Disk Defragmenter May Seem to Stop Responding (136836)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 95
- Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q136836 SYMPTOMS
When you run Disk Defragmenter, the progress gauge may not move for a long
time, even though it seems that the hard disk is being accessed. In some
cases, Disk Defragmenter may seem to stop responding (hang). This problem
frequently occurs when Disk Defragmenter is between 5 and 10 percent
finished.
CAUSE
This problem can occur when Disk Defragmenter encounters an area on the
hard disk that takes a long time to defragment, but for which Disk
Defragmenter did not reserve space on the progress gauge. This problem
typically occurs when Disk Defragmenter underestimates the amount of time
it will take to defragment a particular area of the drive.
In particular, because removing deleted folder entries can take a long
time, emptying the Temporary Internet Files folder or deleting a large
number of files from another folder on your hard disk can cause this
problem to occur. When the problem occurs for this reason, it occurs when
Disk Defragmenter is between 5 and 10 percent finished because this is
when Disk Defragmenter removes deleted folder entries.
The Norton Desktop for Windows Smartcan tool creates an empty folder whose
format can also cause this problem to occur. Disk Defragmenter reserves no
progress gauge space for this folder, but often takes up to 30 minutes to
process the folder, making sure that the folder is actually empty and
marking the corresponding clusters so that they can be used.
RESOLUTION
Allow Disk Defragmenter to continue as long as the hard disk light
indicates that the drive is being accessed. Do not use the Close Program
dialog box to quit Disk Defragmenter. The process gauge will start moving
again and Disk Defragmenter will start responding again when Disk
Defragmenter finishes processing the area on the hard disk that is taking
a long time to defragment.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows 95, Windows 95 OEM
Service Release 1, and Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95. This problem does
not occur with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 8/1/2001 |
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| Keywords: | kbDefrag kbprb KB136836 |
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