Task Scheduler & Defrag Problems

I'm running a Micron P3 600 with Win 98 SE & 384 MB RAM, and recently two problems have developed.

The first problem is that I can't add a new task to Task Scheduler. When I click on "Add New Task" it hangs the entire computer and I have to reboot.

The second problem is that intermittently (and no, I'm not seeing any cause and effect relationships), when I run defrag it starts up and then gives me the message that there are disk errors to be fixed. If I run a standard ScanDisk when it's over I get the "No errors found" message but when I go back to Defrag I get the "there are errors" message again and Defrag won't run. If I run a thorough ScanDisk looking for physical errors it takes about two hours and I still get the "No errors found" message--but now Defrag will run. (But only if I close it before the scan and then open it again afterward.)

These problems didn't occur simultaneously. The Task Scheduler problem predates the Defrag by a couple of weeks. Both are annoying--especially the Defrag thing.

Anyone have a suggestion?

Negulagl

 

Welcome to Major Geeks

Do these problems occur in Safe Mode?

Hard disk failure is a possibility, so backup everything you value ASAP.

Drive manufacturers have free utilities that are much more thorough than Scandisk, which are available for download here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads8.html
'Powermax' for Maxtor drives, 'Seatools' for Seagate drives, etc.

Running the program will create a boot floppy you can use to perform tests and diagnostics. Post back and let us know what you find.

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

Neither problem occurs in Safe Mode. I can defrag without getting the "there are errors" message, and I was able to open Task Scheduler and get all the way through the Add New Task Wizard without a problem.

Should I be satisfied with that? Or should I keep pushing and try to make Windows 98 SE all it can be by searching out the possible conflicts? (I'm clueless on the manufacturer of my hard drive, btw. Does that help or hurt in terms of the diagnostics you mentioned?)

Thanks again,

Nebulagl

 

Hi nebula If you want to know what's running in your pooter (motherboard mfgr., hd mfge. and much more) you might want to d'l and run BelArc Advisor. You can find it here on MG. Very handy utility. The log of hotfixes and MS updates and their status ( installed or need to be reinstalled) alone are great.
Bill

 

Absolutely 'keep pushing' (old R.E.O. song), since things are OK in Safe Mode lets put the HD diags on hold and try to narrow it down by doing some 'Clean Boot Troubleshooting' - as described here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192926&Product=w98
That's a lot to read/digest I know, but the gist is to use msconfig.exe to selectively disable startup items until you isolate the behavior to a particular item, and then deal with that as necessary. Post back with questions, results, etc.

 

I installed WinTasks, which helped me remove items from start-up and from running in memory a little faster than msconfig would, but it has still been tedious because the only way to find out if defrag is working is to run it until it sends the error message.

The offending program seems to be Norton Anti-Virus. I had changed some of its "marching orders" a couple of weeks ago, which coincides with the error, and when I disabled auto-protect defrag worked last night.

I haven't gotten to the problem with Task Scheduler yet because I know my computer is going to hang and need to be rebooted every time I try to Add until I find the culprit. Unfortunately, I do have to get some work done so troubleshooting may have to wait.

Thanks to everyone for responding to me. I appreciate it.

NebulaGL