Solved Windows 8 Basic Defrag Tool won't open

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I'm using Windows 8 Home Premium 64 Bit.

My Disk Defragmenter that came with the system will not open. When I try to open it, a CMD windows appears for 1 second and disappears. I have tried opening it in all ways.

I have tried:
Safe Mode
Sfc /Scannow
Chkdsk
Anti Malware scans

Any ideas on how to fix this?

I need something like the answer for this question, only a way to do it in Windows 8. His instructions only work on Windows 7.

Disk Defragmenter won't open in Windows 7 - Microsoft Community

I need to re-install the built in defrag tool I think.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Have you tried running---

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

in an administrator command prompt ?

screenshot_96.jpg

screenshot_96.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
There are multiple copied of defrag.exe on your hard drive. On my Win 8 Pro X64 system:

DefragW81.jpg

You could try copying from one of the WinSXS... folders to System32, see if that resolves the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
defrag.exe doesn't work on x64 - use dfrgui.exe. From the start screen choose "Defragment and Opimize Drives" not "Defrag"

In any case generally it runs automatically unless you have deliberately disabled it.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Another option--- C:\ Properties---

screenshot_97.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
RE

@David (Post 1)

I have ran that in the past a few weeks ago, I am going to run it again now to check. It is already at 20%, so there must be some corruption. It wouldn't start if there was no corruption, would it?

@Ztruker

Could you give me step by step instructions on how to replace those files? Update: Nvm, I figured it out, going to try it now.

@adamf

I am aware that it is dfrgui.exe. I have also tried the defrag and optimize drives, it still does not open.

@David Bailey (Post 2)

I have tried that with no luck earlier.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Okay, I ran the DISM and it finished. I also installed my most recent Windows Updates then rebooted the system. Still, the defrag tool will not open. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I think my only hope is what Ztruker suggested. I will look into it until you get back to me.

Okay, I figured out how to replace the file. I replaced defrag.exe and dfrgui.exe, still the defrag won't open.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
What happens if you enter dfrgui.exe from a Elevated Command Prompt? Maybe that will show an error message. If not, check Event Viewer, see if anything is logged there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
When I put dfrgui.exe in the elevated command prompt, nothing happens. I will go check the event viewer now.

Where exactly should I look in the event viewer? I've been searching, but so far nothing about defrag.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
When I enter dfrgui.exe from a Elevated Command Prompt, the Optimize Drives window opens.

Look under Windows Logs, all 5 selections in Event Viewer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Check C:\LocalDisk\System32 to see if you are missing defragres.dll or defragsvc.dll;
also search Registry for missing entry - dfrgui.exe
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion
  • PC2
    Tablet - Windows 10 Home
Edwin,

I checked, I do not have defragres.dll, but I have defragsvc.dll

I also scanned the registry for "dfrgui.exe". I had trouble copying and pasting it because it was so long, so I had it created in an HTML file. Here is the link to it:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/u3uv1c

Not sure if you have a special way of sending files, but I found a free website that did it.

Oh, and Ztrucker, I found nothing suspicious in the Event Viewer, going to double check now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I ran into similar problem once and restorehealth sould have solved the problem... How bizarre
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q SE PLUS
Okay, to my surprize SFC /SCANNOW found corrupt files, but was unable to fix some of them. I guess I will run another restorehealth now?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Okay, to my surprize SFC /SCANNOW found corrupt files, but was unable to fix some of them. I guess I will run another restorehealth now?

By the way it is normal at 20 % to be stuck. Just wait until it is complete. It could take 1 hour or less
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q SE PLUS
Okay, I ran the Restore Health, it finished, Then I ran SFC /SCANNOW again and it said it found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. I am going to reboot them computer and then see if the defrag works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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