Cannot defrag my computer since installing Windows 8.1?

I had the exact same problem so I downloaded a free defrag program, defraged the drive with it and now the windows one works fine. I used the Defraggler from their website which was free. Hope this helps.

Identical problem here.  Defrag on C: drive no longer works following an upgrade from 8 to 8.1, before which it worked perfectly.  I do not have a SSD and I will not install a 3rd party solution.  This needs to be acknowledged and ultimately fixed by Microsoft.

Had exactly the same situation.  And Norton 360 would/could not run a disc scan until the deframentation had been completed.   None of the suggestions here or in other threads on the forum provided a solution. Thanks Microsoft.

However, I may have found a solution.

I was able to defrag the drives using Smart Defrag 2  www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html  and was then able to run the disc scans with Norton.  Norton is no longer clamouring for my attention and the exclamation marks have gone.

One attractive feature of Smart Defrag 2 is that it offers the option for one to replace the MS Defrag tool with Smart Defrag 2.  I haven't checked that option but it is tempting.

So far everything seems to be working.

I hope that this is of use to others.

Regards

Richard

Have a look at what Norton may be doing as far as your hard drive is concerned.  Sometimes the only way to test if a particular program is a problem, if you cannot disable it, is to uninstall the program for testing purposes, and then after testing to reinstall it.

Defragmentation  [ Edited ]

https://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/Defragmentation/td-p/609654

Does Norton Defrag my computer?

https://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/Does-Norton-Defrag-my-computer/td-p/901935

Have a look at the earlier suggestions in this post.  Maybe the Safe Mode or Clean Boot is worth a try?

Are you running any third party disk monitoring types of programs?  Are you running the Windows "File History"?  I'm thinking that something like the Volume Shadow Copy service might be running at the time of Defrag, or something similar.

How to start Windows 8 in Safe Mode

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/start-windows-8-in-safe-mode/

How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

Earlier if the post there was talk on running Defrag from a Command Prompt in Windows.  It might be possible to run it from a Command Prompt outside of Windows via the Startup Repair options?

How To Access Advanced Startup Options in Windows 8

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/open-advanced-startup-options-windows-8.htm

Understanding and accessing Windows 8's advanced boot options

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/windows-8-advanced-boot-20121218/

Dear,

 - I do not run any third party disk monitoring program apart from Norton 360 (although for disk monitoring I believe it relies to Windows).

 - I do not run Windows file history (it is off)

 - I re-tried safe mode and clean boot. In safe mode giving the command "defrag c:" it just does not run!

 - Running defrag from the elevated command prompt, it starts and after a while it stops producing the error "The parameter is incorrect (0x80070057)".

 - Despite all your help and attempts I am still where I started!

Thank you