disk defrag (WindowsXP-home)

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Greetings. I’m just trying to get some ideas on what is the best way to perform a disk defrag . I’ve always defragged with the PC in normal operating mode. I read that the anti-virus program should be turned off during the defrag. Please advise if there is a better way to do the defrag. Thanks- Kim

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What program are you using to do these defrag’s?

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Thanks for the reply. I’m using the defrag program that comes with XP. I don’t recall where I read that the antivirus program should be shut down during a defrag. I do know that on my PC the defrag time is dramatically reduced when I turn off the antivirus program. Have you any knowledge of defraging with the PC in safe mode? I’ve never come across anything on that topic.

Thanks,
Kim

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The built-in Defragment utility in Windows XP seems to be perfectly content to work while an antivirus program is active.

For better defragmentation and more options, consider using a third-party utility such as Diskeeper (the utility built into Windows XP is actually a “lite” version of Diskeeper) or PerfectDisk.

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Thank-you for your reply. Do you know of any reason why anyone would want to defrag a PC in safe mode?

Kim

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In older versions of Windows, the defragmentation process would be interrupted and restart frequently if other programs/processes were running. Starting in safe mode is a good way to ensure that only the bare minimum of processes is active, so in those versions of Windows you’d have a much better chance of running defragmentation to completion.
The Windows XP defragmentation utility will continue running even if other applications are active. It may run faster under safe mode, though.

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Thanks again. The main difficulty I have had with the Windows XP defragger is when I tried to defrag a disk with under 15% available space. I tried to force a defrag by typing in defrag c: /f in the run command window (Start, Run) which I had read sometimes works. Unfortunately I was unable to defrag the drive until I freed up to greater than 15% available space. If you have any ideas on how to defrag a drive with under 15% available space with the Windows XP defragger, I’d love to know.

Best Wishes,
Kim

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You can’t – the defragment utility needs free space to move pieces of files around in. According to Microsoft Windows XP – Defrag[indent]

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A volume must have at least 15% free space for defrag to completely and adequately defragment it. Defrag uses this space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has less than 15% free space, defrag will only partially defragment it.

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[/indent]Having little free space is a problem anyway. Since disks are relatively cheap nowadays, I’d get a bigger hard disk or an extra hard disk.

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Thanks for the link and useful info. I’ll check the hyperlink out.

Best Wishes,

Kim

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You might want to try Auslogics Disk Defrag. It’s an independent program, and only 1.55MB download. I don’t think it requires (much) free disk space to operate.

Alan

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Alan,

Thanks for the info. I just installed Auslogics program and so far it seems to be doing an excellent defrag job on my PC.
Best Wishes,
Kim

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From the PerfectDisk web page, earlier in this thread:[indent]

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Requires as little as 1% free space

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Thanks. I’ll give it a try if the Auslogics defragger doesn’t work out.

Best Wishes,

Kim

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A lot of the whys and wherefores of minimum free space requirements have been linked to/discussed above, but to me the obvious answer as to why is quite straightforward; the amount of time required to shift hundreds, if not thousands, of files around is just not worthwhile. A disk defragger may be able to work with as little as 1% free space, but if you are trying to defrag a 2Gb .pst file on a 40Gb partition, the likelihood of it succeeding is minimal. Statistically, if you have got to that state, there will be too many unmovable system files for any software to clear sufficient contiguous free space. And if it does? – as soon as you add to that file, or simply re-save it if it is (e.g.) a Word document, you will end up with a defragmented file (or two) again.

If you simply must defrag a drive with less than the minimal required free space, a couple of things to try:
1] If you have another partition, move the largest fragmented file(s) to it. Defrag the original drive, hoping that there are no unmovable system files left dotted around in the free space, then move the file(s) back one at a time, re-defragging between each move.
2] Use a third-party defragger that allows ‘Boot time’ defragmentation. This runs before Windows starts and therefore before any system files are locked.

If you go for option 2 above, make sure you have made adequate backup and restore provisions for the drive before attempting it, and be very, very careful if you are running any ‘secure storage’ software that may not like being tampered with or moved…

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Thanks Leif. Your information is very useful. Thnaks for the reply. Kim

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A fast reliable defragger is by SysInternals HERE

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Thanks again for your reply and the info about the defrag program. Do you know of any reason why someone would want to run a defrag with the PC in safe mode?

Respectfully,
Kim

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Hans picked up on the answer regarding older defrag versions. You could watch the progress bar going along nicely and then Bang, it would start all over again.
With todays defrags the you can run without safe mode and still have it do a good job. Power Defrag is particularly fast. IMHO.

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Hello. I’m just letting you know that I downloaded and tried to install the PowerDefrag program. With my installation attempts I received the onscreen message that contig.exe needed to be placed next to PowerDefrag.exe program. I was then prompted if I wished to download contig.exe since it was not available. I clicked yes and then was told that contig.exe could not be found on the website that my browser had been directed to. I was able to install a defragger made by Auslogics. It seems to defrag my PC quickly and well according to the Windows XP disk analysis component of the defragger. Thanks again for your time and information. Kim

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I’ve been using the PerfectDisk that Hans has linked to for quite some time and am VERY satisfied with its completeness, unintrusive operation and (fairly) good ease of use. If you search The Lounge you’ll find it mentioned many times. I defrag my C: drive during the night, every night at 1 AM while I’m sleeping. It only takes a few minutes and I DO NOT shutdown my AV program. I have ALWAYS found that the third-party defrag programs are much better than that which is provided with Windows, but that doesn’t include Vista with which I have no defragging experience.

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Thanks for the info.

Kim

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