Somewhat similar defrag problem

[carpenoctem]

For about the last 2 months, I haven't been able to defrag...It runs fine up to the 10% level, and it then says "system contents changed, restarting"...I disabled all background programs, and the same thing happens. Any ideas?

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And furthermore, I believe that Carthage should be destroyed.

[Jeffbx]

From Micrsoft's Knowledge base (Q186978):


Disk Defragmenter: "Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting.."

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The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98

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SYMPTOMS
When you use Disk Defragmenter to defragment your hard disk, the following message may be displayed:

Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting...

CAUSE
This issue can occur if something runs on the drive when Disk Defragmenter is running, an anti-virus program or screensaver are good examples.

RESOLUTION
To work around this issue, use one of the following methods:

Clean Boot
A clean boot is a method of reducing problems that may occur because of your computer's environment. Many problems running Windows or programs occur because of conflicting drivers, terminate-and-stay- resident programs (TSRs), and other settings that are loaded when your computer starts. Windows 98 includes a System Configuration Utility tool (Msconfig.exe) to make performing a clean boot much easier.


Start the System Information tool, and then start System Configuration Utility using one of the following methods:

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

2. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility.


Start System Configuration Utility with the Run command. To do so, click Start, click Run, type "msconfig.exe" (without quotation marks), and then click OK.


To use System Configuration Utility to perform a clean boot, use one of the methods listed above to start the program, and then follow these steps:


On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:


- Process Config.sys File
- Process Autoexec.bat File
- Process Winstart.bat File (if available)
- Process System.ini File
- Process Win.ini File
- Load Startup Group Items

Click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted.


After your computer restarts, run the Disk Defragmenter tool. After Disk Defragmenter completes, use the following to restore your computer to a normal boot. Use one of the methods listed above to start Msconfig.exe, and then follow these steps:


On the General tab, click Normal startup, click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted.


Safe Mode
Instead of performing a clean boot, you may want to restart your computer in Safe Mode and start the Disk Defragmenter from there. For additional information about how to start your computer in Safe Mode, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q180902 How to Start a Windows 98-Based Computer in Safe Mode

MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about troubleshooting Disk Defragmenter issues, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q218160 Disk Defragmenter Hangs After Choosing Disk to Defragment
Q259030 APC PowerChute Plus Causes Disk Defragmenter to Hang

Additional query words: 10% drives contents changed re-starts continues wraps

Keywords : kberrmsg kbtool defrag win98
Version : WINDOWS:
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb
Technology :



Last Reviewed: April 6, 2000
© 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.

[budbrown]

Is this by chance a compaq computer? I had the same problem with my presario until I ran MSCONFIG.

It was then I discovered that Compaq base install on those machines loads multiple copies of two different antivirus programs and multiple copies of a couple useless utilities.

These background processes cause tons of problems, like the defrag restarting constantly, and also eat up all your system resources.

I was going crazy til I discovered this. The machine kept locking up all the time, especially when it went into suspend mode. It would never come back. And I was alway running out of resources when only running one or two programs. And I have 192MB of RAM!!!