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print this documentDocument ID:1997125141837
Last Modified:02/21/2003


Speed Disk stops responding at different points during optimization

Situation:
While running Speed Disk, it stops responding at different points during the optimization phase. It is not possible to complete optimization.

Solution:
Speed Disk may stop responding for various reasons. Some possibilities are:

  • Another program is running, conflicting with Speed Disk
  • The Applog folder may have become corrupt
  • DMA is enabled
  • The Speed Disk sort runs out of environment space
  • The Speed Disk sort is set to sort by day
  • You have an older video driver


Another program is running, conflicting with Speed Disk
Speed Disk may stop responding because another program is using needed resources. Close any other applications when running Speed Disk to avoid any chance of data loss. If another program crashes and makes the system unstable, Speed Disk will become unstable. To close other programs:
  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. The Close Program dialog box appears.
  2. Select a program in the list, and click End Task. Do not close Explorer or system tray. If you end the Explorer task by mistake, the computer will restart.

    Note: Applications that have stopped responding may pop up a second window. Click End Task there, as well.
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each program on the list, except Explorer and the system tray.

Tips:
  • Be careful not to press Ctrl+Alt+Del more than once in succession, or the computer will restart.
  • Sometimes a program may require you to End Task more than once.
  • If you click End Task on a particular program and the computer either crashes or restarts, remember which program it was. After restarting the computer, begin closing programs again, but do not click End Task on that program in subsequent attempts.

This is the quick and easy way to close all applications. For a more thorough approach, refer to the document How to close open programs.


The Applog folder is corrupt
In Windows 98 and Me, the Applog folder stores information about applications and how they launch. Speed Disk uses this information to optimize files for the most efficient application startup. If one or more files in the Applog folder becomes corrupt, Speed Disk may stop responding. You can safely delete the Applog folder to remove any possibly corrupt files (it will be re-created automatically).

Note: You must first set Windows Explorer's options to "Show all files," since the Applog folder is normally hidden. Follow the instructions appropriate to your version of Windows:

For Windows 95, do the following:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, and click Windows Explorer.
  2. Click the View menu and choose Options.
  3. Choose "Show All Files."
  4. Click OK.

For Windows 98, do the following:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, and click Windows Explorer.
  2. Click the View menu and choose Folder Options.
  3. Select the View tab.
  4. Choose "Show All Files."
  5. Click OK.

For Windows Me, do the following:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click Windows Explorer.
  2. Click the Tools menu and choose Folder Options.
  3. Select the View tab.
  4. Choose "Show hidden files and folders."
  5. Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files."
  6. Click OK.

To delete the Applog folder:
  1. In the left Explorer pane, find the Windows folder and click it. You should see the contents of the folder in the right pane.
  2. In the right pane, right-click on the Applog folder and choose Delete.
  3. Click OK when asked to confirm the deletion.

You can now rerun Speed Disk. If the Applog folder was the source of the problem, Speed Disk should now run without any problems.

DMA is enabled
If DMA is enabled and your controller, hard drive, or driver does not support it, Speed Disk may stop responding.

To check whether DMA is enabled, and to disable it if it is:
  1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties.
  2. Select the Device Manager tab.
  3. Click the plus (+) in front of Disk Drives.
  4. Right-click your hard drive and select properties.
  5. Select the Settings tab. This is where you will find the DMA option. If there is a checkmark in front of it, then it is enabled.
  6. To disable DMA, uncheck the DMA option and click OK.
  7. Restart the computer.

If you find that Speed Disk still does not work, you should reenable DMA, as it does enhance the performance of your drive.


Speed Disk sort runs out of environment space
This problem can occur if your environment variables are set in such a way as to limit the memory that Speed Disk is allowed to use. To resolve this, do the following:
  1. Click Start and then click Run.
  2. Type MSCONFIG and click OK. The System Configuration Utilitiy appears.
  3. Click on the Config.sys tab (In Windows Me, click the Environment tab).
  4. Using the New and Edit buttons, add the following lines at the top:

    buffers=80
    files=200
    stacks=12,256

    Note: If lines similar to these appear in the Config.sys file, either remove them or disable them by placing an REM at the beginning of the line. For example: REM buffers=40
  5. Click OK on the System Configuration Utility.
  6. Reboot the computer and run Speed Disk again.


The Speed Disk sort is set to sort by day
If Speed Disk is set to sort all files based on the day they were last accessed, each optimization can take a significant amount of time, or can cause Speed Disk to stop responding. For further information, refer to the document Speed Disk stops responding at a particular percentage during the sorting phase during full optimization.


You have an older video driver
Though it may not be obvious, Speed Disk makes a lot of demands of the video card. In some cases, the video driver may not be able to handle the demands made by Speed Disk. In these cases, a simple driver upgrade will most likely resolve the issue.

Video drivers are updated regularly, so make sure you have a current driver. See the document: How to troubleshoot video driver-related problems under Windows.


Clean boot
If all other solutions fail, you will need to resort to a clean boot to track down the source of the problem. This streamlines your system so that nothing but the basics are loading. Once you have started the computer with a clean boot, you can start adding things back, one at a time, until the problem comes back. When it does, you will know which program(s) are causing the problem. Refer to the document appropriate to your operating system:
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Product(s): Norton Utilities 2000 v4.5 - Win95/98, Norton Utilities 2001 v5.0 - Win9x/Me, Norton Utilities 2002 v6.0 - Win98/Me
Operating System(s): Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
Date Created: 12/05/1997

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