Defrag recommendations:

Hi, The best way to defrag your Windows system is to run a defragmenting utility program in safe mode with these two files (and some others) deleted: c:\pagefile.sys & c:\hiberfil.sys (hibernation image, if present). To turn off the paging file so you can delete it, Right-click on your Computer icon on your desktop and choose Properties > Advanced Tab > Performance section, click on the Settings button then choose the Advanced tab. Down at the bottom is where you can shut off the pagefile (no paging file) and click on Set. Ok. Ok. Restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode by pressing F8 every second or so when you see the manufacturers’ logo. Choose Safe Mode or Safe Mode with networking if you still have download needs. 

Once booted into Safe Mode, open an Explorer window (ex. double click on your computer icon on your desktop) and on top of your Windows Explorer, go to Tools > Folder Options > View > and check “Show hidden files and folders” (or uncheck “Hide System Files and Folders” depending on Windows version.)  ·         Delete: c:\pagefile.sys & c:\hiberfil.sys  (if hibernation is enabled… laptops)
·         Run a disk cleanup program like Crap Cleaner and/or Cleanup and/or Windows own Disk Cleanup  [Start > All Programs > Accessories> System Tools > Disk Cleanup].
·         Sysinternals has a free download PageDefrag that will defrag paging files, Registry hives, event log files and hibernation files. I use it for the Registry capability.
·         I try to delete all the .LOG files in the C:\Windows folder except WindowsUpdate.log. Some won’t delete.
·         I delete all of the (hidden) folders in the C:\Windows folder that begin with  $NtUninstallKB…  Some won’t delete.  These are the backup files from each windows update you’ve done in case you want to revert an update. Who ever does that? 
·         Turn off System Restore to clean up all the space this tool uses to save backups of your registry (shadow copy)
·         Empty the Recycle Bi

Now it’s time to defragment the hard drive while still in Safe Mode. Download and run JKDefrag.exe. Extract it from inside JKDefrag.zip and/or use Windows own defragmenter: Start > Run > (type in): DFRG.MSC and Ok.

While it is defragmenting you can use one of these two utilities to examine (and affect) what programs are booting up with Windows. It’s amazing the number of programs and browser add-ons that latch themselves onto your boot sequence…
·         HijackThis and it’s companion HJAnalyzer
·         AutoRuns  When it’s complete, boot into regular Windows and experience how things run. If you’ve got plenty of memory (4GB+) and it seems to run quickly, there’s no need to turn the pagefile back on.

If you regularly open a bunch of programs simultaneously, go ahead and turn it on for better page handling speed, set it to “System managed size.” Restart afterwards. This will create a contiguous pagefile in the open space area (you just created) of the disk.

Turn on System Restore and/or add a second measure of security (in case of registry corruption) by using an alternate registry backup tool: ERUNT

BTW, on your backup question... I downloaded the latest Hirens bootable CD before I left. Will burn when I get in.  It has two drive-to-drive cloning tools, we discussed one… Norton Ghost.  The other is Self Image, this one willl run in Windows.

Pete