Hopefully this is not too much OT, but my daughter's computer is running very slow....I've done some basic checks....plenty of disk space, deleted temporary internet files.....I wanted to run scandisk and defrag the HD, but every time I try to do this the computer constantly restarts the scan or defrag......after 10 times it says a program is trying to access windows, shut everything down, but I've already shut everything down I'm aware of.......On the bottom right taskbar I closed the misc programs there, such as virus program......what can I do to get the scan and defrag functions to stop constantly restarting and complete their work?I wasn't quite sure where to go for a simple question like this....I hope you don't mind me asking it here to start.Thanks for any help.Steve J.

Did you run a virus Scan as well as a Ad-ware scan?

I have McAffee active on the system which periodically updates, but shut it off just prior to trying the defrag.......In the interim, I may have found something that works.....I booted up into safe mode and the scandisk seems to be working ok without constantly restarting.....I'll try the defrag next.....

Hi Steve,I suggest you get into the habit of using 'EndItAll 2' prior to running scandisk/defrag. Great utility and works every time.http://home.ptd.net/~don5408/toolbox/enditall/Mike

Thanks, Mike.I use EndItAll2 all the time prior to flight simming on my own computer.....guess I will also put it on my daughter's as well.SteveJ

Make sure you run an Adware/Spyware scan too - get Adaware 6 and Spybot Search and Destroy 1.3 (both are free - try www.download.com ), update both of them to the latest definitions and run the scans - spyware has become a MAJOR source of system slowdowns...As for the defrag, some background program is writing to disk and that's why it keeps restarting, disable everything that's starting up before runing the scan - might try the defrag from safe mode if all else fails.

Screen savers will also cause this problem. Right click your desktop, select properties, Screen Saver, select None, OK.After the Scan/Defrag, restart your screen saver!W. Sieffert

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.....really appreciate it!Steve J.

Also maybe you could make sure it is not the Sasser worm - the constant shutting down with an error message sounds a little bit like that. If you have been regularly updating your Windows patches, you should be o.k., though.

But does it run under WinXP?David

Steve,I had the same thing happen to me. It turns out the computer kept trying to access Windows Messenger (in my particular case, anyway) which interrupted the defrag process. I disabled Windows Messenger and had no further problems.Good luck.Steve B.

What OS is she using?If Win98, try editing the C:WINDOWSSYSTEM.INI file. Change shell=Explorer.exe to shell=Defrag.exe and then reboot.This obviously requires some knowledge of DOS. You need to know how to edit the file from DOS to change back to the original shell after the defrag is completed.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will keep in mind many of the suggestions if I encounter additional problems.The computer is running great again. I defragged in safe mode. The main problem, however, seemed to be that the computer was slowed down with all of the spyware it had accumulated.....I downloaded Ad-aware6.0, Spybot Search and Destroy and Registry Mechanic...all freeware from Download.com and after cleaning off much of the spyware (some of it requires the full purchase version to clean everything) it now runs like a different computer. Also, the next time I defragged normally in Windows all worked ok.Thanks again for the help. SteveJ.