Looking for a good free Defrag ut.

[joz]

Looking for something free...

hopefully with file placement options and what not.

must not be command-line interface, I need a GUI. sick of DOS and anything that looks like it.

Gracias.

[werty316]

Windows defrag and uh... free...

[Miker]

What werty said, and ummm you get the feeling some people shouldnt own a computer??

There are more professional ones that work better, but for the average user Windows Defrag is fine.

[werty316]

True but he did ask for a free one.

[Miker]

Yaa lol.

[cvasquez]

Joz, windows comes with an internal app to defrag hard drive.
Auslogics has a free Disk Defrag.
Check it out: http://www.download.com/Auslogics-Disk-Defrag/3000-2094_4-10567503.html

Check out also freedownloadscenter.com

[joz]

Right..

Im looking for a GOOD one.

[werty316]

The Windows intergrated defrag app does what its suppose to do so what else do you want?

[Xero (1)ne]

The Windows intergrated defrag app does what its suppose to do so what else do you want?

Not when you have 80% fragmentation and 4% free space. :coffee:

[joz]

oh good god, I would normaly bow to a good spam fest, but this is ridiculus.

im looking for something that allows me greater degree of control, and the crap in windows just dont do that.

I have defraggler(beta) but its slow, and only does small fragments verywell, not to mention moving them were I dont want them.

Im looking for something that allows me to control what it displays after analyzing,(like... uncheck:temp files, so it doesnt display them, were it moves things too(like moving CS2 to the outside., etc..etc..etc..

[Miker]

oh good god, I would normaly bow to a good spam fest, but this is ridiculus.

im looking for something that allows me greater degree of control, and the crap in windows just dont do that.

I have defraggler(beta) but its slow, and only does small fragments verywell, not to mention moving them were I dont want them.

Im looking for something that allows me to control what it displays after analyzing,(like... uncheck:temp files, so it doesnt display them, were it moves things too(like moving CS2 to the outside., etc..etc..etc..

Windows Defrag is all you need, putting CS2 on the outside does nothing, long as it is derfraged it is fine.

[werty316]

Well more free space is recommended no matter which defrag app you use and Diskeeper recommends something like 15-20%.

The whole point is this, he needs free defrag app, windows comes with one, nuff said.

EDIT: if you want a good defrag app buy one like Diskeeper or O&O. These 3 are the only ones I can recommend regardless if they are free(Windows defrag) or not(Diskeeper/O&O).

[joz]

Ok.

Lets change the question a bit:

are their any defragers that can let me set what files to scan, what to ignore, were to place files on the disk, etc...
free or not.

[Xero (1)ne]

As far as I know you're not going to find any. You might as well buy a prog or just live off of demos.

[joz]

Read my above post.

"free or not"

[werty316]

Why would you want to ignore certain files when defragging a HDD?


were to place files on the disk, etc...
free or not.
???

[Miker]

For the last time, location on the disk doesn't matter. Defrag puts info that is split up all over the HD in line. So if you have a 150G HD, you don't have part of CS3 at 60,000,000 and the other at 140,000,000. Windows defrag is all you need. It doesn't matter if the Data is on the inside or outside of a plater, the speed is the same, all that matters is that everything is defraged and grouped together.

[ZhengHe]

If you're looking for a better free defrag program you might want to try Diskeeper Lite (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1207). While it may not still be supported it will certainly do a better, faster job then the Windows built in defrag program. You might also want to try the 30-day free trial of O&O Defrag Professional for a quick fix. It is one of the best defrag programs on the market and can do just about everything you seem to want on it too. They have a freeware version (http://www.majorgeeks.com/O&O_Defrag_2000_Freeware_Edition_d4545.html) as well. While there are certainly other excellent free defrag programs out there these are from the companies who make some of the best defrag programs available period, so it would be a good place to start. That being said, you'll be hard-pressed to find a free defrag program with all the options you are looking for, unfortunately.

[joz]

For the last time, location on the disk doesn't matter. Defrag puts info that is split up all over the HD in line. So if you have a 150G HD, you don't have part of CS3 at 60,000,000 and the other at 140,000,000. Windows defrag is all you need. It doesn't matter if the Data is on the inside or outside of a plater, the speed is the same, all that matters is that everything is defraged and grouped together.


Why are you on a tech forum?

location on platter dont matter??? wow....

----------

And thank you ZhengHe, ill try those out I gues.

O&O defrag - hated it.

trying lite...

[ZhengHe]

Why are you on a tech forum?

location on platter dont matter??? wow....

----------

And thank you ZhengHe, ill try those out I gues.

O&O defrag - hated it.

trying lite...

Sounds good. I've also heard some good things about Power Defragmenter GUI (http://www.majorgeeks.com/Power_Defragmenter_GUI_d4647.html) and JkDefrag (http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/) if you don't like the two I mentioned.

Heard some great things about PerfectDisk lately, but it only has a few free trials (http://www.raxco.com/products/downloadit/).

By the way, there was an excellent article (http://donnedwards.openaccess.co.za/2007/04/great-defrag-shootout-part-1.html) written about defrag programs here if you'd like to get a broader perspective along with a fairly lengthy list of other free defrag programs, which I am quoting from here: (http://forums.techguy.org/all-other-software/616768-tool-best-hdd-defrag-ram.html)


Free Defrag Utilities for Windows

* Auslogics Disk Defrag
* Contig*
* DefragMentor Lite CL
* IOBit SmartDefrag
* JkDefrag* [review: thumbs up]
* Microsoft's Windows Disk Defragmenter
* PageDefrag*
* Partition Logic
* Power Defragmenter GUI
* Rapid File Defragmentor Lite
* SpeeDefrag
* SpeedItUp FREE
* UltraDefrag
* WinContig

[joz]

Lite had the ignore option i was looking for, but it was so slow....

I hate the world. ok ill try a few more and read that article igues.

thanks agian.

[mivanx77]

I enjoy using this product because its from the makers of Ccleaner. Give it out a try, it certainly works.

http://www.defraggler.com/

[joz]

I have defraggler already... works for somethings, just not big things.

I have decided on JK defrag and defraggler.



Thank you agian, mr. ZhengHe

[Seletar]

I am normally in lurk mode, but I'll just post to say this:

Consider the amount of time and computing resources you spend in micromanaging file placement and manually defragmenting the drive vs the benefit from defragging.

Unless you can ensure that the files you have placed 'at the edge of the platter' will not re-fragment, the gains will be short-lived. Once they are modified, they will fragment again and you'll have to repeat the defrag+file placement all over again and again.:whistler:

Scheduling resource intensive and long defrags for large drives is quite pointless...a waste of time and resources. There's a reason why the industry is moving away from manual/scheduled defragmentation towards automatic defragmentation...it saves time and computing resources..defragmentation occurs in the background on free cycles instead of hogging the system for itself and reducing productivity.

Just put in a reliable auto defragger and let it take care of the defrag operations. Getting the files defragmented will be of most benefit. Everything else...full free space consolidation, specific file placement etc is of limited advantage compared to resources expended.

[joz]

I bought computers so I COULD do something, not let the pc do what ever it wants.

I like the tactile sensation of doiong somethings myself.

Such as running a defrag when I want it to run.

[Miker]

I bought computers so I COULD do something, not let the pc do what ever it wants.

I like the tactile sensation of doiong somethings myself.

Such as running a defrag when I want it to run.

Windows Defrag is not automatic. You just click "defrag" and it does it. Asking for more control with a defrag is like asking for more control when you boot your PC, you might be able to do it, but it will just be slower, and not as good.

[joz]

for my boot, the faster, the better, im sitting at 23 seconds to desktop from the moment i press the power button, and im still pissed off its so slow.


I hate windows defrag. And your not understanding by OP, at all.

[Xantor]

That's a pretty good boot speed. Mine boots in like 18 seconds, but that's because there's barely anything on it lol

I use JKDefrag as well, and PageDefrag for page files and NTREGOPT for registry hives.

[joz]

yea, but mines still to slow, raid 0 raptors and its still 23 seconds with all crap services turned off...

[Seletar]

I bought computers so I COULD do something, not let the pc do what ever it wants.

I like the tactile sensation of doiong somethings myself.

Such as running a defrag when I want it to run.


I don't think you can place a file in a specific physical location on the disk using defragmentation software. Maybe you can tell NTFS to place the file within specific LCNS (if you manually do the file 'placement') but you cannot tell the drive controller which physical clusters on the drive the file has to occupy. Files that are logically contiguous can be, but need not be physically contiguous on the disk. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Some of the auto defragmenters have file sequencing/placement algorithms that monitor file access patterns over a few days and then shuffle the files automatically, to improve access speeds for most frequently used files. The improvement in access speeds depends on the specific system and cannot be predicted accurately. And how exactly they work, I don't know.

If you have nothing better to do, then manual defragmentation or watching paint dry is a good pastime :biggrin:. For whom time is valuable, and who actually want to use the PC for something useful, automatic defragmentation is a far better option ;-)

[Xantor]

There is UltimateDefrag that really lets you customized where you want your files to be placed, like in the outter tracks of the disk or the inner tracks. Shareware tho

[jellyrole]

I can find you a crack for almost any "paid" software that way it's free.

[PP Mguire]

If you have nothing better to do, then manual defragmentation or watching paint dry is a good pastime . For whom time is valuable, and who actually want to use the PC for something useful, automatic defragmentation is a far better optionOr, save disk life and just auto defrag once every 3 months. Defragging is over rated. You do it to much and your cutting your time and disk life, do it not enough and Windows gets sluggish. And auto defrag in the background? Are you crazy?! That crap seriously decreases speed and defeats the purpose of defragging.

[joz]

yea. Close this

Im just using Jkdefrag under screensaver mode once every 24 hours ago along with occasinal scans of defraggler.

[Miker]

yea. Close this

Im just using Jkdefrag under screensaver mode once every 24 hours ago along with occasinal scans of defraggler.

Running defrag every 24 hours might shorten the life of your Harddrives. Also, I would not mix defraggers.

[joz]

Its not realy a problem, when im on my PC its almost always me doing something, so im not too worried about wearing it down, since I usualy turn it off when im not using it for more then a few hours( most of the time.)

But 24 hours is the longest i can set without editing something.

[Seletar]

Or, save disk life and just auto defrag once every 3 months. Defragging is over rated. You do it to much and your cutting your time and disk life, do it not enough and Windows gets sluggish. And auto defrag in the background? Are you crazy?! That crap seriously decreases speed and defeats the purpose of defragging.

Why would it cut down on disk life? You are under the impression that the auto defragmenter is running 24x7 in the background grinding away at files, but it's not!. After the initial defrag run where it processes the whole drive(s), it runs for just a few minutes a day (usually less than 5 min) to clear up the few fragmented files. You can even set it to not run for specific time periods or when the PC/laptop is on batteries.

Besides, defrag is like a normal disk operation, it's not any more stressful. I'd bet that torrenting a large divx video (legal ofcourse) would easily 'stress' the drive out way more than a 5 min defrag. Or even playing back that 700MB file that you just downloaded. Or ripping a DVD to make a backup (legal ofcourse) to your hard drive. Does that mean we should never do any of these?

Modern drives are tougher than you think. Unless the drive was defective to begin with, defrag is not going to stress the drive out anymore than normal sustained drive operation by another app.

[Seletar]

There is UltimateDefrag that really lets you customized where you want your files to be placed, like in the outter tracks of the disk or the inner tracks. Shareware tho

What happens if the drive is partitioned? Does it actually move the files across partitions to place them at the intended physical locations?

Also, note that you cannot go by what you see in the GUI. The drive map shown in any defragmenter's GUI is a VERY approximate representation of what's going on at the physical level on the disk, and is simply not detailed or accurate enough to draw any conclusions.

[Forsook]

What happens if the drive is partitioned? Does it actually move the files across partitions to place them at the intended physical locations?

Also, note that you cannot go by what you see in the GUI. The drive map shown in any defragmenter's GUI is a VERY approximate representation of what's going on at the physical level on the disk, and is simply not detailed or accurate enough to draw any conclusions.
I've always wondered what happens in the partition as well when I used to use UltimateDefrag. I'm guessing it places it at the end or at the beggining of a given partition (where ever it can be read the fastest). The concept sounds like it works however. Think of it like a CD. If the data is at the outter edge, it can be read faster because the CD can be spun faster. Whereas the data that you don't read are put in the inner edge.

However, if you partionned your HDD properly, I don't think it will have much improvement. UltimateDefrag works best on a large unpartitionned drive, because the way it defrags imitates partitioning