brown"

I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors

Forget Defrag for now; the Scandisk "errors" are more important. What
specific errors do you see? Are there any bad clusters (as opposed to
lost cluster chains)? What's the PC's history like; well looked
after, or subject to crashes and bad exits (improper shutdowns)?

and then i try defrag again. Again it stops and says there are errrors.

You are very lucky it stops. Defrag involves moving pontentially
every file on the PC, i.e. reading it from HD into RAM, then writing
it back elsewhere on the HD. If anything's wrong with HD, RAM, or the
reliability of the processing in general, you could lose data++

I tried running the computer in safe mode to stop anti-virus software etc.
Still no luck. Is there another way i can check my computer for errors

Yes; restart the PC in MSDOS mode and run Scandisk from there. This
is the safest approach, in that you don't have Windows trying to write
to the at-risk HD all the time; also, you can watch the cluster
counter for latency (pauses) during the surface scan.

The surface scan is crucial! If you have any latency, old bad
clusters, or new bad clusters, then the HD is likely dying and you
should salvage your data now.

and therefore use defrag??

Forget Defrag until you know your HD and data are OK...

"But apart from that, Mrs Lincon, how did you enjoy the play?"



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
The memes will inherit the Earth
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 07:13:49 -0400, "glee"

Are you doing a Thorough (surface) scandisk, or just a file system scan? Often when
Defrag says there are errors, it refers to bad sectors which must be repaired or
marked bad by a thorough scan.

You can't wish away physically bad sectors by "fixing" them, and
Defrag remains an extremely bad idea under those circumstances.



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 12:14:07 +0100, "Peter Brown"

But the computer is running fine. Somebody suggested that i run defrag to
possibly speed up the computer. Is there a real risk it could die on me?

Yes there certainly is, if the HD is ill. We don't know that it's
ill, and there are other scenarios that may apply - but *until* we
know the HD's OK (by testing it) we have to assume the worst.

The only time I would relax is after I'd done a surface scan and seen
no bad clusters (either newly-discovered or "old' ones previously
"fixed") and Scandisk consistently completes without finding any
logical errors. If I kept seeing logical errors and I wasn't crashing
and I was shutting down properly, I'd check RAM. Mind you, I'd look
for RAM errors if I was having crashes too!

If you find that Scandisk never finds any errors at all, yet Defrag
keeps complaining about "errors", then I'd rename away the AppLog dir
from DOS mode. Bad entries in there can cause Defrag to abort as if
there were file system errors, when there are not.

An unbootable PC which has lost all your data is likely to slow you
down a lot more than not being able to Defrag for a while.



-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
Reality is that which, when you stop believing
in it, does not go away (PKD)
-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Chris, I know you prefer to throw away a drive if it has a sector marked bad, but I
have been running literally for years now with a drive that has one sector marked
bad. It warrants keeping a close watch, but it does not make the drive necessarily
a throwaway, unless other sectors start to come up bad. I also did not suggest
anywhere that the OP should run Defrag.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 07:13:49 -0400, "glee"

Are you doing a Thorough (surface) scandisk, or just a file system scan? Often
when
Defrag says there are errors, it refers to bad sectors which must be repaired or
marked bad by a thorough scan.

You can't wish away physically bad sectors by "fixing" them, and
Defrag remains an extremely bad idea under those circumstances.



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

I tried disk scan in MS DOS but on the surface scan it couldn't complete
due to lack of "free conventional memory". Is this important. I'd like to
repeat that the computer is working fine and if I hadn't tried to defrag the
computer I wouldn't have noticed anything wrong.

"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 11:41:17 +0100, "Peter Brown"

I've tried to defrag my computer but at 10-12% it says that the computer
has
errors and that i should use scandisk. It finds errors

Forget Defrag for now; the Scandisk "errors" are more important. What
specific errors do you see? Are there any bad clusters (as opposed to
lost cluster chains)? What's the PC's history like; well looked
after, or subject to crashes and bad exits (improper shutdowns)?

and then i try defrag again. Again it stops and says there are errrors.

You are very lucky it stops. Defrag involves moving pontentially
every file on the PC, i.e. reading it from HD into RAM, then writing
it back elsewhere on the HD. If anything's wrong with HD, RAM, or the
reliability of the processing in general, you could lose data++

I tried running the computer in safe mode to stop anti-virus software
etc.
Still no luck. Is there another way i can check my computer for errors

Yes; restart the PC in MSDOS mode and run Scandisk from there. This
is the safest approach, in that you don't have Windows trying to write
to the at-risk HD all the time; also, you can watch the cluster
counter for latency (pauses) during the surface scan.

The surface scan is crucial! If you have any latency, old bad
clusters, or new bad clusters, then the HD is likely dying and you
should salvage your data now.

and therefore use defrag??

Forget Defrag until you know your HD and data are OK...

"But apart from that, Mrs Lincon, how did you enjoy the play?"



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
The memes will inherit the Earth
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -