PC utilities: XP Disk Defrag Problem

Possible causes of your problem

I seem to recall that you need a minimum amount of free space on the hard drive free for XP's built-in disk defragmenting feature to run. I think there must be at least 100 MB free space --- otherwise it won't run or will run very, very slowly.

You might also want to disable your antivirus or Internet security software (best bet is to unplug your Internet cable for protection while your antivirus is off) and make sure you're not running other programs. If none of these steps work, try running the disk defrag in safe mode.

That said, the built-in defrag in Windows XP absolutely stinks beyond belief. Aside from its relatively slow speed, it does a lousy job of defragmenting your hard drive. You would be most prudent to download a free 30-day free trial of Diskeeper 2008 at http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp -- this is a great program, well worth its cost. It fixes the size of your master file allocation table (and defrags it) as well as defragging in the background without slowing computer performance. While you do get the fully functional program free for 30 days, my guess is that you'll want to buy it when the trial runs out. (I have no financial interest in Diskeeper Corporation at all.)