Defrag is a useful and vital program installed within Windows that should be run on a regular basis to optimise your hard drive for use.

The purpose of the program is to optimise the data currently stored on your computer so that the programs installed can launch quicker.

It also helps stop the hard drive from working harder by having all the data stored in a more organised way and causes less wear and tear during normal operation.

Different people have different methods of running defrag but my simple way will allow it to work first time and complete without pauses. Pauses are caused by programs like screensavers etc running in the background or programs running already or launching after a certain specified period. You do not have to try and disable all these processes to run defrag successfully.

Run Scandisk first to check your drives for errors.

I`d start by going to the Start Menu then Settings then Control panel and running Add/Remove programs and remove any programs you do not use or need anymore.

Then go to Start Menu then Run and type msconfig and click ok, Windows 95,NT4 and 2000 do not have this option. Select the Startup tab and uncheck anything that you do not need to load at startup.

Finally Clean out your temporary internet files located in c:\windows\temporary internet files folder and empty your recycle bin on your desktop. Check carefully to ensure that all files can be deleted without loss to yourself of any valuable data.

Then prepare to run defrag by following these easy steps, but bear in mind that this could take several hours to complete and should not be interupted so do it one night before you go to bed, and if you are sure that your computer runs happily for hours left unnattended ie it does not have any issues like overheating etc.

Remember to check the weather forecast in case storms are forecast as an electrical storm can cause permanent damage to your computer.

Step 1: ReBoot your system in safe mode (instructions below) There are two ways to get into Safe Mode:.

Method One

Reboot your computer and let Windows start the boot process. When you see a line saying "Starting Windows 95 (or 98 or Me)" press your F8 key a few times rapidly. The Windows 95/98/Me Startup Menu will appear. Choose option # 3 (Safe Mode) by pressing the 3 on your keyboard or selecting it with your arrow keys. Press the Enter key to begin booting into Safe Mode.

Note, it will take a few moments longer than a regular boot. You are in Safe Mode when Windows displays Safe Mode in all four corners of the desktop and a Safe Mode message appears.

Method Two (Method Two, Step Two/Three does not work in Windows NT4).

Put a blank floppy disk into your A:\ drive. Reboot your computer and let Windows start the boot process. A message will be displayed: "Non-system disk, remove or replace disk and press any key to continue." Remove the floppy from the A:\ drive and press the F8 key twice quickly. The Windows 95/98/Me Startup Menu will appear. Choose option # 3 (Safe Mode) by pressing the 3 on your keyboard or selecting it with your arrow keys.
Press the Enter key to begin booting into Safe Mode.

Note, it will take a few moments longer than a regular boot. You are in Safe Mode when Windows displays Safe Mode in all four corners of the desktop and a Safe Mode message appears.

Step 2:

Go to Start Menu then Run and in the box that appears type defrag Step 3: press ok Step 4: Click Settings and tick the options for checking the drive for errors and re arrange program files so my programs start faster. Click okay and okay again.

The program should start now and as I said before, it could take several hours to complete. When it has finished, close the program and reboot.

The first time it reboots it may take longer than usual to boot into Windows, but if you shut down after doing so the next time shoukl be faster.

Programs will now run faster and if you do this on a regular basis you will enjoy using your computer more. The more you carry out this procedure e.g. once a week, the less time it will take to complete the process when you run it again.