How to/how long to defrag external WD hdd Macrium drive

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[Deo]

Have 2 yr old external WD 2TB ext HDD passport hard drive. Used for my Macrium Free 8 b/ups. It is now taking a full hour to do b/up of my Win 10 Pro (C:/ is 500GB SSD, only 168GB used).

I wonder if my ext HDD, having been full, and b/ups deleted is the culprit?

How to defrag the ext HDD using Windows? And how long would it take? (and would it impact current Macrium b/ups which are saved to root ie E:/ on b/up drive)

Have searched all over, all I’ve found is to ‘ensure sleep setting on PC  is off’. Thk you.

 

• This topic was modified 3 months, 4 weeks ago by Deo.

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Deo wrote:

How to defrag the ext HDD using Windows?

I use free portable Smart Defrag Portable

Defrag won’t impact files on the HDD.
Depending on size defrag could take some time (minutes)

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Backup files are big contiguous files written sequentially. You wouldn’t expect these to be affected by fragmentation to the extent you describe.

I would check the status of the hard disk / test it with the manufacturers utility.

Do you have another drive you can use to make a sample backup?
Is your PC running other software in the background – maybe 3rd party anti-virus?

cheers, Paul

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One thing I always do when taking images is to disconnect from the internet. This insures that processor time isn’t wasted on things calling home, etc.

Depending on how old you machine is make sure you’re connecting your external drive to a USB 3.0 and Not USB 2.0.

I’d also check the size of your Recycle bin, Restore Points, Windows.old, etc. Things you don’t need much if you’re taking regular images.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Deo

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ALWAYS do my backups offline! Only have usb 2.0, but never a prob in years! Could you pls see my pic in my reply to Zig? Am working of ipad, can’t quote on AW. TY!

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Deo,

I agree with RG; one problem could be that you’ve “deleted”your previous backups to a Recycle Bin (which takes up space, even if it doesn’t show), and your drive is getting overfull. I don’t have Recycle Bin turned on for the drive I use to store backup files.

Zig

P.S.: I really think this thread should have been posted under the forum “Backup – Macrium Reflect.”

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Deo

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Thank you Zig. Could you or anyone pls expand in where to find these ‘hidden’ files recycle bin on a WD 2T passport used for MR (or anything for others?)

Here’s a pic showing File explorer of drive; what is in recycling bin (should I delete?), and disk size properties today.

Note for others that wish to chime in:: it’s been taking an hour for 2 months, my C:/ has no win.old, only 1 restore point, I use disk cleanup on every local account prior to MR backups.

And sure, move this topic anywhere you wish; I didn’t no where to put it. Thought Maintenance and Backups was appropriate? But could be vey wrong!

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Deo,

After thinking a while, I also remembered that space may also be taken up by Restore Points.

To answer your first question about the <u>Recycle Bin</u>, go to Recycle Bin|Properties (see screenshot) and reduce the size available for the drive in question.

As far as <u>Restore Points</u>, look in:
This PC|properties|System Protection

(See attached screenshot – note ONLY C: {System} drive has protection turned ON.)

Zig

 

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Deo wrote:

It is now taking a full hour to do b/up of my Win 10 Pro

Suggest checking this setting.  It will help a little.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Deo

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It is/has always been checked this way..yet TY!

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