SETI, ME, and defrag

Hello,

I run SETI@home on a Dell machine running WindowsME. I'd like to be able
to set my machine to scandisk and defrag during the night while I'm away
from the computer. I've been using ScanDefrag, which shut down my non-
essential programs, ran the tools, then restarted the computer. Lately it
just hasn't been working right.

The folks over at alt.comp.freeware suggested I come ask you all about it.
I can't afford to pay for an answer, and my programming skills are almost
nil. I'm reluctant (as any non-expert should be) to muck around with the
registry, but I will if I have to.

So, does anybody know of a freeware solution to my problem?

TIA,

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

What do they do if you run them manually?
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Scandisk or Defrag.
Do you have these set to run *every*night?
That would be *way* too often.
-----Original Message-----
Hello,

I run SETI@home on a Dell machine running WindowsME. I'd
like to be able
to set my machine to scandisk and defrag during the night
while I'm away
from the computer. I've been using ScanDefrag, which
shut down my non-
essential programs, ran the tools, then restarted the
computer. Lately it
just hasn't been working right.

The folks over at alt.comp.freeware suggested I come ask
you all about it.
I can't afford to pay for an answer, and my programming
skills are almost
nil. I'm reluctant (as any non-expert should be) to muck
around with the
registry, but I will if I have to.

So, does anybody know of a freeware solution to my
problem?

TIA,

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're
not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller
.

Problem is, SETI@Home writes to the disk fairly regularly--constantly, in
fact. That causes both Scandisk and Defrag to restart. Same for any number
of other programs. Lucky you, you get to be today's recipient of my standard
blurb.

[Note to regulars: I will soon create a webpage or two or three that
replicates the following (with enhancements, of course, plus some additional
t-shooting, Grystmill style), so I can reduce the load I impose here by
repeating it so often. I know it's long overdue, but that's life, s.) The
below includes significant new material. Review, comments and corrections
requested.]

See my article, "Clean Boot--What it is and why you need it"
http://www.google.com/groups?selm=%2...GP11.phx.gb l

(The above article is the *meat* of this post--the below are just notes I
haven't incorporated, yet.)

Because some of the more recent known invaders are capable of interfering
with the suggestions contained in the above, I suggest you also consider
first doing the following, though it may be necessary to set up a clean
boot, and even then manually kill a malicious process or two before you can
even get these accomplished. Many invaders are built to first detect and
disable protections that are in place, so that you might, for instance, have
to obtain and employ a DOS-boot antivirus like F-Prot. Repeated running of
scanners, booting back and forth from Safe Mode to Normal, or into DOS
Mode--a lot of gymnastics are often required to get to an error-free and
nasties-free condition. Once there, however, some user sanity and education,
plus regular "wetware" updating, will *keep* your system healthy.

Update your Antivirus, run a full scan. Then, if you haven't already,
obtain, update, and run any or all of the following
Trojan/Parasite/Adware/Spyware cleaners. I recommend getting and running
*all* of them. They each target slightly different things. Again, be sure
you update the definitions they are using to identify crap before running
them, each time you run them--which, depending on your surfing habits,
should be anything from once a month, to once a week, to once a day, to once
an hour if you're really into junkware sites (aka "Free goodies", game
sites, fun-places-to-be, etc.)

Tradition had it that Firewalls were generally not needed when using simple
dial-up modem connections. Alas, this is no longer the case. *Everyone*
needs a firewall! Also, I make no bones about it--Norton, McAfee and
Trend-Micro products (and probably a few others) are ABOMINATIONS!,
particularly when it comes to Win9x systems. They are massive suites that
intrude into basic functions where they simply do not need to go. For
freeware solutions, I suggest AVG or AVAST (based upon the recommendations
of others, though each has it's minor drawbacks) and ZoneAlarm Firewall. But
for really good, inexpensive, and trustworthy protection, you simply can't
beat eTrust Armor. Antivirus and Firewall combined, very non-intrusive upon
the system itself (I've *never* seen a crash caused by EZ Antivirus, and
there's hardly any impact whatsoever on Resources, etc.) eTrust is from
Computer Associates Inc.--the antivirus is a version of their corporate
product usually known as Inoculan, and they got smart recently and switched
to using a version of ZoneAlarm for their firewall.

You can get a one-year free trial of eTrust EZ Armor at
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/. This offer was initially slated to end
this June, but has been extended through February 2005. The trial offer is
also included in at least some versions (not sure about all languages) of
Microsoft's Windows Security Update CD, an item *everyone* should own.
(However, do *not* just run the Update CD on your system without a proper
analysis of where your system stands with regard to Updates. Might do more
harm than good.) EZ Armor would normally cost $50 for the first year (a deal
in itself), and yearly renewal subscriptions only cost $25--an absolute
steal when compared with other offerings. Order the Windows Security Update
CD directly from MS, totally free, including S&H, at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

In addition to Antivirus and Firewall protection, I consider the following
items to be indispensable protection and clean-up utilities. My judgment is
based upon their being free, good, accurate, and safe, if handled correctly.
See, also, suggestions from MVP Mike Burgess on his site,
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/, particularly the general Windows/IE
Security page, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm. More current
discussions of Security issues can be found at the Windows Support Center
(provided by MVP Jim Eshelman, a true Saint!) at http://www.aumha.org

(SpyBot S&D = "SpyBot Search & Destroy")

Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
SpyBot S&D http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
HijackThis http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
CWShredder http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
Spyware Blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

PLEASE! Before doing any of these, see also,
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm for suggestions and cautionary
information about internet surfing, and some important hints about using the
above. ESPECIALLY, be aware that HijackThis scans result in a LOT of stuff
that you *don't* want to delete. The admonishment to save a log and show it
to an expert is critically good advice. Not following that advice can really
do some damage to your system. SpyBot S&D, too, is capable of similar
problems, especially if you change default scan settings, or "Immunize".

An additional tool that is very helpful in protecting your machine is a
HOSTS file. Microsoft MVP Mike Burgess maintain a frequently updated list of
bad sites. They may be sites that provide most of the junky advertisements
you see in other places, or sites that install spyware/adware, or that, for
whatever reason, you shouldn't allow into your system. Using the HOSTS
file, you can redirect such addresses to a site that's guaranteed will fail
to load on most machines--your own computer.
HOSTS Overview -- http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Also handy is MVP George Geyde's HOSTS File Manager. You can find it at the
bottom of this page:
http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/Software.htm


--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP for Win9x

"Chakolate" wrote in message
.4...
Hello,

I run SETI@home on a Dell machine running WindowsME. I'd like to be able
to set my machine to scandisk and defrag during the night while I'm away
from the computer. I've been using ScanDefrag, which shut down my non-
essential programs, ran the tools, then restarted the computer. Lately it
just hasn't been working right.

The folks over at alt.comp.freeware suggested I come ask you all about it.
I can't afford to pay for an answer, and my programming skills are almost
nil. I'm reluctant (as any non-expert should be) to muck around with the
registry, but I will if I have to.

So, does anybody know of a freeware solution to my problem?

TIA,

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either
case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

"ppoatt" wrote in
:

What do they do if you run them manually?
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Scandisk or Defrag.
Do you have these set to run *every*night?
That would be *way* too often.


They run fine manually, after I stop all unnecessary programs. And I do it
every night when I can set it up automatically, because when you do it very
often it only takes a half-hour for both. And downloading a *lot* of
stuff, most of which later is deleted, causes a serious slowdown if I don't
defrag often.

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote in
:

Problem is, SETI@Home writes to the disk fairly regularly--constantly,
in fact. That causes both Scandisk and Defrag to restart. Same for any
number of other programs. Lucky you, you get to be today's recipient
of my standard blurb.


Yes, I know S@H writes, which is why I need a program to turn it off before
scan & defrag, then restart the computer so that S@H will start again.

I'm not sure what the rest of your post had to do with my question, but
thanks anyway.

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

"Test Man" wrote in
:

What you need is a defragging program that doesn't restart when
another process accesses the disk. Try Executive's Diskeeper 30-day
trial(http://www.executive.com/diskeeper/diskeeper.asp) which will
allow you to run Seti (and any other program in fact) while it is
defragging.


That is exactly what I need, but I'm a grad student and have *no* money for
programs. Sigh.

Thanks anyway.

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

What you need is a defragging program that doesn't restart when another
process accesses the disk. Try Executive's Diskeeper 30-day
trial(http://www.executive.com/diskeeper/diskeeper.asp) which will allow you
to run Seti (and any other program in fact) while it is defragging.

"Chakolate" wrote in message
.4...
Hello,

I run SETI@home on a Dell machine running WindowsME. I'd like to be able
to set my machine to scandisk and defrag during the night while I'm away
from the computer. I've been using ScanDefrag, which shut down my non-
essential programs, ran the tools, then restarted the computer. Lately it
just hasn't been working right.

The folks over at alt.comp.freeware suggested I come ask you all about it.
I can't afford to pay for an answer, and my programming skills are almost
nil. I'm reluctant (as any non-expert should be) to muck around with the
registry, but I will if I have to.

So, does anybody know of a freeware solution to my problem?

TIA,

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either
case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

I have read in the past that Defraging allot will shorten
the life of the HD. Some say Scandisk will. But I think
Scandisk will only SCAN the HD where defrag actually
rewrites/rearranges the drive. If needed. Thus causeing
wear on the HD. If you delete or write one thing could
cause a complete rearrangement of the HD.
I say this because my first HD failed with bad clusters
within 10 months. I defraged Scanned and defraged everyday.
This drive has been running with no problem for about 4
years. Scandisk once a week. Sometimes in 2 days. Defrag
about every two weeks.
This slow down? If you do not scan or defrag? Does just a
restart of the PC speed things up?
One thing that might slow things down is if the AV
program is set to monitor system files. This will cause a
slowdown because every time you open a file the AV has to
scan it first before it opens.
I have mine (eTrust) set to monitor only incoming off the
internet. And leave what is on already the machine alone.
And dissabling it(AV) if I am transfering data to a CD.
Disabling AV during a burn will change a 300Mb burn from
45 seconds to a minute to less than 10 seconds. And I
normally get some kind of burn error if the AV is enabled.
-----Original Message-----
"ppoatt" wrote in
:

What do they do if you run them manually?
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Scandisk or
Defrag.
Do you have these set to run *every*night?
That would be *way* too often.


They run fine manually, after I stop all unnecessary
programs. And I do it
every night when I can set it up automatically, because
when you do it very
often it only takes a half-hour for both. And
downloading a *lot* of
stuff, most of which later is deleted, causes a serious
slowdown if I don't
defrag often.

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're
not. In either case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller
.

You don't mention what SETI client you are using. If SETIDriver, there's a
CloseSETIDriver app available here.
http://www.wakeassoc.com/setidriver/...companions.htm

Most other SETI clients have one method or another that will do the same
thing--kill SETI. Some will even just suspend it whenever certain other apps
are running. In other words, apps are available to specifically get SETI out
of the way when desired, regardless of how you have SETI managed.
Personally, I'd use a batch file to kill SETI, run your maintenance apps one
after another, and then finally re-launch SETI.

However, while my previous post may have seemed overkill, and I definitely
missed some nuances of your question, let me say that I consider my
suggested procedures superior to any automation of maintenance--if anything
goes wrong during an automated maintenance sequence, there is little to
prevent more extensive damage. For instance, when you automate Scandisk, do
you have it automatically fix errors? If so, that's living dangerously.
Scandisk is quite well known to totally trash systems under certain such
circumstances.

With a little practice, my methods require very little additional steps than
what are already considered prudent in advance of running Scandisk &
Defrag--the longest procedure is rebooting, which should always be done
anyway. Unless you are running Scandisk in Surface scan mode, it only takes
a minute or so, and then there's just defrag to run, at which time you can
vacate the premises. If you first re-enable all startup items--*without*
actually restarting--and then run defrag from a batch file with the final
command being a restart command, you will come back to a system that is back
in normal mode, running all background apps, particularly AV and other
protective measures and SETI.

I also agree with ppoatt that daily defrag is excessive and potentially
contrary to the best health of your hardware. Same for scandisk in Surface
scan mode. Aside from right after major changes in the system, weekly
maintenance is usually excessive. What will help keep your system healthy
and be much more apropos with regard to performance issues is to repartition
your drive to separate out System and Apps from, TEMP files (and TIF, etc.),
the Swap file, and plain data storage, putting them all onto separate
partitions.

If you are interested in setting up your system to do these things, we can
follow up on those. But please consider reviewing all of what I previously
wrote and practicing it a couple of times, if fir no other reason than to
familiarize yourself with the things other "timesaver" apps do (or *should*
do.)

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP for Win9x

"Chakolate" wrote in message
.4...
"Gary S. Terhune" wrote in
:

Problem is, SETI@Home writes to the disk fairly regularly--constantly,
in fact. That causes both Scandisk and Defrag to restart. Same for any
number of other programs. Lucky you, you get to be today's recipient
of my standard blurb.


Yes, I know S@H writes, which is why I need a program to turn it off
before
scan & defrag, then restart the computer so that S@H will start again.

I'm not sure what the rest of your post had to do with my question, but
thanks anyway.

Chakolate

--
Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either
case,
the thought is staggering.
--R. Buckminster Fuller

your seti screensave is screwing things up by writing to the disk, seti is all
well and good but you should disable it during defrag, there is a registry
setting to do that, available here as a tweak http://aumha.org/regfiles.php
nine tenths down the page to this heading
"Disable Screensaver During Defrag Win 9x" or this link will take you straight
to the download if you dont want to read about it and if you trust me, (I dont
even trust me)
http://aumha.org/downloads/nosaver.zip

--
Adaware http://www.lavasoft.de
spybot http://security.kolla.de
AVG free antivirus http://www.grisoft.com
Panda online AntiVirus scan http://www.pandasoftware.com/ActiveScan/
Catalog of removal tools http://www.pandasoftware.com/download/utilities/
Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts file
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
links provided as a courtesy, read all instructions on the pages before use
Grateful thanks to the authors/webmasters

"Chakolate" wrote in message
.4...
| Hello,
|
| I run SETI@home on a Dell machine running WindowsME. I'd like to be able
| to set my machine to scandisk and defrag during the night while I'm away
| from the computer. I've been using ScanDefrag, which shut down my non-
| essential programs, ran the tools, then restarted the computer. Lately it
| just hasn't been working right.
|
| The folks over at alt.comp.freeware suggested I come ask you all about it.
| I can't afford to pay for an answer, and my programming skills are almost
| nil. I'm reluctant (as any non-expert should be) to muck around with the
| registry, but I will if I have to.
|
| So, does anybody know of a freeware solution to my problem?
|
| TIA,
|
| Chakolate
|
| --
| Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case,
| the thought is staggering.
| --R. Buckminster Fuller