Defrag discussion

[deepsand]

(Also defrag'ing et al).

I've found that Auslogic's defragger works wonders on machines running AVG, which really fragments the hell of of countless files. And, on two machines with MSE, it's never failed to defrag any MSE files.

Like you, I almost always have a gazillion going on at any given moment on any machine that I'm on. And, unlike some other AV apps, I've yet to find MSE to be a hindrance.

[Clint1]

I've found that Auslogic's defragger works wonders on machines running AVG, which really fragments the hell of of countless files. And, on two machines with MSE, it's never failed to defrag any MSE files.

I think it may have been you that suggested Auslogic's defragger ~a couple of years ago, and I've been using it since then. It takes a lot longer than Diskeeper, but is a lot more accurate and thorough.

Like you, I almost always have a gazillion going on at any given moment on any machine that I'm on. And, unlike some other AV apps, I've yet to find MSE to be a hindrance.

Again, I never exactly said it was a "hindrance"........ http://www.webproworld.com/webmaster...l=1#post613322 .........there are certain times when one needs to shut down background apps/services in order to free up more resources, memory, and lessen the usage of the PageFile. As for defragmenting; Auslogic's defragger may indeed be able to successfully defrag files in use, but that's not something I like to do.

[deepsand]

While Auslogic's Defrag/Optimize can take longer than Diskeeper, that's not always the case; and, I've found its straight Defrag to be the faster.

BTW, have you downloaded the latest version? It had a Quick Defrag function; defrags without first analyzing.

And, it has a setting so that the Defragger appears on contextually related menus. Handy for defragging, for example, just a particular sub-directory that ones been banging heavily with adding or changing files.

[Clint1]

BTW, have you downloaded the latest version? It had a Quick Defrag function; defrags without first analyzing.

And, it has a setting so that the Defragger appears on contextually related menus. Handy for defragging, for example, just a particular sub-directory that ones been banging heavily with adding or changing files.

I'm using v3.2.1.10 and it has the context menu option ("Defragment with Disk Defrag") when you right click a folder. But when I just tried it, it will say "Preparing to defragment [....]" then proceed, but it doesn't give you any indication as to what type of defrag'ing it's doing (Normal or Optimize).

I see v3.4.2.5 is out, but when you download it, it's v3.4.0.0!

[deepsand]

Like many, Auslogic's installer fails to show the same version as does the actual application. E.g., the installers for earlier versions of 3.2.x.x showed 3.2.0.0.

For 3.4.2.5, the installer version show 3.4.0.0, but that displayed by the application itself, under Help --> About, is 3.4.2.5.

BTW, how do you like the ability to click on a block and see what file(s) are located there?

Came in handy recently while working on a client's machine, cleaning out unneeded old files so as to free up space for a new POS client. Noticed a very large area marked "Unmovable," which turned out to be the hiber.sys file; this on a machine that is never hibernated. Whacking that alone freed up 2 Gig.

As for the type of defrag launched via a contextual menu entry, it's the regular Defrag, as evidenced by its not beginning to defrag any files until after an analysis has been completed, and with no files being moved about after all files in the selected portion of the directory tree have been defragged.

[Clint1]

Like many, Auslogic's installer fails to show the same version as does the actual application. E.g., the installers for earlier versions of 3.2.x.x showed 3.2.0.0.

For 3.4.2.5, the installer version show 3.4.0.0, but that displayed by the application itself, under Help --> About, is 3.4.2.5.

As for the type of defrag launched via a contextual menu entry, it's the regular Defrag, as evidenced by its not beginning to defrag any files until after an analysis has been completed, and with no files being moved about after all files in the selected portion of the directory tree have been defragged.

Ok.

BTW, how do you like the ability to click on a block and see what file(s) are located there?

Awesome.

I also noticed an area I never noticed before; if you sort of hover........somewhere......there's this "ghost image" of a magnifying glass, and a + and - icon at upper right of the chart. Now I can't even frickin' remember what it did, but I did found out the hard way that clicking the "-" icon removes it and now I can't get it back! Apparently I did "something" and it showed, that's why I never saw it, but looking all around I can't see how to get it back. All I remember is it was another useful feature.

I also never noticed the "Speed map" before, which is great for showing you what files are in each of the "Fast", "Normal" and "Slow disk access zone".

Came in handy recently while working on a client's machine, cleaning out unneeded old files so as to free up space for a new POS client. Noticed a very large area marked "Unmovable," which turned out to be the hiber.sys file; this on a machine that is never hibernated. Whacking that alone freed up 2 Gig.

I always notice this $Bitmap file (MFT file) on each HD that cannot be moved, and it's always in a normal-to-slow access zone. There are others, but it's always the largest.

[deepsand]

$Bitmap is the Cluster Allocation Bitmap, a standard NTFS metadata file that maps used and unused clusters.

All that icon w/ the magnifying glass does is toggle the Speed Zone view on and off.

[Clint1]

$Bitmap is the Cluster Allocation Bitmap, a standard NTFS metadata file that maps used and unused clusters.

Yeah, but why can't it be moved, and why are they placed at the medium to slowest HD areas. It could be they don't rely on speed so their location is unimportant.

All that icon w/ the magnifying glass does is toggle the Speed Zone view on and off.

Ahhh, so I remembered correctly that it was useful. Odd that I just opened it back up and the icon was back.

I just realized my PageFile on my main C: partition is in a "normal" zone.

[deepsand]

The $Bitmap file is part of the MFT.

And, if you look at several different machines that are seemingly the same - same make, model, OS, SP, etc. - you'll find that there's little to no similarities with regards to where any of the systems files are on the HD.

[Clint1]

The $Bitmap file is part of the MFT.

Yeah, (last paragraph, post #36 ^ ).

And, if you look at several different machines that are seemingly the same - same make, model, OS, SP, etc. - you'll find that there's little to no similarities with regards to where any of the systems files are on the HD.

A while back I changed my PF to "System managed" and didn't notice any difference (maybe more unstable if anything), so I just now set it back to a fixed size (which is supposed to keep it from getting fragmented), restarted, and it's still in the same location (normal access zone). Just prior to that, I defrag'd and optimized, and even though it says the HD doesn't need defrag'ing, it's amazing how many files can get fragmented just from restarting a PC. I now see many that are fragmented.

Maybe a mod should move these Auslogic and defrag posts to a new thread. Another odd thing, even with the PF set to a System Managed size, according to Sysinternals PF defrag*, it was always in one fragment and never fragmented.

*Website is now gone. http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr...gedefrag.shtml

It's here now, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...rnals/bb545021 under "Top 10 Downloads".

I see that PerfectDisk may move the PF, but it's not free.