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Problems running ScanDisk and Defrag

Many people have problems running ScanDisk and/or Defrag, with the program running 10% or 30% and then stalling. Often with a message that Windows is trying to write to the drive. To run ScanDisk/Defrag successfully:

Go to Start > Run and type msconfig in the Open: box
On the General tab, uncheck all items listed under Selective startup (make sure that Selective startup is selected)
Hit apply and OK and restart Windows
This starts Windows with only the basics running; Insures nothing will interfere with ScanDisk and Defrag
Run ScanDisk and Defrag, when ready go into msconfig and select Normal startup and restart Windows

(If you use Windows 95, restart your system, when you see the Starting Windows 95... text on your screen, quickly press the F8 key. From the menu that follows, choose Safe mode, and run ScanDisk & Defrag. When ready, reboot.)

PS: My daughters computer had the same problem and the above solution worked. You may also consider installing an additional hard drive if you have an available drive bay. 30g drives are pretty cheap these days and access speeds for HDs have improved over the past few years. I'm not sure how old your system is, but you may find that a new HD improves the overall performance of the system and increases your available storage space at the same time. All it takes is a screwdriver, a few dollars, and an afternoon. Good luck!

Odd to think that five years is considered the lifetime of most hard drives before they start to go bad. (After that, what? They turn to bank-robbery? ;)

I have a similar problem. My scandisk only scans to 70%. I tried your tip and when it got to about 50% it locked up. I tried a second time with the same results. My unit is about 3 years old and has had this issue for over a year.