Scheduling Disk Defragmenter

I've discussed the Windows disk defragmenter in class recently, and some students asked if there is a way to automate this so that it runs for you. I've done a little researching on it, and it turns out that it's not as simple as one might hope. They've made it easier in Vista, but in the XP version of the operating system, it's a little bit more of a task. I've taken steps from the Microsoft Web site and made them a little clearer, I hope.

1. Click on the Start Menu
2. Select Control Panel
3. Double-click Scheduled Tasks (or, if you are using the "Category" view, click on "Performance and Maintenance", and then click Scheduled Tasks)
   
4. Double-click Add Scheduled Task
5. On the Scheduled Task Wizard dialog, click Next
6. Click Browse
7. Copy and paste the following line in to the dialog box:
   c:\windows\system32\defrag.exe
   
8. Click Open
9. Click Next
10. Select how often you wish Disk Defragmenter to run (recommended: once a month)
    
11. Click Next
12. Pick a time to run (a time the machine is on but a time you are not using it)
    
13. Click Next
14. Click Next
15. Enter a user name under which the Disk Defragmenter scheduled task will run. Note: This user must be an administrator on the local machine.
16. Enter the password for the user you entered in the previous step
17. Confirm the password for the user
18. Click Next
19. Check "Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish"
20. Click Finish
21. In the Run text box, you should see the full path and command for defrag.exe. By default, this path is C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\defrag.exe
22. Copy and paste the following line in to the box, or simply add the C: at the end
    C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\defrag.exe C: /noprompt
23. Click OK
24. In the Set Account Information dialog, re-enter and confirm the password for the user listed in Run as
25. Click OK

Oddly enough, most other programs (backup, disk cleanup) can be scheduled there easily...seems like the disk defragmenter was just overlooked.

The original article can be found here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555098