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Issue with defragmenting

A

archcommus

Diamond Member
I tried to defrag my C: partition today and it finished in like fifteen seconds. The list of files that could not be defragmented was huge, and they were mostly files inside game directories. Then I go to analyze the partition again and it still says it needs defragmented.

I tried restarting in safe mode and doing it again but it does the same thing.

What do you think is keeping these files from being defragmented, and how can I defrag this partition at all!?
 
I tried Diskeeper. It finished but the post-defrag analyze chart didn't look all that much better, and I can't see how Windows analyzes it because that shortcut also opens Diskeeper now. Hmm, oh well.
 
Originally posted by: archcommus
I tried Diskeeper. It finished but the post-defrag analyze chart didn't look all that much better, and I can't see how Windows analyzes it because that shortcut also opens Diskeeper now. Hmm, oh well.
Click to expand...

the dirms program i posted in the link above addresses, specifically (at least from what the author says), the issue of windows not letting you defrag/organize certain files to the front of the drive. I will verify that the files on my hardrives are now always defragged and 95% at the front (if not 100%...I just haven't looked in so long since I no longer need to).

Best part is it's free. Just run dirms once and then run buzzsaw in the background from there...it just defrags during idle time.
 
Defragmentation tools are like 90% snake oil, have you actually done any tests that proved fragmentation is causing you any issues?
 
Originally posted by: Nothinman
Defragmentation tools are like 90% snake oil, have you actually done any tests that proved fragmentation is causing you any issues?
Click to expand...
No, and I rarely do it, if ever. But my C: partition was very heavily fragmented and I wanted to do it at least once, but the Windows utility couldn't.

 
A certain percentage of free space is required for defrag tools to work, they have to copy that data around somewhere, so it's possible there's not enough space for the tool to work within.
 
Originally posted by: archcommus
Hmm...I'd be surprised if this wasn't enough. About 10 GB free of 55.8 capacity.
Click to expand...

That oughta be fine.

As far as the "snake oil" comment...I think many programs don't definitely aren't worth paying for (norton/mcaffee, etc...). The windows utility does just as well as those, imo. But I think there is definitely a difference between a defragged volume, and a heavily fragged volume (especially on older hardware and slower drives), with a decent sized grey area in between.

Everytime I go home for some holiday, I always at least defrag the parent's computer. The defragging alone seems to speed the boot process, and simply navigating within windows tremendously...and this isn't even all that old of hardware (Dell 8200/4500 or something). It helps to not have the drive chugging away at all times.

Every once in a while, when I take the time to do some real maintenance: Disk check, remove startup junk, ad/spyware, virus check, etc......*sigh* I wish I could instill some e-discipline in my parents.
 
Originally posted by: archcommus
I tried Diskeeper. It finished but the post-defrag analyze chart didn't look all that much better, and I can't see how Windows analyzes it because that shortcut also opens Diskeeper now. Hmm, oh well.
Click to expand...

Diskeeper won't do any better than the built in Windows defrag as it is the same product. If you look at the "Help=>About", the built in defrag lists the following:

"Windows Disk Defragmenter Copyright (c) 2001 Microsoft Corp. and Executive Software International, Inc."

Executive Software publishes all of the versions of Diskeeper, and they are all essentially the same.

DIRMs/Buzzsaw is a good freebie version. It is not as easy to use as the others, but it does a good job.

If you want to pay look at PerfectDisk. It is arguably the best defrag app for XP (No I do not work for the company). Unlike other utilities, Raxco only offers one version for all levels of users (Home to Enterprise). I use it and it does an excellent job. It can defrag system files that most utilites cannot.

As for "snakeoil", it is all a matter or perspective. Fragmentation can impact disk performance over a period of time. The difference between the defragmentation utilities is their ability to organize data effectively. Some do a good job of putting files together and consolidating free space, others don't.

Raxco has a number of Whitepapers on their site that you might want to consider, these compare products and results (winbench scores, etc.).

If you do buy Perfectdisk, look around it seems to be on sale all the time (Amazone, etc..)

 
As for "snakeoil", it is all a matter or perspective. Fragmentation can impact disk performance over a period of time.
Click to expand...

Of course it can, but with smart read-ahead and good filesystem caching the impact will be minimal except in the most extreme cases. I use Linux and XFS on pretty much every machine I own and I can't think of a single instance where I had performance issues related to filesystem fragmentation, infact the only way I know there's any fragmentation at all is to use a utility to measure it.

The difference between the defragmentation utilities is their ability to organize data effectively. Some do a good job of putting files together and consolidating free space, others don't.
Click to expand...

Making files contiguous is simple, guessing at your usage patterns is difficult if not impossible.
 
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