PLEASE HELP!!! Disk Defragmenter

[Adam]

Hi, on my comp. there is a thing(program?) and it says disk defragmenter...it says i can defragment disks and stuff to make my computer run more efficieatly and stuff.

My question is what is this and i should i defragment my disks? thanks, Adam

[Orion76]

When you write files to your disk and delete files from your disk the disk is not maintained in a neat order, "fragments" of files end up all over your disk. The defragmenter arranges them all neatly together. This makes it somewhat faster for your system to find and read files and also reduces the chances of your disk becoming corrupted.

Yes you should run this program often, it's important.

[skeletor]

Adam, there are tiny gnomes living inside your hard disk and they often take blocks of data on the disk and move them around either when you're not looking or when your computer is switched off. Over time the gnomes can make your disk so messy that the computer just gives up looking for files and they are lost for ever..

you need to keep the gnomes in check by defragmenting them every so often.. you see, defragmenting the gnomes means they can't hide your data on you and the computer will be able to find everything. if you don't defragment them they get to big and all hell breaks loose.

or not.. :-)

[Orion76]

those pesky little gnomes

[Adam]

well u see, I have never ran this program and my computer almost never works very well....

I mean sometimes the desktop is slow....or doesnt work...and sometimes i get error messages like "program not responding" or "your system has just recovered a sereous error" or something...and one time my whole screen came up with some message...everythingelse dissapeared...and

my internet doesnt work very well anymore...i mean i click on a link sometimes nothing happens..sometimes my computer locks up..

I spent from 9:30 to 11:30 last night trying to get my net to work and i gave up around 11 30....

This morning it works i guess but still slow sometimes...

I feel like taking a hammer to my computer and smashing it into a million little peices >:-)

[Orion76]

What I would do if I were you is backup all my important files, format the the drive and reinstall Windows.

It will solve all your problems and it's better to do it at a time of your choosing than to be forced to do it unexpectedly at the worst time.

If you have nowhere to backup your files to then getting a second new drive and installing Windows there will work too

[Adam]

uhmm....

I have no idea what you just said...or how to do it. :-)

[Adam]

cant i just safely and simply run the disk defragmenter..? and thats it?

[Supertutu]

Hi:
You can do it, but not be the main solution (please backup your files before). If your computer is going soo much slow you will check why and before that take some decisions, the easy way is the one's that Orion76 tells you, format and install Windows again. (if you have a branded computer maybe you have some tools for do it automatically) otherwise you will have job.

Josep.

[skeletor]

Adam, more than likely you have some spyware or maybe evan a virus on your computer if it is acting up like you say.

You really need to save all your important data, re-format and reinstall..

What sort of computer do you have ? how old is it ? Can you get any help from the people you purchased it from ?

[Adam]

well.....ok let me just say this...the current program i have for internet protection is symantec...

my uncle said i need another program that really is required that i dont have i forget what it is called but he said it is really good for viruses and stuff he said i really need it.... mabe after i get this some of my problems will be solved...

:-/

[skeletor]

yes, the Symantec program will protect you from viruses (but only if you keep the definitions up to date by doing regular updates), but it will not protect you from spyware.

You really need to get some good anti-spyware installed because it sounds like you have a lot of spyware on your machine.

rich.

[Adam]

hey rich...do you know anyone named brian....? (i wonder...)

[skeletor]

ummm, not that I can remember...

[Adam]

ok....so

it was lavasoft that my uncle was mentioning...

so I downloaded Ad-ware SE Personal
I did a "smart" system scan and it found "379 new critical objects"

and i deleated them...is this a bad thing?

Also there are (2) types of scans... Full and Smart system scan. What is the difference between the two?

Thanks, Adam