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How often do people de-fragment their hard drives? I keep forgetting to do it, so it takes forever when I finally get around to it...

If you have not done it in a while, you probably need it.

Good old Windows is rather sensitive to fragmented drive and many applications (including WITP) seem to fragment them rather badly (by frequent saves of the same file name with varying sizes).

One can schedule defrag to run periodically at odd hours.

Also: clear your Internet Explorer cache, empty the recycle bin, and even run disk cleanup.

I'm in the home stretch of a defrag that I've had running (with a few pauses) for about 24 hours now...

I'm sort of a neat freak so I probably run mine once every 3 months or so.

The problem is Windows wants at least 10% of a hard disk to run it, which on a large hard drive is a lot of room.

p.s. who doesn't empty their recycle bin at least once a day? [:-]

With my old computer (P3): almost never... It would take like 20 hours. Or even more. Absurd. So I used a radical approach a.k.a. Attila's tactic: FORMAT C:

With me new computer: possibly never either. I'm a fan of the Traditional & Lovely "Format C". That's the most radical, fast "defragmentation" I know. I "Format C" every 2 or 3 months maximum.

And this should say it all about Micro$tuff... A "Format C:" + a new installation (3 hours or so) should never last less than a "defragmentation".

Do a clean install (including format the partition), then make a Ghost (or other brand) image copy of the system (C:) drive. That way re-loading when the crap hits the fan is much easier. And set your de-frag to run every couple of months.

Hey, that's an excellent tip, WITPQS [8D] I will do that next time I FORMAT C: I burn the image (Windows + hardware drivers + even other programmes) and the next time that I will "Format C:" I just have to copy & paste [&o]

Here are some places to find lots of useful information and references, lots of them to freeware (legitimate freeware).

http://www.leoville.tv/radio/Main/Tips

http://radified.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx
This last one was recently bought by Microsoft.

If you follow some links/references in forums on these sites you will also find freeware disk image software, although I cannot vouch for it. Ghost is a Symantec product (they bought the original producer a while back).

ORIGINAL: Terminus

How often do people de-fragment their hard drives? I keep forgetting to do it, so it takes forever when I finally get around to it...

How full is your drive. If it is over 85% full it can cause defrag to take a long time, some software even recommends having 30% free.

To answer your question I defrag hardly ever. I have found that it is not uncommon for the defrag to destroy some file or other, usually an inocuos windows file which causes endless problems, so I only do it when things seem to be getting very slow. Usually once a year or so.

It's about 75% full (I try not to let it get too full)...

ORIGINAL: mantill

ORIGINAL: Terminus

How often do people de-fragment their hard drives? I keep forgetting to do it, so it takes forever when I finally get around to it...

How full is your drive. If it is over 85% full it can cause defrag to take a long time, some software even recommends having 30% free.

To answer your question I defrag hardly ever. I have found that it is not uncommon for the defrag to destroy some file or other, usually an inocuos windows file which causes endless problems, so I only do it when things seem to be getting very slow. Usually once a year or so.

Mantill, I don't disagree with you at all, but how incredibly useless and idiotic is a system with a large hard drive that you have to keep 30% open to run routine maintenance proceedures on! Extremely poor form. [:-]. This is a major pet peeve of mine. With today's hard drive sizes the percent required for maintenance should be going down, not up.[:@] Windows used to require 5%

It's worse than that. If you really want performance from the drive, then keep it under 50% full. And defragmented, of course.

Well, I personally don't need top of the line performance, but the idea that drives have increased in size by an order of magnitude the last few years is really a bit of a sham. While the physical media can store more, the OS can't make proper use of it.

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

ORIGINAL: mantill

ORIGINAL: Terminus

How often do people de-fragment their hard drives? I keep forgetting to do it, so it takes forever when I finally get around to it...

How full is your drive. If it is over 85% full it can cause defrag to take a long time, some software even recommends having 30% free.

To answer your question I defrag hardly ever. I have found that it is not uncommon for the defrag to destroy some file or other, usually an inocuos windows file which causes endless problems, so I only do it when things seem to be getting very slow. Usually once a year or so.

Mantill, I don't disagree with you at all, but how incredibly useless and idiotic is a system with a large hard drive that you have to keep 30% open to run routine maintenance proceedures on! Extremely poor form. [:-]. This is a major pet peeve of mine. With today's hard drive sizes the percent required for maintenance should be going down, not up.[:@] Windows used to require 5%

You don't need to have it that free but if you are going to defrag you will want to back up and remove some stuff, otherwise it will take forever, as Terminus is finding. After defraging you can put it back on.

I have just checked and the dos defrag command can't even fully defrag a drive 85% full. I assume the new superduper windows console version has a similar limitation as it is almost certainly the same or similar program with a GUI

ORIGINAL: Terminus

I'm in the home stretch of a defrag that I've had running (with a few pauses) for about 24 hours now...

Doing it every sixty (60) days makes the process go quicker. I usually do it the last day of the month at night.

Flipper

I always start my PC in 'Safe Mode' before doing a defrag, it shaves several lifetimes off the time it takes with no horrible nasty screen savers and back ground apps running to interupt it.

Cheers

Jev

ORIGINAL: Terminus

How often do people de-fragment their hard drives? I keep forgetting to do it, so it takes forever when I finally get around to it...

As an ex-hardware-speed-freak, I defrag once a week. I schedule it for 0200 Saturday morning so I don't have a clue how long it takes (but it's less than four hours). And yes I keep the disk at less than 50%. [:)]

At least 3 times a week.[;)]
Sometimes more.

I'm sort of a neat freak so I probably run mine once every 3 months or so.

The problem is Windows wants at least 10% of a hard disk to run it, which on a large hard drive is a lot of room.

p.s. who doesn't empty their recycle bin at least once a day?

This is not called being a "neat freak" it is called having some strong OCD tendencies (Obsessive Compulsion Disorder). I don't think your the only one who plays WitP that has these tendencies.[:D][:D]
It helps with a game that requires so much micro-management.

I am a Mental Health Counselor and have some of OCD tendencies of my own. Just ask some of my co-workers.

Surely the answer to this question depends on whether you are using FAT or NTFS?

I know little about these things but would assume that since NTFS is more recent it would be a lot more efficient.