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How often do you defragment your computer?

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by TerryFox, 2006/06/25.

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  1. 2006/06/25
    TerryFox Lifetime Subscription

    TerryFox Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi ... Just curious to hear from as many as possible about how often do you defragment your comp ?

    TIA...:cool:
     
    TerryFox,
    #1
  2. 2006/06/25
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    As and when required :)

    Running Diskeeper Pro on 'Set it and forget it' - defrags when required. Generally 'checks in' every day to see if defragmentation is required (I have 17 partitions spread over 3 drives so it is kept busy). I don't check the reports to see when it actually defragments, but I guess daily.
     
    PeteC,
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  4. 2006/06/25
    Welshjim

    Welshjim Inactive

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    As PeteC says "As and when required ".
    Windows will Analyze whether you need to Defrag or not for free. But it will not notify you automatically. My Computer|right click on drive to be defragged|Properties|Tools|Defragment Now|Analyze. I would guess I do it less than once every two months, but I do not do a lot of installing and uninstalling of programs. Run Error Checking first before actually doing the Defrag.
     
    Welshjim,
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  5. 2006/06/25
    MinnesotaMike

    MinnesotaMike Geek Member

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    I defrag my drives (Win98 and XP) once a week. I just got into the habit of doing some basic cleaning every week. I clean out temp files, run adware scans, error-check, defrag, and then run complete virus scans.

    Mike
     
    MinnesotaMike,
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  6. 2006/06/25
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member

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    Depends on how much i use the PC (installing, un-installing, moving, etc).

    Normally, at lease twice a week but if i'm on the net a lot, i will run a set
    of utilities for cleaning up then finish with Perfect Disk (defrag).

    But then, thats me! :)
    savagcl
     
    savagcl,
    #5
  7. 2006/06/25
    Whiskeyman Lifetime Subscription

    Whiskeyman Inactive Alumni

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    About once a month for both XP and 98SE. Both drives are FAT32.
     
    Whiskeyman,
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  8. 2006/06/25
    thestadiumguy

    thestadiumguy Well-Known Member

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    I also use Diskeeper 10 Professional, set on Smart Scheduler ( "Set It And Forget It "). It kicks in once or twice a day as needed. Great program. My computer is better for it.

    Brad
     
    thestadiumguy,
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  9. 2006/06/25
    James

    James Inactive

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    About twice a year. I just can't see that it makes all that much difference, even given the fact that I do a lot of installing and uninstalling. The computer appears to run just as quickly before as after the defragging. Just my two cents' worth. Geeze.. I know guys working fairly high up in MS that rarely (if ever) bother to do it. :rolleyes:
     
    James,
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  10. 2006/06/25
    surferdude2

    surferdude2 Inactive

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    I rarely do it either. I think something like solitaire may be a more rewarding way to pass time. I've never seen it make one iota of difference except in my age. The times that I do run it are always against XP's advice since it has never told me that I needed it.
     
    Last edited: 2006/06/25
    surferdude2,
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  11. 2006/06/26
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

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    After any major uninstall or file move. My procedure is
    Check for unwanted programs
    Disk Cleanup
    Manually remove any leftover files in the Temp and Temporyary Internet Files folder.
    Crop Cookies
    Error check
    Defrag

    Time, only if I think it might be about due.
     
    mattman,
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  12. 2006/06/26
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Unless you have unchecked the default setting of 'Optimise disk when idle' , i.e. defrag, Windows happily defrags the disk for you - 'without your knowledge or consent' as and when required.

    So you guys who rarely defrag and see no improvement when you do - that's probably why :)

    It is true that an NTFS disk can tolerate far more defragmentation before suffering a noticeable performance loss than FAT 32.
     
    PeteC,
    #11
  13. 2006/06/26
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    FYI - the log from Diskeeper 10 Pro for my C:\ drive for the past few days ....

    Code:
    Job Type   Date Volume                        Times Run Fragments 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/26/2006  Win XP (C:\)   1     497 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/25/2006  Win XP (C:\)   6     3323 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/24/2006  Win XP (C:\)   7     5308 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/23/2006  Win XP (C:\)   3     1091 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/22/2006  Win XP (C:\)   4     2690 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/21/2006  Win XP (C:\)   3     9270 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/20/2006  Win XP (C:\)   2     1244 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/19/2006  Win XP (C:\)   4     3155 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/18/2006  Win XP (C:\)   10    2274 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/17/2006  Win XP (C:\)   10    3761 
Primary Defragmentation Job  06/16/2006  Win XP (C:\)   8      2241
    So - 'As and when required' would appear to be up to 10 times a day.
     
    PeteC,
    #12
  14. 2006/06/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Wow ... :eek: ... ten times a day ... :rolleyes: ... sounds like a teenager (gender neutral) looking for blackheads ... :D ... !

    Does Diskeeper 10 Pro run when the computer is idling or does writing to the disk not affect its performance?

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  15. 2006/06/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I forgot to mention that I defragment (using Diskeeper Lite) once a month. I do some general house cleaning after installing the "updates batch of the month ", defrag and create a new ghost image. That's the system partition. Data and backup partitions maybe once every 3-6 months.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #14
  16. 2006/06/26
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Hi Christer

    Diskeeper Pro 10 is 'intelligent' - it pauses defragmentation if the disk is being written to. Thats what Diskeeper claim and it seems to work just fine. Earlier versions slowed down the computer noticeably when defragging.
     
    PeteC,
    #15
  17. 2006/06/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Pete!

    A bit of development and progress has been made since a single written byte prompted the defragger to start over.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #16
  18. 2006/06/26
    shotsi

    shotsi Inactive

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    Got in a weekly maintenance habit years ago....still on that schedule.

    shotsi:)
     
    shotsi,
    #17
  19. 2006/06/26
    Dennis L Lifetime Subscription

    Dennis L Inactive Alumni

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    I thought the above process was hard coded into system, untouchable by us mere mortals. Could you please provide where this action / option can be viewed.
    Thanks
     
    Dennis L,
    #18
  20. 2006/06/26
    James

    James Inactive

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    Ah... well.. .since that appears to be the case, I won't even bother with the once every six months in the future. Like I said, I've never noticed any perceptible change whatsoever so obviously this has been going on the background and my once every six months has been a complete waste of my time. Thanks for the information.:)
     
    James,
    #19
  21. 2006/06/26
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Hi Dennis

    Tweakui XP > General and scroll down the settings window to 'Optimise hard disk when idle' and uncheck it.
     
    PeteC,
    #20
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