Howdy and welcome back to The Weekly Geek!

This week we are going to cover how to automatically have your system run the Defragmentation program that comes with Windows.

In previous versions of Windows, the task scheduler would open and run Disk Defragmenter. But in Windows XP, it simply opens Disk Defragmenter’s window. It does not actually start the utility. However, there is a way to make the program run in a DOS window:

• Click “Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Schedule Tasks”. Double click “Add Scheduled Task”.
• Click “Next” then select “Browse”. Navigate to “Windows | System32”. Click on “Defrag.exe | Open”.
• In the Schedule Task Wizard, click “Monthly”.
• Click “Next” then select the time and day.
• Click “Next”. Enter your Windows password twice and click “Next”.
• Check the box marked “Open advanced properties for this task then I click Finish”.
• Click “Finish” in the Run box, you will find the path to the defrag.exe file. At the end of this string, add a space and “c:” (without the quote marks).
• Click “Apply”. If you are asked for your password again, enter it then select “OK” then “OK” again.

The program will now run on the schedule you set. But it will run in a Command/DOS window (a black background with white text). It first analyzes the disk and reports on fragmentation. It then defragments the disk. It does not say that it is defragmenting, but you will see that the hard drive light is on. You’ll know when it quits defragmenting; the DOS window disappears. Continue reading →

Howdy and welcome back to The Weekly Geek!

In this weeks exciting and fun-filled edition we are going to have the computer automatically defragment the hard drive. Over a month ago we went over how to manually defragment the hard drive and what defragmentation is. As a quick overview, defragmentation is putting all of the parts of files and programs back to back and in their proper order.

To schedule Disk Defragmentation in Windows 95, 98 and ME, you need to be at your desktop (the screen you see when you first turn on your computer and it finishes “booting”).

• Next you will need to double-click the “My Computer” icon (picture).
• When the new window appears you need to double-click on the “Scheduled Tasks” icon. On this screen you will see what tasks, if any are scheduled, to continue double-click on the “Add Scheduled Task” icon.
• On the first page of the Wizard (the program that will walk you through setting this up) select “Next”.
• The next screen will take you to a choice of files to use, simply scroll down the list to “Disk Defragmenter” (the items should be in alphabetical order). Once you see “Disk Defragmenter” click one time on it and then choose the “Next” button.
• The next screen will let you name the routine (I always leave it the default name) and how often you want the program to run, I would suggest “Monthly”. Simply click the box beside “Monthly” and then click on the “Next” button.
• The next screen allows you to schedule the time of the Disk Defragmentation. You can choose the “start time” and the day or time of month. Make sure that it is a time that the computer is on each and every month. As a rule of thumb I choose the “First Monday” of every month. When you have made your choice, choose the “Next” button to continue.
• On the new window that appears, I place a check in the box beside the “Open advanced properties” button and then I select “Finish”.

You will have completed the Scheduled Task portion and be brought into the actual options menu. On this entirely new window you will need to select the “Settings” tab and change “Stop the task if it runs for” from “72” hours to “12” and under the “Power Management” section place a check mark next to “Wake the computer to run this task” then select “OK”. Continue reading →