Avast Version 5 & Windows XP defrag Issues

[Chauncey]

I have 6 desktop computers which are running on different versions of Windows Xp operating like Home, Pro and media center. On all the computers, I had installed Avast antivirus for protecting my computer from virus attacks. Recently I updated the version of avast to avast version 5 and after upgradation, I am not able to defrag the hard disk. Is this because of Avast upgrade? If anybody else is facing similar Avast Version 5 & Win XP Defrag Issues then please share some information. Thanks in advance.

[Wguy2008]

Yes software update can create problems similar to one which you are facing. Some softwares use some files of the operating system, if such a software is updated or removed from the computer, it may change the location of the files of the operating system on the computer. If such a situation occurs then some features of the operating system will not work. You can try updating the application again and see if it helps.

[Sabastiaan]

The operating system which you are using must be having some problems due to which the defragment procedure is not working. There are lot of files which are associated to the operating system of the computer. If any of the file which is associated to the operating system of the computer is corrupt or missing on the computer then it will not work properly. You will have to reinstall the operating system on the computer to make it work properly. Insert the installation disk of the operating system which you are using and repair the current installation of Windows operating system. Let the procedure complete and then check if the system is working properly.

[teenQ]

It is possible that the hard drive which you are using is faulty due to which you are not able to defragment the hard disk. The hard drive of the computer develops bad clusters or bad sectors on it due to frequent data write and rewrite cycles. If the hard drive has developed bad sectors or bad clusters then Windows will not be able to defragment the hard drive of the computer. Run the diagnostic tools on the hard drive to check if the hard drive is faulty or not. If the hard drive is faulty then you will have to replace the hard drive.

[Candace]

The Windows Defragment tool seems to have to some problem and hence try using some other degfragmentor tool on the hard drive. There are lot of applications which are available online which can be used for defragmenting the hard drive. Defraggler and Power Defragmenter are some of the applications which can be used to defragment the hard drive. Amongst the two applications, power defragmenter uses GUI interface to help the user in defragmenting.

[addie]

As you think the new version of Avast is conflicting with the Windows Defrag utility, uninstall the current installed version of Avast from the computer and remove all the files/keys which are associated to the application. Reboot the computer and then see if the Windows Defrag tool is working properly. If the problem was due to the application, then removing the application will solve the problem.