Solutions: Defrag is asking for more free space

Q. I have a problem with defragmenting my Windows 2000 NTFS volume. Volume C is 5 gigabytes and Volume D is about 1.2GB. Volume C has about 365 megabytes of free space and needs to be defragmented. The free space is 7 percent of the total. But when I try to defrag the drive, I get a message that there is zero percent usable for defrag and at least 15 percent is needed for defrag to work properly. I have checked the drive and can't find any folders or files that can be moved except those in the Program Files folder. Do you have any suggestions?

A. Obviously I can't tell what is on your system. But here are two things to do to temporarily get more space: Open My Computer and right-click on the C drive, choose Properties, then click the Disk Cleanup button. This will run for a while and report back how much it can save you by deleting nonessential files.

If this doesn't get you the 15 percent that you need for defragmentation, try this: Right-click My Computer, choose Properties and click the Advanced tab. Click the Performance Options button. Click the Change button under the Virtual Memory section. You'll see a window showing your current virtual memory settings along with the allocated page file size on your C drive with an initial and maximum size settings. The maximum defaults to one-and-a-half times your physical RAM (memory). Make note of these settings, then adjust them down enough to give you the extra space needed for your defragmentation (i.e., set initial to 75 megabytes and maximum to 100MB). You can also reallocate some page file space to your D drive to make up for the decrease on your C drive page file allocation. Click the Set button, then shutdown and reboot. After you defragment, repeat these steps to restore the original settings, or if you allocated sufficiently on your D drive, leave it as is.

This is a work-around fix. You need to start thinking about upgrading your hard drive to a larger size.

One or two antivirus programs?

Q. I use Windows Millennium and have installed Symantec Antivirus, but not the last edition. Is it possible to install the AVG free antivirus you recommended in your column?

A. I suggested the AVG software in that case only because there was no antivirus. That reader was from the school system, which typically has no antivirus software because of the expense, so this was better than nothing. I would not expect two antivirus programs to work together without problems, so I don't recommend it. Even though your Symantec product is not the latest, chances are Symantec is still posting the latest antivirus definition file downloads on its support Web site. Antivirus programs are useless unless you update them on a regular basis (at least once a week or as often as they put out a new definition file). Most antivirus programs have an automatic update feature.

A too-full inbox

Q. How can I put my e-mail on hold while I am away? Every time I go away, I come back to 700 to 800 e-mails. Both of my addresses threaten to cut me off after a certain number of e-mails are listed. I don't want to buy more space. These messages are unsolicited. Why should I pay for something I don't want?

A. Check with your Internet service provider (or the companies where you have your e-mail accounts) and ask about available options. If they have none, try this: Your ISP e-mail system is most likely a store-and-forward system, meaning that once your PC requests the download of new e-mail, they are removed from the server. You can try leaving your PC on with the e-mail client active. If you have a dial-up modem connection, see if your e-mail client has an automatic dial and if it will hang up after sending and receiving your e-mail. In Outlook Express, you can find these under the Tools, Options, Connections tab. The General tab is where you can find the options for periodically connecting and checking for new e-mail. Of course, if you have an always on connection, just leave the PC on with the e-mail client active.

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