Scandisk and Defrag Questions

Hi All,

The last time I ran Scandisk (Thorough Mode) is took about 3
hours to complete. This seems very slow to me as I only have a
6 GB drive. I followed that with a Defrag which took about one
hour. I did them both in Safe Mode.

Couple of questions:

1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive normal?
2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing a
Defrag. Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag. (Scandisk
on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).

Thanks for your help

--
---- Remove 9's to reply via email ... Thanks ---

"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
Hi All,

The last time I ran Scandisk (Thorough Mode) is took about 3
hours to complete. This seems very slow to me as I only have a
6 GB drive. I followed that with a Defrag which took about one
hour. I did them both in Safe Mode.

Couple of questions:

1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive normal?

It could take even longer depending on any errors/fixes it finds/does.

2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing a
Defrag. Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag. (Scandisk
on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).

Yes. I'd only run thorough if drive integrity is suspected.
Also I'm not sure on the legality of this, but you could replace the 98 defrag with
WinME's which runs much faster.


--
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.

Safe Mode IS SLOW, but, even so...

| 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive normal?

(a) I don't know how much slower Safe Mode is, really.
(b) How full is that 6 GB drive (R-Clk it in Explorer, Properties)?
(c) Was it constantly restarting, even in Safe Mode?
(d) How long had it been since you last ran Scandisk?
The longer between, the longer it takes.
(e) What is the MHz of your machine?

| 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing a
| Defrag.

Unless you are doing two Defrag in a row, BEST to run Scandisk before
every Defrag. (I guess a Standard would do.)

| Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag.

Uhhhh, there is an MVP who doesn't like Thorough, THAT being Terhune. I
personally do like it, BUT I check "Do not perform write testing" at the
Options screen. That's a fair compromise!

| (Scandisk
| on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).--

Right, Standard is about two minutes for me in Normal Mode. Thorough
(without Write Testing) could take about 20 minutes...

(a) 533 MHz machine.
(b) Clean boot situation (most Startup Items disabled, Screensaver &
Power Management off).
(c) NOT horribly long from last Scandisk.
(d) 1.6 GB used in an 8 GB partition.

That is with the native Win98SE Scandisk.


Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
| Hi All,
|
| The last time I ran Scandisk (Thorough Mode) is took about 3
| hours to complete. This seems very slow to me as I only have a
| 6 GB drive. I followed that with a Defrag which took about one
| hour. I did them both in Safe Mode.
|
| Couple of questions:
|
| 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive normal?
| 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing a
| Defrag. Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag. (Scandisk
| on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).
|
| Thanks for your help
|
| --
| ---- Remove 9's to reply via email ... Thanks ---
|
|

Thanks PCR........ Replies below...

--
---- Remove 9's to reply ... Thanks ---


"PCR" wrote in message
...
Safe Mode IS SLOW, but, even so...

| 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive
normal?

(a) I don't know how much slower Safe Mode is, really.
(b) How full is that 6 GB drive (R-Clk it in Explorer,
Properties)?

About 4 GB used out of 6 GBs.

(c) Was it constantly restarting, even in Safe Mode?

No.....
(d) How long had it been since you last ran Scandisk?

About one month in "thorough" mode. I frequently run scandisk
in standard mode (which run very fast).


The longer between, the longer it takes.
(e) What is the MHz of your machine?

..75 Mhz


| 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing
a
| Defrag.

Unless you are doing two Defrag in a row, BEST to run Scandisk
before
every Defrag. (I guess a Standard would do.)

| Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag.

Uhhhh, there is an MVP who doesn't like Thorough, THAT being
Terhune. I
personally do like it, BUT I check "Do not perform write
testing" at the
Options screen. That's a fair compromise!

| (Scandisk
| on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).--

Right, Standard is about two minutes for me in Normal Mode.
Thorough
(without Write Testing) could take about 20 minutes...

(a) 533 MHz machine.
(b) Clean boot situation (most Startup Items disabled,
Screensaver &
Power Management off).
(c) NOT horribly long from last Scandisk.
(d) 1.6 GB used in an 8 GB partition.

That is with the native Win98SE Scandisk.

I'm using Win98SE Scandisk........ Your Thorough Mode time of
20 seems VERY fast. What does turning off Write Testing do
anyway......... Obviously it speeds up the process.

Thanks again

"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
| Thanks PCR........ Replies below...

You are welcome. More below.

|
| --
| ---- Remove 9's to reply ... Thanks ---
|
|
| "PCR" wrote in message
| ...
| Safe Mode IS SLOW, but, even so...
|
| | 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive
| normal?
|
| (a) I don't know how much slower Safe Mode is, really.
| (b) How full is that 6 GB drive (R-Clk it in Explorer,
| Properties)?
|
| About 4 GB used out of 6 GBs.

That's more than twice what I had in an 8 GB partition, even before
moving much of it elsewhere.

|
| (c) Was it constantly restarting, even in Safe Mode?
|
| No.....

That is good. Does it restart constantly in Normal Mode? Then, I have a
master post for you, available upon request. I also have a method to get
the Swap File out of the way of a Defrag.

| (d) How long had it been since you last ran Scandisk?
|
| About one month in "thorough" mode. I frequently run scandisk
| in standard mode (which run very fast).

That doesn't seem horribly long. It isn't just time, though, but whether
big un/in-stalls were done, whether you had a crash, etc.

|
|
| The longer between, the longer it takes.
| (e) What is the MHz of your machine?
|
| .75 Mhz

POINT SEVEN FIVE! Nah! But even a full 75 MHz is God-awful slow, I
think. Mine is 533 MHz.

|
|
| | 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to doing
| a
| | Defrag.
|
| Unless you are doing two Defrag in a row, BEST to run Scandisk
| before
| every Defrag. (I guess a Standard would do.)
|
| | Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| | than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag.
|
| Uhhhh, there is an MVP who doesn't like Thorough, THAT being
| Terhune. I
| personally do like it, BUT I check "Do not perform write
| testing" at the
| Options screen. That's a fair compromise!
|
| | (Scandisk
| | on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).--
|
| Right, Standard is about two minutes for me in Normal Mode.
| Thorough
| (without Write Testing) could take about 20 minutes...
|
| (a) 533 MHz machine.
| (b) Clean boot situation (most Startup Items disabled,
| Screensaver &
| Power Management off).
| (c) NOT horribly long from last Scandisk.
| (d) 1.6 GB used in an 8 GB partition.
|
| That is with the native Win98SE Scandisk.
|
| I'm using Win98SE Scandisk........ Your Thorough Mode time of
| 20 seems VERY fast. What does turning off Write Testing do
| anyway......... Obviously it speeds up the process.

Turning off Write Testing prevents Scandisk from writing/reading a test
pattern to your full 6 GB during your run. I hardly ever do that any
more. Not sure precisely what it means to run a Thorough when not Write
Testing, BUT... it's seems to be a fair compromise. And that's the way I
do it! For write testing, probably it is better to...

........Quote.......
Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools. After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test. It will
create a report that you can read from within the program when the tests
are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the floppy disk.

Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of Ontrack Data Advisor,
which is the same program in its original version. They both are
created the same way.

Seagate SeaTools:
http://download.microshopper.com/har...e/seatoold.exe
or
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html

Error codes:
http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...ror_index.html

Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
The download link has not been working recently...if it does not
connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.

Installation instructions for both:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he

Fujitsu
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download...es/#diagnostic

IBM and Hitachi
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Maxtor
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/
or
www.westerndigital.com

--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
....glen
......End.of... URLs of Glee...

|
| Thanks again

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

Thanks for your reply.........

Correction my part...... I meant to say my processor is .75 GHz,
not .75 Mhz.

Thanks again.....


--
---- Remove 9's to reply via email ... Thanks ---


"PCR" wrote in message
...
"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
| Thanks PCR........ Replies below...

You are welcome. More below.

|
| --
| ---- Remove 9's to reply ... Thanks ---
|
|
| "PCR" wrote in message
| ...
| Safe Mode IS SLOW, but, even so...
|
| | 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive
| normal?
|
| (a) I don't know how much slower Safe Mode is, really.
| (b) How full is that 6 GB drive (R-Clk it in Explorer,
| Properties)?
|
| About 4 GB used out of 6 GBs.

That's more than twice what I had in an 8 GB partition, even
before
moving much of it elsewhere.

|
| (c) Was it constantly restarting, even in Safe Mode?
|
| No.....

That is good. Does it restart constantly in Normal Mode? Then,
I have a
master post for you, available upon request. I also have a
method to get
the Swap File out of the way of a Defrag.

| (d) How long had it been since you last ran Scandisk?
|
| About one month in "thorough" mode. I frequently run
scandisk
| in standard mode (which run very fast).

That doesn't seem horribly long. It isn't just time, though,
but whether
big un/in-stalls were done, whether you had a crash, etc.

|
|
| The longer between, the longer it takes.
| (e) What is the MHz of your machine?
|
| .75 Mhz

POINT SEVEN FIVE! Nah! But even a full 75 MHz is God-awful
slow, I
think. Mine is 533 MHz.

|
|
| | 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to
doing
| a
| | Defrag.
|
| Unless you are doing two Defrag in a row, BEST to run
Scandisk
| before
| every Defrag. (I guess a Standard would do.)
|
| | Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| | than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag.
|
| Uhhhh, there is an MVP who doesn't like Thorough, THAT
being
| Terhune. I
| personally do like it, BUT I check "Do not perform write
| testing" at the
| Options screen. That's a fair compromise!
|
| | (Scandisk
| | on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).--
|
| Right, Standard is about two minutes for me in Normal
Mode.
| Thorough
| (without Write Testing) could take about 20 minutes...
|
| (a) 533 MHz machine.
| (b) Clean boot situation (most Startup Items disabled,
| Screensaver &
| Power Management off).
| (c) NOT horribly long from last Scandisk.
| (d) 1.6 GB used in an 8 GB partition.
|
| That is with the native Win98SE Scandisk.
|
| I'm using Win98SE Scandisk........ Your Thorough Mode time
of
| 20 seems VERY fast. What does turning off Write Testing
do
| anyway......... Obviously it speeds up the process.

Turning off Write Testing prevents Scandisk from
writing/reading a test
pattern to your full 6 GB during your run. I hardly ever do
that any
more. Not sure precisely what it means to run a Thorough when
not Write
Testing, BUT... it's seems to be a fair compromise. And that's
the way I
do it! For write testing, probably it is better to...

.......Quote.......
Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools.
After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable
floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem
computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test.
It will
create a report that you can read from within the program when
the tests
are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the
floppy disk.

Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of Ontrack
Data Advisor,
which is the same program in its original version. They both
are
created the same way.

Seagate SeaTools:

http://download.microshopper.com/har...e/seatoold.exe
or
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html

Error codes:

http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...ror_index.html

Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
The download link has not been working recently...if it does
not
connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.

Installation instructions for both:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he

Fujitsu
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download...es/#diagnostic

IBM and Hitachi
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Maxtor
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/
or
www.westerndigital.com

--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
...glen
.....End.of... URLs of Glee...

|
| Thanks again

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

Is .75GHz to make 750MHz seem larger?

--
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.


"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your reply.........

Correction my part...... I meant to say my processor is .75 GHz,
not .75 Mhz.

Thanks again.....


--
---- Remove 9's to reply via email ... Thanks ---


"PCR" wrote in message
...
"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
| Thanks PCR........ Replies below...

You are welcome. More below.

|
| --
| ---- Remove 9's to reply ... Thanks ---
|
|
| "PCR" wrote in message
| ...
| Safe Mode IS SLOW, but, even so...
|
| | 1. Is 3 hours to complete the Scandisk on a 6 GB drive
| normal?
|
| (a) I don't know how much slower Safe Mode is, really.
| (b) How full is that 6 GB drive (R-Clk it in Explorer,
| Properties)?
|
| About 4 GB used out of 6 GBs.

That's more than twice what I had in an 8 GB partition, even
before
moving much of it elsewhere.

|
| (c) Was it constantly restarting, even in Safe Mode?
|
| No.....

That is good. Does it restart constantly in Normal Mode? Then,
I have a
master post for you, available upon request. I also have a
method to get
the Swap File out of the way of a Defrag.

| (d) How long had it been since you last ran Scandisk?
|
| About one month in "thorough" mode. I frequently run
scandisk
| in standard mode (which run very fast).

That doesn't seem horribly long. It isn't just time, though,
but whether
big un/in-stalls were done, whether you had a crash, etc.

|
|
| The longer between, the longer it takes.
| (e) What is the MHz of your machine?
|
| .75 Mhz

POINT SEVEN FIVE! Nah! But even a full 75 MHz is God-awful
slow, I
think. Mine is 533 MHz.

|
|
| | 2. I've read that one should do a Scandisk prior to
doing
| a
| | Defrag.
|
| Unless you are doing two Defrag in a row, BEST to run
Scandisk
| before
| every Defrag. (I guess a Standard would do.)
|
| | Can I run Scandisk in the "standard" mode, rather
| | than the "thorough" mode prior to running Defrag.
|
| Uhhhh, there is an MVP who doesn't like Thorough, THAT
being
| Terhune. I
| personally do like it, BUT I check "Do not perform write
| testing" at the
| Options screen. That's a fair compromise!
|
| | (Scandisk
| | on my system in the standard mode runs very fast).--
|
| Right, Standard is about two minutes for me in Normal
Mode.
| Thorough
| (without Write Testing) could take about 20 minutes...
|
| (a) 533 MHz machine.
| (b) Clean boot situation (most Startup Items disabled,
| Screensaver &
| Power Management off).
| (c) NOT horribly long from last Scandisk.
| (d) 1.6 GB used in an 8 GB partition.
|
| That is with the native Win98SE Scandisk.
|
| I'm using Win98SE Scandisk........ Your Thorough Mode time
of
| 20 seems VERY fast. What does turning off Write Testing
do
| anyway......... Obviously it speeds up the process.

Turning off Write Testing prevents Scandisk from
writing/reading a test
pattern to your full 6 GB during your run. I hardly ever do
that any
more. Not sure precisely what it means to run a Thorough when
not Write
Testing, BUT... it's seems to be a fair compromise. And that's
the way I
do it! For write testing, probably it is better to...

.......Quote.......
Download the diagnostics for your brand hard drive.

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools.
After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable
floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem
computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test.
It will
create a report that you can read from within the program when
the tests
are complete, and it is also saved as a text file on the
floppy disk.

Alternately, you can use the evaluation version of Ontrack
Data Advisor,
which is the same program in its original version. They both
are
created the same way.

Seagate SeaTools:

http://download.microshopper.com/har...e/seatoold.exe
or
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html

Error codes:

http://www.seagate.com/support/npf/s...ror_index.html

Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
The download link has not been working recently...if it does
not
connect, use Seagate SeaTools instead.

Installation instructions for both:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

If you DO know the brand, find the diagnostics he

Fujitsu
http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/download...es/#diagnostic

IBM and Hitachi
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Maxtor
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/
or
www.westerndigital.com

--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
...glen
.....End.of... URLs of Glee...

|
| Thanks again

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

Ah! That's better! You are welcome.

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"JR Berry" wrote in message
...
| Thanks for your reply.........
|
| Correction my part...... I meant to say my processor is .75 GHz,
| not .75 Mhz.
|
| Thanks again.....
|
|
| --
| ---- Remove 9's to reply via email ... Thanks ---
....snip

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 18:02:59 -0400, "PCR" wrote:

If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools. After it is
downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable floppy disk
with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem computer
using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test.

Having created a boot disk in the above manner and booted up using it,
what then? I get a page of info that flashes past, then a DOS prompt
and a blank screen, on two different computers.
A DIR shows a few .COM files and others that don't seem of any use.
Is there a menu or any help available for how Seatools is to be used?
I've looked everywhere that I can think of.

Oops. I don't have that one, as both my Maxtor & WD came with their own
(which do work). Wait for Glee, or post to him elsewhere, with full &
copious apologies for hijacking someone else's thread.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

wrote in message
...
| On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 18:02:59 -0400, "PCR" wrote:
|
| If you do not know the brand, download Seagate SeaTools. After it is
| downloaded, double-click it, and it will create a bootable floppy
disk
| with the diagnostic program on it. Then boot your problem computer
| using the bootable floppy, and choose the Generic long test.
|
| Having created a boot disk in the above manner and booted up using it,
| what then? I get a page of info that flashes past, then a DOS prompt
| and a blank screen, on two different computers.
| A DIR shows a few .COM files and others that don't seem of any use.
| Is there a menu or any help available for how Seatools is to be used?
| I've looked everywhere that I can think of.
|