Scheduled tasks won't start

[Rafi Hecht]

In any case, is there a script that can allow me to defragment my C:\
drive? In such a case, what would it be called? Let me then try to run
that, and if THAT doesn't run, then I will know for sure that it's not
a Symantec question. Otherwise, I would agree with you and open an
incident with them.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

You can try this link: http://www.morphasys.com/autodefrag/

I'm not in favour of frequent defragging. Doing it is like pissing in
your wetsuit: It may give you a warm feeling but nobody
will notice anything, because the benefits are usually so
small. Furthermore there is a risk of corrupting your file system,
as demonstrated by the occasional post in these newsgroups.

I also don't see what a successful scheduled defrag has to do
with your original problem.

 

[Greg Hayes/Raxco Software]

The only risk for file system corruption due to defragmentation can be
traced either to a hardware issue (i.e. hard drive failing, controller/cable
failing, ) or a 3rd party driver (ie file system filter) that is
intercepting file system changes and not correctly processing them.
Defragmenting in and of itself is never end-cause of file system corruption.

- Greg/Raxco Software
Microsoft MVP - Windows File System

Disclaimer: I work for Raxco Software, the maker of PerfectDisk - a
commercial defrag utility, as a systems engineer in the support department.

Want to email me? Delete ntloader.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

A number of posts I have dealt with in the past suggest
otherwise, especially in cases where there was a power
failure in the middle of a defrag. I'm aware that it should
not matter in theory but then I tend to take the pragmatic
point of view. And please note: I said "occasional".

 

[Rafi Hecht]

The reason why I said defrag was because I simply wanted to test a
non-Symantec related process to see if that worked, that's all.

If the script works, then that means that the problem is
Symantec-related. If not, then that means it's Windows related.

Again, what's the batch command for using the Windows defrag utility to
automatically defrag C:\? Just so I can know for the future in case I
want to, say, schedule a defrag once a week or so, among other things.

 

[Rafi Hecht]

Besides, the AutoDefrag program on SourceForge does NOT allow it to be
scheduled! It should be a simple command in a batch file, no?.

 

[Greg Hayes/Raxco Software]

In a power off situation, this can occasionally happen - due to write
caching being enabled on the drive. If there are outstanding writes in the
hardware cache, an abnormal power off can sometimes result in those writes
being "lost" - nevertheless - a hardware issue

- Greg/Raxco Software
Microsoft MVP - Windows File System

Disclaimer: I work for Raxco Software, the maker of PerfectDisk - a
commercial defrag utility, as a systems engineer in the support department.

Want to email me? Delete ntloader.

 

[Rafi Hecht]

I didn't really understand what you just said. Can you please explain
it in plain english?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

In my previous reply I gave you a link for a defragger suitable
for scheduling.

In my very first reply I gave you a batch file that is excellent
for testing the operation of the Task Scheduler. From the
replies you have given, I have no doubt whatsoever that
Task Scheduler works as designed.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Greg says that if your PC suffers a power failure during a defragging
operation then you may destroy the file system. It's rare but it can
happen.

 

[Gary Smith]

Of course, if your PC suffers a power failure during ANY write operation,
the file system may be damaged. A hit at the right moment, and your
system is toast. That's why backups are such a lovely idea.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

This is, of course, correct. However, if you suffer an outage
during an ordinary write operation then you may lose the
file you're about to write. If you suffer an outage during a
defragging operation then the damage may be far more
extensive, because of the nature of the operation. I have
dealt with posts that had the whole file system corrupted
(but I have never experienced this myself, perhaps because
I do not see any benefit in frequent defragging).

 

[Greg Hayes/Raxco Software]

Suffering a power loss while doing ANY sort of high write I/O activity can
potentially cause problems - not just defragmenting. For example, you could
be compacting an access database. This is actually quite rare and depends
on the hardware in use. Along those lines, especially with removable media
(firewall/usb drives), it is sometimes best to disable write caching because
the hardware may not be able to keep up with any high write I/O activity
(not simply defragmenting) and you can have file system issues - even if
there is no power loss.

- Greg/Raxco Software
Microsoft MVP - Windows File System

Disclaimer: I work for Raxco Software, the maker of PerfectDisk - a
commercial defrag utility, as a systems engineer in the support department.

Want to email me? Delete ntloader.

This is, of course, correct. However, if you suffer an outage
during an ordinary write operation then you may lose the
file you're about to write. If you suffer an outage during a
defragging operation then the damage may be far more
extensive, because of the nature of the operation. I have
dealt with posts that had the whole file system corrupted
(but I have never experienced this myself, perhaps because
I do not see any benefit in frequent defragging).