Fortress Mode
Fortress Mode is the dedicated Windows RE environment that boot-time optimization uses. Because no other applications run there, files that Windows keeps open during normal operation can be optimized.
Switch the environment on and select the drives on Boot-Time Optimization. This page covers what to prepare before the restart and what happens during the run.
Before you restart
- Finish your work in other applications and save open files.
- Keep the computer connected to reliable power.
- Check the drive selection on Boot-Time Optimization.
- Confirm that the Windows RE optimization environment is enabled.
- Keep BitLocker recovery information available for encrypted drives.
If BitLocker is in use, the application may ask to suspend protection until Windows starts normally again. Read the prompt before continuing. Suspending protection does not decrypt the data, and protection resumes when Windows starts. Follow your organization's encryption policy, and verify the protection state after you return to Windows.
Allow a maintenance window: the computer is unavailable from the restart until Windows starts again.
During optimization
O&O Defrag waits for drive detection, optimizes the selected drives, and returns to Windows when the run has finished, including any queued drives. You do not need to close the application yourself.
Drive letters and device availability can differ in Windows RE. The optimization identifies the saved volumes across environments and displays their original Windows names. Supply a BitLocker key if an encrypted drive needs unlocking.
After returning to Windows
Open O&O Defrag and review the result in Reports and logs. Check the state of BitLocker protection if it was suspended.
Files that remain fragmented may be excluded by file rules or deliberately skipped by the ROI settings. The recovery environment does not guarantee that every possible file or device can be optimized.
If something goes wrong
If no selected drive can be started, or the agent connection is lost during the run, the computer returns to Windows. Returning to Windows is not by itself proof that the optimization succeeded, so check the reports.
A startup failure may briefly display an exit code and a log-file hint before the computer restarts. Record those details and check the logs. Normal application logs and the persistent recovery-environment logs both help support trace the failure; see Reports and logs.
Do not edit the Windows boot configuration or delete recovery partitions as a general troubleshooting step. Switch Enable Windows RE optimization environment off on Boot-Time Optimization if you want to remove the prepared environment, and follow the guidance for the error that was reported.