Defragmentation

[boogie]

After a "Pitstop"check on my system it shows that 30% of my C drive is fragmented but only 1% of files. File system is FAT32, 18.64GB capacity with 8.06GB (43% )free space. This suggests a few large files need defragmenting. However after running my disc defragmenter the situation is the same. Pitstop avertises software for sale which it says will be more efficient at defragmenting than the MS defragmenter.

My question is this:- short of buying additional software does anyone know of a way of defragmenting which is better than the built in system? Or does anyone have any other suggestions ?

I am running Windows XP

[huski]

o&o defrag i think is better

Convert Trial Version to Full Version

All products are available as trial version, which can be unlocked to a full version by entering a license key. You do not need to download again, just unlock the trial.

http://www.oo-software.com/en/download/index.shtml

[ZZZ]

Download PageDefrag v2.32 from http://www.sysinternals.com/FileAndDiskUtilities.html .

This software is free and will defrag a number of system files that other defrag software will not do.

The very large files pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys will be defragged.

[francois]

hi'

not for free, but diskeeper is the best defragmenter I have seen so far

the home edition is quite affordable

francois

[coldcrush]

o&o defrag i think is better

Convert Trial Version to Full Version

All products are available as trial version, which can be unlocked to a full version by entering a license key. You do not need to download again, just unlock the trial.

http://www.oo-software.com/en/download/index.shtml

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hiya Huski

yeah I have O&O Pro and its really good utility. Easy one button defrag and beats Windows defrag by miles. I also use Tuneup Utilities which is a good clean up utility.

I will take a look at Diskeeper maybe be better who knows.

Edited July 25, 2005 by lopburiguy

[britmaveric]

hi'

not for free, but diskeeper is the best defragmenter I have seen so far

the home edition is quite affordable

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Software isnt free?

[nick2k]

norton systemworks is what I use. great stuff.

I've used diskkeeper before. it's good stuff too. but is just one utility.

sytsemworks has a lot of different stuff combined together. the new version "2005" even has partition magic.

[nick2k]

oh. forgot to mention. you might have a big problem. so, my suggestion is that you backup the stuff on your hard drive first before doing another defrag.

actually, after you do a backup, you should do something like a "scandisk" to check if your hard drive is corrupted. I think it is part of xp.

then, do the defrag.

once a month using my norton systemworks, I do a "disk doctor", then, I do a defrag. then, as a final maintenance item, I create a backup image of the partition using ghost.

[boogie]

Thanks for all the info guys. I downloaded and ran the O&O defrag first , still get 30% and 35 files showing as fragmented and all locked. Then ran the sysinternals, rebooted - same result.

Do you think buying something like diskeeper will solve the problem ? It's only $19.95 but I'm thinking if what I've done so far hasnt worked maybe I'll just be wasting my money. My system appears to be working ok.

[yeti]

You could download the Diskeeper Trialware, try it for 15 days, then if you like it you could connect to the expathub, and you may find someone with a 'free' version of diskeeper that you may download...

[britmaveric]

diskeeper works well tried it out last nite! Limewire is great!

[francois]

hi'

not for free, but diskeeper is the best defragmenter I have seen so far

the home edition is quite affordable

francois

Software isnt free?

legaly no

my preference go to some postcardware nice way not many though

francois

[katana]

Diskeeper Lite 7.0 Free version.

http://www1.execsoft.com/dklite.exe

[boogie]

Thanks again guys for all the help.

I downloaded the trial version of Diskeeper and ran that. Very impressed, especialy as it gives me a clean bill of health ! Says my systems reliabilty is not affcted by the fragmentation that I have.

Cheers

Boogie

[Steve2UK]

Just wondering what O&O Defrag, Diskkeeper etc have that the built-in XP defragger doesn't?

Just used O&O (trial) on my main drive. From what I can see, it took as long and did the same as letting the XP version do it. Am I missing something?

I used to use Norton Systemworks defragger and it was excellent with the "Optimiser"; had to stop using it after it screwed my system once (I have Windows 98 on a logical C: drive and data storage on a logical D: drive on the same physical drive; XP Pro is on a separate E: Drive).

[haha]

it has to do with the filing system you are using. nowadays, you have fat, fat 32, ntfs, etc.

in the past, speed disk was the big thing. then, when nt came out with the ntsf format, speed disk didn't work anymore.

at that time as I recall, diskkeeper came out and took over the market. it was the only defragger available for nt servers using the ntfs format too.

later, speed disk got improved so that it could work with all filing formats.

warning - you need to be aware that you need to be using the appropriate utility when doing defragmentation. using an older version of speed disk will trash your hard drive if you are using a newer format.

on my system, I have both ntfs, and fat32. the ntfs is used in my main partition for network security, and my second partition is fat32 for data, and any legacy stuff I might get which doesn't work on ntfs.

for maintenance and backup, I make a copy of my c partition using ghost, and store it on my d drive. for backup of my data, I store it on the internet on a virtual disk so that I can access that info anywhere in the world without having to carry it with me.

restoring a 5 gig partition from a ghost backup takes me about 10 minutes.

if I had a cdrom/rw, I would create a ghost backup of my harddrive onto cd, but I don't have a cd/rw right now.

I don't use the ms backup or the goback because that stuff has inherent problems. ghost works. some problems can occur where you cannot come back from which would require you to reformat your hard drive.

[the scouser]

I installed diskeeperlite and ran it: all well and good. However, my PC has now slowed down considerably and a check on my ADSL speed gives a result of 815 Kbps compared to the pre-defrag speed of 928 (1Mb connection).

Any thoughts how I can rectify this?

Ta,

Scouse.

[coldcrush]

I installed diskeeperlite and ran it: all well and good. However, my PC has now slowed down considerably and a check on my ADSL speed gives a result of 815 Kbps compared to the pre-defrag speed of 928 (1Mb connection).

Any thoughts how I can rectify this?

Ta,

Scouse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hiya Scouse

I dont know why defrag would slow your adsl down, however I do not know if Diskeeper runs in the background, I use O&O no probs with that.

It seems Francois runs diskeeper, maybe best to ask.

Goodluck

Edited July 28, 2005 by lopburiguy