Q. My problem is that my PC developed problems with the Windows ScanDisk repair software after I attempted to fix another problem using Norton AntiVirus 2003.
It started when I suspected I had a virus because several of my programs either worked much slower than normal, or wouldn’t load up altogether. After a painstaking 21-hour emergency disk scan, Norton found no viruses in my PC, a 2-year-old machine running Windows ME. Now my programs are running so-so, but my ScanDisk program continuously restarts and never finishes, and my disk defragmenter stays constantly stuck on 0 percent completed.
I can’t get any help from Symantec (Norton’s owner), as they don’t allow you to call and ask questions (for free). Any thoughts?
A. My first thought is how outrageous it is that makers of software and computer gear have the gall to demand money for discussing simple problems that may very well stem from their own products. My second thought is just how easy it would be for a tech support worker to tell you how to fix that well-known problem with Microsoft Windows. Microsoft, by the way, also charges for a good deal of its telephone customer support.
All the mope at the other end of the line needed to tell you follows:
Many users of many versions of the Windows operating system find themselves getting messages that the ScanDisk feature designed to check the hard drive for irregularities couldn’t complete its work. This is because if any software is running in the background, it is impossible to complete either ScanDisk or any defragmentation tools because the background programs also cause the drive to spin.
To run these maintenance programs requires starting the computer in Safe Mode, during which no background tasks will be opened.
To get modern machines into Safe Mode, it is best to insert a freshly formatted but blank disk in the floppy drive and boot up to cause the machine to give an error message saying that the disk in the floppy drive is not correct. Then tap the Return key followed quickly by the F8 key and the computer will lead a user through booting up in Safe Mode. Once there click on Start and Accessories and then System Tools to find and run ScanDisk and the other hard drive maintenance software.
That advice is needed every day by uncounted masses of Windows users, and it’s just shameful that many computer companies don’t offer it without extracting still more cash from customers. (7/12/03)
