Err Msg: Error Defragmenting Drive <X>. Windows Could Not...

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release versions 1, 2
• Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you run Disk Defragmenter (Defrag.exe), you may receive the following error message:

   Error Defragmenting Drive <drive>. Windows could not access part of the
   drive. Click Help and carry out the instructions for running ScanDisk.
   IMPORTANT: To fix this problem, you must run ScanDisk and choose the
   Thorough option.
   ID No: DEFRAG005

CAUSE

This error occurs when Disk Defragmenter is unable to read from or write to one or more bad sectors on the hard disk. The DEFRAG005 error message is displayed when Disk Defragmenter is unable to write to a sector. The DEFRAG006 error message is displayed when Disk Defragmenter is unable to read from a sector.

RESOLUTION

Before you attempt to work around this problem, you should first make a backup copy of any important data on your hard disk. After doing so, run ScanDisk (Scandskw.exe) and perform a thorough test on the hard disk. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.

2. Click the hard disk referenced in the error message, and then click Thorough in the Type Of Test area.

3. Click Options, verify that System And Data Areas is selected, and then click OK.

4. Click Start to begin the test.

1. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to open the Scandisk.ini file in the Windows\Command folder.

2. Create an [Environment] section in the file, if the section does not already exist, and then add the following lines to the section:

         ScanTimeOut=On
         NumPasses=5
   

   Note that the "ScanTimeOut=" and "NumPasses=" lines may already exist, but with different values.

3. Save and then close the Scandisk.ini file.

4. Click the Start button, click Shut Down, click "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode," and then click Yes.

5. Type the following line and then press ENTER to run ScanDisk

         scandisk <drive>:
   

   where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk you want to check. Note that you should run a surface scan when ScanDisk prompts you to do so, repair any errors that ScanDisk finds, and view and save the log file that ScanDisk creates.

6. When ScanDisk is finished, type "exit" (without quotation marks) and then press ENTER to return to Windows 95.

7. Run Disk Defragmenter again.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.

2. Click the hard disk referenced in the error message, and then click OK.

3. Click Advanced, click Consolidate Free Space Only, and then click OK.

4. Click No when you are prompted to quit Disk Defragmenter.

5. Click the hard disk referenced in the error message, and then click OK.

6. Click Advanced, click Defragment Files Only, and then click OK.

7. Click No when you are prompted to quit Disk Defragmenter.

8. Click the hard disk referenced in the error message, and then click OK.

9. Click Advanced, click "Full defragmentation (both files and free space)", and then click OK.

10. Click Yes when you are prompted to exit Disk Defragmenter.

MORE INFORMATION

Many hard disks have sectors that are unusable. If the sectors have been marked as bad by ScanDisk or another disk tool, Disk Defragmenter displays the sector as a white box with a red line through it. This indicates that the cluster has been marked as bad and cannot be used to store data.

If the disk tool you use is unable to detect bad sectors on your hard disk, or if you do not run a disk tool on a regular basis, unusable sectors that are not marked as bad may exist on the disk. When this occurs, you may not realize that the bad sectors exist until Windows 95 attempts to store data in them. Therefore, it is possible for bad sectors to appear while you are using the drive normally. If bad sectors begin to appear on a regular basis, your hard disk may need to be repaired or replaced.

Note that you may be able to prevent the error message from being displayed by deleting some files on your hard disk, but doing so does not fix the problem that is causing the error message to appear. Disk Defragmenter does not read from unused sectors while defragmenting a drive. Therefore, if an unusable sector that does not contain any data exists on your hard disk, the problem described in this article may not occur.