Past the point of defragging?

[Mike567]

So say you left a PC without defragging it for a year or two, is their a point where defragging is not a option?

If so what options do you have left?

[Dencandy]

is their a point where defragging is not a option?

I think time is not the issue, nor is the number of fragments. I think someone recently wrote on this forum that before defragging his hard disk had 20,000 fragments & Diskeeper reduced that lot to zero. The main limitation in such cases seems to be the amount of free space you have available in which to move the fragments about. You probably need a miniumum of 25-30% free space.

If you don't have that amount you could delete some files or transfer them to another drive or partition, pending installation of a larger capacity hard disk.

[Boris]

Normal free space required for defragging is 15%

[Mike567]

I don't really mean that kind of thing.

I mean like when I was running windows I never defragged but when I got to the point of argh this is so slow and defragged I never seemed to speed it up.

[mark2]

I've worked on several systems that have had no defragging for long periods, some increased their performance after defragging, some had no noticeable effect on performance, other than the sound of the hd being thrashed less. The slower systems showed any improvements up.

[Mike567]

Is the windows defragger any good or should I purchase something that can do the job better?

[Boris]

Try this free defragger first ?

http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag

[Alan2273]

I agree with Boris, the link he gave you is a very good program.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I don't really mean that kind of thing.

I mean like when I was running windows I never defragged but when I got to the point of argh this is so slow and defragged I never seemed to speed it up.

When a Windows system starts to slow down after a few years of operation, defragmenting is not the only thing to bring it back to the original speed.

Is the windows defragger any good or should I purchase something that can do the job better?

Windows' own defragger is with absolute certainty the worst that has ever been written, although (as mentioned in several recent defragging topics) it was developed by the same company that made Diskeeper. It probably started out as one and the same program, but one side was getting watered down by Microsoft, the other side kept getting better and better.

Diskeeper comes in two versions:

• the professional (shareware) version that can defrag MFT, page file, folder file, etc.
  
• the Lite (free) version that is just a normal defragger, but very much faster than the Windows one.
  

See http://www.diskeeper.com/ for the pro version; google for Diskeeper Lite for a download location.

[Dencandy]

The view these days seems to be that modern hard disks are so fast in accessing data that it's questionable whether defragging makes any difference when running prgrammes, especially as they mainly run from virtual memory after being loaded. So it's only the initial loading or boot up that might be improved. As mark2 indicates, perhaps the biggest saving is in prolonging the life of the hard disk as it doesn't have to work so hard.

I defrag at the end of every session on the computer simply because I hate untidyness, not because I firmly believe it speeds things up. I've used the Windows defragger for years and have never had any problems with it. But in response to Pat Willener's and andsome's urging I've just installed Diskeeper Lite and it reduced my fragments to zero (unlike the Windows version).

I don't see any need for the home user to buy a defragger in these circumstances.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

More problematic than program files are extensively fragmented data files. This can really slow down program execution, depending of course of the type of application.

I defragment about once or twice a week, having some heavy applications running constantly, updating scores of data files. But I think the average computer user doesn't need to defragment that often - once in a month, or even once or twice in a year should be sufficient. It all depends how a computer is used.

[rong]

I used Boris's http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag and it must be as good as Diskeeper as I ended up with no fragmented files.

A possible warning, not a complaint, I cleaned my computer with CCleaner before defraging and after it told me there was some 180+ temporary files on my computer and a link to a cleaner offered on their web sight at a cost.

[catgate]

It's funny that M$ continues to inflict a system on the world that fragments files. Linux seems to manage quite well without.

[andsome]

My Diskeeper 10 is set to auto defrag at 10 A.M. each day. :D

[Boris]

I used Boris's http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag and it must be as good as Diskeeper as I ended up with no fragmented files.

......... after it told me there was some 180+ temporary files on my computer and a link to a cleaner offered on their web sight at a cost.

Sorry - I forgot to say - after its finished - when Auslogics Diskdefrag tells you that it's found any Junk Files - just ignore the message.

Also make sure that before use you go into its Settings/Program Settings and

i) Tick "Remove temporary files before fragmentation" +

ii) Select "Highest" from the CPU Settings drop-down box

- for the best/fastest defragmentation :) .

[Sunray]

I usually don't post, but I'll just say that I also use Diskeeper and really like it. Currently on the 2008 Pro version, and it's great. I have selected the VSS option for the background defrag method since my Vista notebook has shadow copy service enabled. Unlike any of the free defraggers, Diskeeper has a special shadow copy (VSS) compatible defrag mode that minimizes changes to restore points.

Do note that if you are using Vista, then Diskeeper Lite will not work properly on it.

If you have not defragmented for 2 years, then better to first run chdsk once and then install DK (you can also get free trial versions at their site). Turn on it's background defrag mode and let it do it's stuff in the background while you get on with your work.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Do note that if you are using Vista, then Diskeeper Lite will not work properly on it.

Is this version 7, or have you also tried version 9 (of Diskeeper Lite) ?

[Mike567]

I found this one also http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/ does similar things to diskeeper.