Win98 DOS defrag

Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place, and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again. But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system resources
and no virtual memory.

Actually, any process running in the background that writes to the hard
drive can cause defrag to restart. Here's my blurb on defrag:

1. Apply one recommendation at a time and then try Defrag again to see if
it helped.

2. Disable the screensaver, anti virus program and the DSL/Cable modem if
any.

3. Delete the files in the Recycle Bin, the browser cache (Temporary
Internet Files folder if using MSIE) and the Temp, History and Recent
folders. Corrupt files can cause Defrag problems.

4. You may receive a notice indicating the drive was written to and caused
Defrag to restart. This means some process is causing hard drive activity
which interferes with Defrag. Either reboot to safe mode and run Defrag
from there or use EndItAll2, a free program which shuts down nearly all
running programs except Explorer and Systray. Download the program from
he http://www.docsdownloads.com/Tier1/enditall.htm

To boot to safe mode in W98, see:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q180/9/02.asp

5. It's possible corrupt files in the Cookies and Applog folders will cause
Defrag problems. Since those files contain useful information, you can
either move them to a partition other than the one being Defragged or to
floppy disks. Once Defrag is complete, you can replace the files. If it
appears either folder contains corrupt files, you will either have to try to
determine which files are corrupt, delete all the files and let them rebuild
as part of your normal operations or move the folders during the next Defrag
session. If you run into problems deleting a file because it is corrupt, try
deleting it from a DOS prompt.

6. The first Defrag after installing or upgrading to Win98 may take a
significant amount of time to complete. Also, Defrag may appear to stall
out at the 10% mark; however, this is a common occurrence. As long as there
is disk activity, let Defrag run. The appearance of stalling with W95 may
also occur but it will generally be before 10%.

7. There are plenty of MS Knowledge Base articles on Defrag features and
problems:

W95 How Disk Defragmenter Reports Fragmentation
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q124/9/17.asp

W95 Cannot Defrag Drive Locked By Disk Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q128/9/60.asp

W95 Disk Defragmenter May Seem to Stop Responding
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q136/8/36.asp

W95 Windows 95 Defrag.exe Command-Line Parameters
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q155/3/26.asp

W95/98 Error Message: DEFRAG0026 Make Sure Disk Is Formatted
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q155/4/04.asp

W95/98 Error Message: DEFRAG005 (or DEFRAG006) Error Defragmenting Drive
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q160/0/43.asp

W98 Determining the Programs Disk Defragmenter Optimizes
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q186/0/20.asp

W98 Description of the Disk Defragmenter Tool
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q186/1/71.asp

W98 Third-Party Tool Reports Fragmentation After Running Defrag.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q186/8/84.asp

W95/98 Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q186/9/78.asp

W98 Disk Defragmenter Hangs
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q218/1/60.asp

W98 Correct Steps for Disabling Screen Saver During Defrag.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q229/0/57.asp

W95/98 Error Message: DEFRAG009 Computer Does Not Have Enough Free Memory
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q229/1/54.asp

W98 Error Message: DEFRAG00205 Error Defragmenting Drive C
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q238/1/65.asp

W95/98 Defragmenting the Windows Paging (Swap) File
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q240/7/55.asp


--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

I would hunt down a Millenium version of defrag and try that first.

--
Jonny
"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

In addition to all of Ron's good suggestions, since you think the problem
might be with the swap file, move it to the d: drive and then try
defragmenting c:.

To do this, Right-click My Computer and click Properties. Click the
Performance tab, then click the Virtual Memory button. Click "Let me
specify my own virtual memory settings" and then change the Hard disk
setting to d:\. I do not suggest that you change either the minimum or
maximum size. Click OK. You will then be prompted to restart. Once you do
this, the swap file will be on the d: drive and if your theory is correct,
the defrag process should go faster.

PattyL




"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

Try the utility ScanDefrag, availalble free at
www.blueorbsoft.com/scandefrag

You can set this utility to restart Win9x, load only critical processes, and
then scandisk, defrag and reboot. The idea is that if nothing is writing to
disk except your defrag utility, it will finish quicker and generally
without having to restart multiple times.

--=Jay

"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions, and thank you in particular
PattyL for your idea of moving the VM page file to D. I shall try that.

However, I am guessing that the answer to my initial question is "No". I
can't run defrag in DOS, but from your replies, there are tools and ways of
minimising disruptive activity in Win98.

FYI and for the record it is a very simple machine. It is a test machine,
connecting to the Internet through an XP gateway, built for the purpose of
evaluating what happens to an unprotected Win98 box connected 24/7 to the
Internet. So there is no AV software running and no other apps running in
the background. And just before running the defrag, McAfee CLAV confirmed
that there were no infections. The defrag ran OK, but a 10GB HD 65% used
took all day to defragment (in full mode) on a PIII 450 box with 128MB RAM.

"PattyL" wrote:

In addition to all of Ron's good suggestions, since you think the problem
might be with the swap file, move it to the d: drive and then try
defragmenting c:.

To do this, Right-click My Computer and click Properties. Click the
Performance tab, then click the Virtual Memory button. Click "Let me
specify my own virtual memory settings" and then change the Hard disk
setting to d:\. I do not suggest that you change either the minimum or
maximum size. Click OK. You will then be prompted to restart. Once you do
this, the swap file will be on the d: drive and if your theory is correct,
the defrag process should go faster.

PattyL




"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

A special thank you for posting a link to this useful tool. Running the
utility in restrictive mode certainly made defrag run much faster. I reckon,
if I combine this with PattyL's tip, I shall be cruising.

Thanks again to all reply posters.

"Jay" wrote:

Try the utility ScanDefrag, availalble free at
www.blueorbsoft.com/scandefrag

You can set this utility to restart Win9x, load only critical processes, and
then scandisk, defrag and reboot. The idea is that if nothing is writing to
disk except your defrag utility, it will finish quicker and generally
without having to restart multiple times.

--=Jay

"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to boot a Win98 box with the Win98 (floppy) Boot Disk and
run
the defrag command from there?

Whenever I try this I get a message like "bad command" or "you must run
this
command from Windows".

Alternatively, is it possible to run Windows (temporarily) from an
external
drive so that the external drive becomes C and the C drive becomes D?

Why do I want to do this?

I notice that the D drive defrags much faster than C. One reason for this
seems to be that the virtual memory page file is on C, and whenever
anything
is written to the page file, defrag starts again. On the D drive you get
a
clean run.

One solution is to clone C to a blank D, swap the drives over, and defrag
the old C drive (now D) from the new one. But this is a lot of physical
work, and besides, when you clone a drive, the files seem to write
contiguously anyway, so you migfht as well keep the new drive in place,
and
then clone back to the old one the next time you need to defrag again.
But
again, there is a lot of physical work.

Which is why I'd like to run defrag from DOS, using minimal system
resources
and no virtual memory.

You definitely can't run a Windows version of defrag in DOS - you would need
a DOS version. But as long as your DOS version of defrag understands long
file names and FAT32 then you can use it from a boot to DOS. It doesn't
matter whether you boot from floppy or from the hard drive.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Jonno" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions, and thank you in
particular
PattyL for your idea of moving the VM page file to D. I shall try that.

However, I am guessing that the answer to my initial question is "No". I
can't run defrag in DOS, but from your replies, there are tools and ways
of
minimising disruptive activity in Win98.

FYI and for the record it is a very simple machine. It is a test machine,
connecting to the Internet through an XP gateway, built for the purpose of
evaluating what happens to an unprotected Win98 box connected 24/7 to the
Internet. So there is no AV software running and no other apps running in
the background. And just before running the defrag, McAfee CLAV confirmed
that there were no infections. The defrag ran OK, but a 10GB HD 65% used
took all day to defragment (in full mode) on a PIII 450 box with 128MB
RAM.