Running Scandisk & Defrag on Windows 98

These instructions have been brought to you by Lara Grunthal and Cheryl Condello. Enjoy!

Instructions for Disk Cleanup, Scan Disk and Defragmentation
The following should be done in the order in which they are presented.
Using Disk Cleanup
You can run Disk Cleanup to help you free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup searches your drive, and then lists temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete. If you are on the Internet on a regular basis, such as daily, you should run Disk Cleanup every few days.
Start Disk Cleanup by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking Disk Cleanup.
The tool will recognize your default hard drive, click OK
A popup window will describe the files needed to be cleaned up.
Click on each area you want deleted, click OK

Scan Disk and Disk Defragmentation can take an extended length of time, depending on how much work has to be done by each of these applications. Because running these programs slow up your computer considerably, and you are changing the file fragmentation when you use the system it is not recommended that you use your system during Defrag. Instructions are provided to set these tasks to run after hours.

Using ScanDisk
You can use ScanDisk to check your hard disk for logical and physical errors. ScanDisk can then repair the damaged areas.
Start ScanDisk by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking ScanDisk.
Select Thorough (performs standard test and sans disk surface for errors)
Select Auto Fix Errors
Click Start
Using Disk Defragmenter to speed up access to your hard disk
(Note: Always ran a ScanDisk first before running a Defrag)
** CLOSE YOUR ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE BEFORE PROCEEDING**
For Sophos - Double click on Intercheck monitor ( the lighting bolt on the lower right hand on your computer) and Click close.
For Norton - Right click on Norton Icon and click close.
You can use Disk Defragmenter to rearrange files and unused space on your hard disk so that programs run faster.
Start Disk Defragmenter by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to defrag.
While your disk is being defragmented, DO NOT USE YOUR COMPUTER.
To temporarily stop Disk Defragmenter so you can run other programs faster, click Pause. During defragmentation, Disk Defragmenter must restart each time other programs write to the disk. If Disk Defragmenter restarts too often, you may want to close other programs while defragmenting your disk.

Finally, when the Disk Defragmenter is completed do a Shutdown Restart on your computer.