Defragger Question

[Feather]

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

anyone ever tried this or heard of it

[siodine]

I've never heard of it, but I recommend O&O Defrag. Here's a link...

http://www.oo-software.com/home/en/products/oodefrag/

It works extremely well, and you can set it up to defrag at specific times or when you're inactive, it also comes with a screensaver the automatically defrags your harddrive when activated. I'd say it's probably the best defrag software you can get.

[uselesscrap]

I recommend windows defrag. I don't understand why people have to use some program, other than what is free and included. I have always used windows defragging and have never had problems.

I will also add that I know someone that did use another program to defrag that crashed their box to the point of reformatting. On the other hand I know people that never defrag and still don't have problems, so go figure.

On my old box that I now run Linux on, it's hard drive is almost 10 years old and still rockin.

[siodine]

I recommend windows defrag. I don't understand why people have to use some program, other than what is free and included. I have always used windows defragging and have never had problems.


Simply put, the default window's defragger isn't that great. Other commercial defraggers can seriously optimize your hard-drive's read speed by doing simple things like arranging the files by access instead of optimizing for space.



I will also add that I know someone that did use another program to defrag that crashed their box to the point of reformatting.


I've heard people say things like minesweeper completely ruined their computers, so you can't exactly take them for their word.



On the other hand I know people that never defrag and still don't have problems, so go figure.


Assuming you don't install, uninstall, and reinstall many things you'll be fine if you leave your computer undefragged. Otherwise you'll suffer serious performance degradation and corruption of critical sectors on your harddrive.

[Feather]

thanx for the responces but i am looking for a freeware/open source option if possible

[k0shyX]

yea, i would also like to know some type of free/open source defragger that's good

[hawkburn]

Auslogics defragger is pretty good. I used to use Diskeeper but didnt like the scheduler question. You'll see major improvements in read/write speed, but only if you install/uninstall programs, or download lots of data over the course of the day (for instance, always leaving bittorrent open and running.)

Otherwise, if you don't do either of these, you really wont see much improvement, and you dont need to defrag more than once a month. For an average P2Per, I reccomend once per week. For a hardcore gamer, p2per, or someone who runs a server, once a day before shutting down is a must.

[k0shyX]

i just got o&o defrag and i must say it is really good. i see improvements in speed already, and the defragment process only took 5 minutes! i recommend it

[Feather]

Thanks i might have to try that auslogics then. They are the only open source one that has a name recognition that i can find.

[strigoi-1431]

while it may be true that the windows built in defrag utility may do no harm, its only slightly better then not defragging at all. (IMO)

the way i explain it to people is to look at your hard drive contents like a book, when the book is binded and all the pages are in order, its easier to read. imagine ripping the pages from the book, and tossing them in the air, true its still possible to read the book, u just need to hunt down each page in order. ( again a very simplistic explanation )

there are a few free defraggers out there that i recommend..

O&O Defrag 2000
Freeware is the "light" version of O&O Defrag 2000 Professional. It provides the SPACE method to manually defragment your drives. The Freeware Edition is absolutely free to use! Please read our software license agreement for further information!

Download (http://www.majorgeeks.com/O&O_Defrag_2000_Freeware_Edition_d4545.html)

Diskeeper Lite
a short version introduction to full-featured Diskeeper. Diskeeper Lite can only analyze fragmentation levels and run manual defragmentation on one disk volume at a time. All time and money saving Set It and Forget It® scheduling, system management functions and network controls are shown and explained, but rendered inoperative. Diskeeper Lite will help everyone in their selection of the right automateddefragmentation software for their homes and/or business sites.

Download (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1207)


Please keep in mind these are limited in some of the advanced features found in the Paid for versions, but are more then adequate disk defraggers in and of themselves.

for those who dont mind using windows defragger Zeropaid has an excellent article on the subject.

Link (http://www.zeropaid.com/news/5962/Defragmenting+Your+PC)

Hope this helps.
Strigoi

[Malakai1911]

Microsoft defrag is a rebranded, licensed Diskeeper Lite.

[Feather]

I am giving free O and O a try but am going to keep auslogics in mind just in case. So far so good I do see a small improvement

[enter8]

I don't defragment. I clone.

I create multiple partitions for OS/Programs files and user files, do a clean install, incorporating all my tweaks and settings and then clone the OS/Program File partition. With the backup program I'm using, I can have clean OS/Program files re-installed in less than 15 minutes. As far as installing new software, I usually install it in my 'messy' version, and use it for a while to see if I like it or if it's buggy. If I decide to use it long term, I re-install the clean OS, add the new software and do another clone.

If some of my smaller programs have updates (like, say, anydvd) I may add them to my clean copy, but if I get a lot of updates to large apps, I start the whole thing from scratch. I don't do a whole lot of updating, though, as I usually find older versions of programs to be superior/less bloated than the newer ones. The idea of being about 15 minutes away from a pristine clean version of my OS and apps appeals to me as well.

On the user file side, I'm constantly archiving to DVD, so defragmenting is unnecessary there as well.

It may not be for everyone, but it works for me.