Disk defrag error message in XP

"Disk defragmenter has detected that chkdsk is scheduled to run on the volume: (C) Please run chkdsk/f"

This is the message I got when trying to defrag.....I have no clue what to do or what it means. I have XP - could someone help out with very clear instructions as I am not real computer savy?

Thanks!

 

Most likely at one time the computer didn't shutdown properly. Do just as the error says. Open a command box and type chkdsk/f. This will fix any disk errors.

 

Not sure what you mean by open a command box - I did go to START - RUN and typed it in there .... still not working

 

Go to start run and type cmd
Then when the box pops up type in the command above.
Sorry I didn't explain a little better.

 

No prob! I did do that and shut off the puter and restarted it so it ran the chkdsk - still getting the message in defrag

 

What version of XP are you using? I know there was a bug in XP which affected defrag, but, I think it was fixed.
I just tried defrag on my drive and it works.
How old is your hard drive? It is possible the drive has some bad sectors which will cause defrag to fail.

 

You could also run the command chkntfs <drive letter>: or fsutil dirty query <drive letter>: This checks to see if there is a "dirty bit". If this command returns with a message saying "dirty bit is set", you'd probably want to run the recovery console off your XP CD or make a boot disk and use chkdsk <drive letter>: /r.