Scheduled Tasks - Defrag, how to set up scheduled defrags

Scheduled Tasks - Defrag, how to set up scheduled defrags


oi m8s i figured this out because i ran into problems with trying to get windows task manager to defrag my hardrive at a certain time by only using built in tools.

Step 1

open up notepad (or favorite editor) and type:


defrag c:
defrag d:
defrag e:
defrag f:
defrag g:
defrag j:


make sure to change the drive letters to one that match your system. After you have customized the drive letters save the file as defrag_script.BAT or whatever is easy for you to remeber. Just make sure its a ".BAT" file. I saved the file into a dir in my documents called scripts but you can put it anywhere.

Step 2

Now that you have the script already made open your control panel and click on "Scheduled Tasks".

Select file>new>Scheduled Task

it should create a file on oin the window called "New Task" slect this and right click to properties.

In the run box click browse and navigate to your script. make sure that you run it with an account that has administrator rights otherwise it might not work.

Now select the schedule tab from the top and input the time and how often. I chose to urn it every noght however you could probably run it once a week and still be fine.

After yo uset the time and how often have a look in the settings tab and see if you need to change anything. Then click okay and your done!


you can also modify the script further by adding various operations on the ends of the defrag command:
CODE

-a Analyze Only
-f Force defragmentation even if free space is low
-v verbose output
-? Display help text


You can also pipe the command defrag to a log file if you want to see what went on the last time the script ran:
CODE

--this form will rewirte the log file erasing any previous info--
defrag x: -v > x:/logs/defrag_log.txt

--this form will append the new info to the end of the old--
defrag x: -v >> x:/logs/defrag_log.txt

Disable Compression on XP, NTFS Partition, Disk Cleanup

On an NTFS partition, Disk Cleanup can compress old files
to save space. But calculating the savings and performing
the compression often take a long time, and on some systems,
Disk Cleanup hangs during the process. If that happens, or if
you don't care to wait, use this Registry tweak to disable the
compression: Delete the key
HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Compress Old Files.

Clear Unwanted Items From Add And Remove

Clear Unwanted Items From Add And Remove

Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT).
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall, and remove any unwanted subkeys under "Uninstall."

Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts:

Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts:


First, create a shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing New, and then choosing Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard appears. In the box asking for the location of the shortcut, type shutdown. After you create the shortcut, double-clicking on it will shut down your PC.

But you can do much more with a shutdown shortcut than merely shut down your PC. You can add any combination of several switches to do extra duty, like this:

shutdown -r -t 01 -c "Rebooting your PC"
Double-clicking on that shortcut will reboot your PC after a one-second delay and display the message "Rebooting your PC." The shutdown command includes a variety of switches you can use to customize it. Table 1-3 lists all of them and describes their use.

I use this technique to create two shutdown shortcuts on my desktop—one for turning off my PC, and one for rebooting. Here are the ones I use:

shutdown -s -t 03 -c "Bye Bye m8!"
shutdown -r -t 03 -c "Ill be back m8 ;)!"

Switch
What it does

-s
Shuts down the PC.

-l
Logs off the current user.

-t nn
Indicates the duration of delay, in seconds, before performing the action.

-c "messagetext"
Displays a message in the System Shutdown window. A maximum of 127 characters can be used. The message must be enclosed in quotation marks.

-f
Forces any running applications to shut down.

-r
Reboots the PC.

List Of Sites Not To Go To

Misspellings or misrepresentation Tactics
----------------------------------------------

http://www.aresgalaxy.com

http://www.edonkey-software.com

http://www.edonkey-mp3.com

http://www.emule-software.com

http://www.poilet.com

http://www.kaaza.com

http://www.kazza.com

http://www.kaza.com

http://www.kazaalite.com

http://www.kazaa-lite.tk

http://www.k-lite.tk

http://www.kazaalite.nl

http://www.kazaa-download.de

http://www.kazaagold.com

http://k-litetk.com

http://www.kazaalite.de - Beware, links on the page prompt for download of star dialer.

http://www.kazaa.de - Same as kazaalite.de. Again, beware of star dialer.

http://www328.ws1.internetservice.com - Same as kazaa.de and kazaalite.de.

http://www.kazaa-file-sharing-downloads.com - Fishy executable present here.

http://www.klitesite.com

http://www.klite.tk

http://freewebhosting.hostdepartment.com/k/kazaalitetk - Redirects to klitesite.com.

http://kazaa.freakin.nl

http://www.kazaa-gold.com - I discovered this site while reading Sharmans copyright infringment complaint to google.com.

http://www.kazaamedia.com

http://www.kazaaplatinum.com

http://www.kazaa-plus.net

http://www.kl-kpp.net

http://www.kazaa.co.kr

http://www.ikazaa.net

http://www.supernova.org

http://www.suprnova.com

http://www.slsk.org - Old soulseek domain, that now links to a mainpeen dialer (scumware).

http://www.sharaza.com

http://www.winmx-download-winmx.com - WinMX based scam.

http://www.musicdonkey.net/

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Regular P2P scam type sites

----------------------------------

http://www.fileminer.com

http://www2.music-download-network.com

http://filmgimp.org

http://www.filesharingfriends.com

http://www.mp3ebook.com

http://www.symynet.com/educational_software/kazaa_light.htm - Looks to me to be just a cheap plug for an amazon.com product (an MP3 CD player).

http://www.bolton-heaton.freeserve.co.uk/kazaa.htm - Not only do they link to yet another scam site, they also link to many forms of adware and spyware including
gator and aluriaaffiliates.

http://www.emp3downloadhq.com

http://www.unlimitedshock.com

http://www.songs4free.com

http://www.mp3u.com

http://download-central.mp3u.com

http://www.americamp3network.com

http://www.mp3university.com

http://www.downloads-unlimited.com

http://www.download-mp3-now.com

http://www.imusicshare.com

http://www.musicdownloadcentral.com

http://www.downloadsociety.com

http://www.mp3musiczone.com

http://www.mp3rocks.net

http://www.247downloads.com

http://www.mymusicinc.com

http://www.mp3advance.com

http://www.songfly.com

http://www.mp3musicworld.com

http://www.charliespiano.com/downloadable_music.php - Links to an existing scam site.

http://www.freeality.com/emusic.htm

http://www.free-mp3-music-player-downloads.com

http://www.mp3yes.com

http://www.mp3.abandonware.nu

http://www.mp3high.com

http://www.mp3shock.net

http://www.mp3advance.com - This one was being displayed on BeatKing through the Google ads

http://www.my-free-music.com

http://www.findanymusic.com - Claims it's legal; obviously a scam.

http://www.xvidmovies.com/ - The main culprit is (http://www.xvidmovies.com/movies/)

http://www.moviedownloadcity.com

http://www.hqmovies.net

http://www.gettingmovies.com/Movies.html

http://www.compareshopsave.com/moviesites

http://k-lite-legal.com - Another claim of legality.

http://www.imovieshare.com

http://www.easymusicdownload.com

http://www.flicksunlimited.com

http://www.completemovies.com/index2.html

http://www.download-mp3-music.com

http://www.freemovieserver.com

http://www.mp3perfect.com

http://www.mp3downloadcity.com

http://www.downloadshield.com

http://www.legacymp3.net

http://www.crazymp3s.org

http://www.21-century-mp3.nu

http://www.greekmusicmp3s.com

http://www.filesharingcenter.com

http://www.unlimitedshock.com

http://www.mp333.com

http://www.mp3madeeasy.com

http://www.mp3grandcentral.net

http://www.mp3-network.com

http://www.morpheusultra.com

http://www.flixs.net

http://www.charliespiano.com/downloadable_music.php

http://www.compareshopsave.com/moviesites

http://www.completemovies.com/index2.html

http://www.ondemandmp3.com

How to change your Computer's CMOS Battery

First the safety rules

The inside of a computer is a bad place full of electricity and sharp edges.
On the electricity side always when working on you computer make sure that it’s still plugged in to the power socket and the power is turned off, this is to ensure that any static
From you is discharged through the earth. The inside of most computer cases are unfinished metal and has very sharp edges so be careful.

The first signs of a battery failing are:-

1) your clock starts running slowly
2) when you boot (start) your computer it has a problem finding your hardware (no hard drive, no cd rom)

To change the battery you need the following tools

1) a X-point screwdriver
2) an anti-static strap(optional)
3) a new battery (seems logical)

Then unplug all the cables from the back of the computer as you remove them make a note where they came from. (So when you finished you can put them back)

Move the computer somewhere where you can work on it with ease

Remove the cover by locating the screws around the outer edge (back) of the computer
Some computer cases only require you to remove 2 screws on one side then a panel can be removed allowing you access to the computers insides, others you must remove 6 screws and remove the whole case by sliding it to the rear and lifting it off.

Now make sure that you read the safety instructions about static.
Look inside you will see a round silver thing that looks about the size of a 10p piece (quarter). This is the battery itself, carefully lift the retaining clip and slide the battery out. That’s it removed now go to your local computer retailer, electrical retailer (Tandy/Radio shack) taking the old battery with you and get a new battery.

Back to your computer insert the new battery by lifting the clip and sliding the battery in.

Reinstall your case and plug all the cables back (you did remember to label them didn’t you)

Now for the fun part.

You will now need to go into you bios….

Right the bios is the god of your computer.

To access it, when your computer first starts you will see a black screen with white text.

If you look carefully you will see a line that says something like "press del for setup" or some other key (F2 or ESC or tab) this will take you to god's house where you can make lots of changes to the way your machine works.

It is also the place where you can make your nice computer in to a rather expensive door stop so be careful and don’t go playing with anything.

You will now be presented with a blue screen with a lot of options on it,
The one we want is load optimised/default settings.

Press the F10 key and type y the computer should now reboot.

If every thing went well then your computer will now be up and running.



Shizers way: Keep computer running. Lay it on it's side and remove side cover to expose MoBo. Take any thin object, "small screwdriver, knife point, wood shiskabob skewer. Pull back the battery retaining clip. Toss the old battery in the junk recepticle, unless you belong to greenpeace and want to save the earth. Install the new battery. No need to reset bios becasue the compter supplies voltage to the cmos while it is running. Reset or resync clock with internet. Done!

Disabled Task Manager and Regedit? Here's How

Regedit and Task Manager has been restricted due to virus and even though the virus has been deleted, the restrictions are still present and it's really annoying that you cannot access Task Manager (CRTL+ALT+Del) and Regedit.

First, You have to Scan your PC with your Anti virus and reboot, After reboot, You may now apply the following.


For Regedit.

Start > Run and type the following exactly between and without the
Quotes ("")

"REG DELETE
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v
DisableRegistryTools"

and/or

"REG DELETE
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v
DisableRegistryTools"

----------------

For the Task Manager

For Windows XP Pro, use Group Policy Editor (Start > Run > gpedit.msc)
then navigate to:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components >
System > Ctrl+Alt+Del Options. Set "Remove Task Manager" as Not
Configured.

------


For XP Home or Pro, use the Registry editor (Start > Run > regedit.exe)

Navigate to the following sub key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
and/or
[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
Name: DisableTaskMgr
Type: DWORD
Value: 0 - Unrestricted; 1 - Restricted
Or in the right-hand pane, delete "DisableTaskMgr".

-------

An automated fix for XP Home or Pro,

Download and merge the following file from this site.
http://www.lprf.ca/files/tsk.mngr.dsbld.reg

Download "tsk.mngr.dsbld.reg" to your desktop. Right click
"tsk.mngr.dsbld.reg" to select Merge.

If you want to view the contents of the file, simply right-click
"tsk.mngr.dsbld.reg" to select Edit.

--

System Restore

Time Travel with System Restore
I feel your pain... unless you are very careful, you can download a new program or software update, then find that it makes your system unstable. Wouldn't it be nice if you could go back to a point in time when your computer was working? With System Restore, you can.
Think of System Restore as the Undo command for Windows. While your computer is on, System Restore takes regular snapshots of your Windows configuration, settings, and program files. These snapshots (known as "restore points") are stored on your hard disk so you can revert back to that point in the event of a computer emergency. Restore points are automatically created when new software is installed, when Windows Update applies changes, on a daily basis, and when you request a manual restore point. If you can remember the most recent time when your computer was working correctly, System Restore will roll back all system changes to that point.

Will I Lose Personal Files?

So what exactly does System Restore do? Let's start with what it doesn't do... System Restore WILL NOT remove or modify any personal data files such as word processor documents, spreadsheets, music & photos, web favorites, emails, etc. More specifically, files in the My Documents folder will never be touched. If you are unsure as to whether a file will be affected by System Restore, keep it in that folder. System Restore WILL affect your Windows system settings (the Windows Registry), protected system files, and recently installed software.
While System Restore can be a wonderful tool to get your computer back to a functioning state after a virus or spyware infestation, I strongly recommend that you use it only in such emergencies. If you have installed a program and suspect that it may be causing trouble, always try Add and Remove Programs in Control Panel first. I offer this caution because System Restore is a rather drastic measure. On the few occasions I've used it, System Restore did solve the problem at hand, but some minor things like fonts, wallpaper and desktop settings were altered. It also messed up my Internet Explorer toolbars, even though they were supposedly locked. Things like this (that I did notice) make me wonder if other unexpected or undesired changes were made as well.

Running System Restore

If your computer seems to be unstable, you've done a thorough anti-virus and anti-spyware scan, and you've been unable to remove any suspected software packages through ControlPanel, give System Restore a try. To roll back your computer settings to a previously saved restore point:
Click the Start button, then select Programs / Accessories / System Tools
Click System Restore.
Choose "Restore my computer to an earlier time" then click Next.
Select a day on the calendar, a restore point description, then click Next.
When System Restore begins, the computer will restart, the hands on your wall clock will spin backwards, and a groovy technicolor swirl will envelope the room. You may hear an audible moan and see smoke rising from your computer as the hard drive grinds. And with a bit of luck your system will be restored to normal functioning.

Hard Drive Failure?
Generally a clicking sound coming from your hard drive is a Bad Omen. It could be a harbinger of horrific hardware happenings, so my immediate advice is "BACKUP YOUR HARD DRIVE!" as soon as possible. If the drive fails, you're out of luck. In fact, even if you don't suspect a problem with your hard drive, it's wise to make regular backups so you can survive a hard drive failure with only minimal inconvenience. See my article Backing Up Your Files to learn about backup strategies, hardware and software.
Scan Your Drive
On Windows XP, you can check your hard drive for errors by running the CHKDSK utility. Restart your computer and hold down the Ctrl key while it's booting up. When you see the option to start your system in Safe Mode, select it and continue. Click the Start button, then click Run, then type CHKDSK C: /F /R then press Enter. The /R option tells CHKDSK to scan for bad disk sectors, and the /F option means to fix any errors found. (On a Windows 98 system, use the SCANDISK command instead of CHKDSK.)
If CHKDSK offers to "convert lost chains to files", recover lost data, or fix something else, you should accept. (If CHKDSK tries to sell you a cheap Rolex, politely decline the offer.) After CHKDSK finishes, restart your computer normally and see if the dreaded click of doom returns. If so, the drive is most likely damaged, and should be replaced as soon as possible. If you decide to purchase a new computer, see Copying Old Hard Drive to New PC for help with transferring your files.
Are You On The Level?
But before you trash your troublesome drive, you should try one more thing... Some hard drives are very sensitive to non-level surfaces, and will not function properly if they're sitting on a slant. Shut down your computer, make sure your system unit is on a flat surface (use a level to make sure), and then restart. I was all set to give up on an older computer that was doing the click/whir routine, but I noticed it wasn't sitting on a level surface. As soon as I fixed that, the problem was gone!
That clicking sound MAY signal impending hard drive failure, but keep in mind you don't always get such a warning. So play it safe... back up your files on a regular basis.
Need more inspiration to back up your hard drive? Listen to music based on the sounds of hard drive failure!Fiddling While Your Hard Drive Crashes will haunt your dreams until your data is safe.

Defragment Your Hard Drive For Improved Performance

So what does it mean to defrag your hard drive? As you work with your computer, you will create and delete thousands of files on your hard drive. Over time, this churn leaves areas of empty space on your hard drive. Eventually you have a hard drive that looks like swiss cheese, and when you want to install a new program, or create a new file, your computer has to put chunks of your file all over the disk, instead of storing it in one contiguous block. This will result in extra time required to open files and launch applications, because everything is scattered (or fragmented) around your hard drive.

In order to fix this, there are programs available called defragmenters. When you defragment your hard drive, the program will move those scattered chunks of data so that files are stored contiguously, and create larger areas of free space to store files in the future. After drefagging, your computer has less work to do in order to open files and load programs. This is why defragmenting your hard drive is important.

How To Defragment Your Hard Drive

If you run Windows, your computer already has a free defragmenting program on it. Windows Defragmenter is provided with your Windows operating system. To begin, start by closing all your Windows programs. You might want to run your Defragmenting program in the evening, when you are finished with other work.

Click on the Start button, which is over on the bottom left part of your screen. Select Programs. Then select Accessories. Select System Tools. In System Tools, you'll find something called Disk Defragmenter.

From this program, you can select the hard drive that you want to defrag. Typically that's the C: drive, but if you have multiple drives, you can do them all. Press the Analyze button after selecting the drive, and Defrag will tell you if the drive needs to be defragmented. Lots of colored bars scattered all over the graph usually means you need to defrag. When most of the colored bars are over on the left side of the graph, that's good. Click the Defragment button to begin the defrag process.

If it has been a long time since you've last used it, or if you have a large hard drive with lots of files, it could take several minutes (or even hours) to complete. Defrag will show you the before and after snapshots of the defrag process.

Mac users, keep reading -- there's some defrag love in the next section for you...

I recommend that you defragment your computer regularly. Once a month should be enough, though do it more if you're a very active user, or you regularly deal with large (multi-megabyte) files such as music, video or graphics. If you have Windows Vista, the Disk Defragmenter offers you the option to run the program on a regular schedule.

Other Defragmenting Software

There are other defrag software programs available besides the one built into Windows. Some of these programs do a more thorough job of defragmenting your drive, and offer advanced features you might like.

Diskeeper is a popular commercial defragmenter. The newest version scans and fixes your computer in real time. So when you delete a program or file, it readjusts your hard drive right then. This eliminates the need to actually go in and run the program, taking minutes or hours out of your day to run the program.

DiskMagik is another good choice. It runs its disk defragmenter throughout the day, plus it'll learn when your slow times are, so it can adjust. It'll use fewer resources throughout the times when you use the computer more.

And Mac OS X users, I haven't forgotten you... Apple recommends a program called Drive Genius which will defrag, repair, repartition and do other maintenance tasks on your Mac. Other Mac savvy folks recommend iDefrag.

These programs are optional, but if you're the type of person who wants to squeeze every bit of performance out of your system, an advanced defragger is highly recommended. These programs eliminate the need to actually remember to run your disk defragmenter, and they'll optimize your disk. A fast and clean hard drive will really make a difference and improve your computer's performance