Microsoft Disk Defragmenter Problems

Microsoft acknowledges some problems with Disk Defragmenter.

Microsoft Disk Defragmenter is a utility that is designed to clean up your computer's hard drive, freeing storage space and allowing the system to run more smoothly. On its website, the company does acknowledge some potential problems with the software.

Some Drives Can't Be Defragmented

Microsoft indicates that a drive in use by another program can't be defragmented. Network locations aren't able to be defragmented, nor are disks that have been formatted using file systems other than FAT. FAT32 or NTFS.

Disk Not Showing Up

If you can't find the disk drive you're trying to defragment in the "Current Status" field, it's possible that the drive has errors. To remedy this in Windows 7 or Vista, right-click the drive you're trying to defragment, then click "Properties," "Tools" and "Check now," which will be under "Error-checking." Type the administrator password if prompted, then choose "Automatically fix file system errors."

Installation Issues on an XP Computer

If you're having trouble finding Disk Defragmenter's "Defragment Now" button or are getting an error message on a computer with a Windows XP operating system, it's possible the utility is not actually installed. In this case, click the "Start" button, then "Run." Type "C:\Windows\Inf" and click the "OK" button. Right-click on the file marked "dfrg.inf" and then click the "Install" button.

References

• Microsoft Support: Disk Defragmenter does not work on a Windows XP-based computer
• Microsoft Windows 7: Improve performance by defragmenting your hard disk
• Microsoft Windows 7: Check a drive for errors