"Some files on this volume could not be defragmented."

[JD]

Here's the message after running Defrag:
Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

However, the defragmentation report "list" is empty.
I've never encountered this before. Is there anything I can or should do to
"fix" this defrag process?

 

[Jose]

Here's the message after running Defrag:
Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

However, the defragmentation report "list" is empty.
I've never encountered this before. Is there anything I can or should do to
"fix" this defrag process?

PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

 

[JD]

I appreciate the link. Being a non-guru, however, I'm a little daunted by
the procedure described therein. I will take some time to study it. Thanks
again.

Here's the message after running Defrag:
Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

However, the defragmentation report "list" is empty.
I've never encountered this before. Is there anything I can or should do
to
"fix" this defrag process?

PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

 

[JD]

If I read the defrag report correctly, it is only the page file that is
fragmented. I've no idea how important its being fragmented is.
I wonder what the "experts" at this newsgroup think of the following advice
from Ed Bott et al.:
"Like many Windows utilities, Disk Defragmenter offers a basic set of
features that are sufficient for average users. If you want more bells and
whistles, you'll need to pay extra for a third-party alternative. Your
easiest choice is Executive Software's Diskeeper utility
(http://www.diskeeper.com), which is a full-featured version of the exact
same utility bundled with Windows XP. The full version allows you to
schedule continuous defragmentation in the background and also allows you to
perform boot-time defragmentation of the page file, which the built-in
Windows utility doesn't touch."
(Windows XP Inside Out, Second Edition, page 1087)

Here is the defrag report:
Volume (C
Volume size = 76.33 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 13.03 GB
Free space = 63.30 GB
Percent free space = 82 %
Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation
Total files = 59,550
Average file size = 264 KB
Total fragmented files = 1
Total excess fragments = 4
Average fragments per file = 1.00
Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 768 MB
Total fragments = 1
Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 4,546
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0
Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 142 MB
MFT record count = 64,206
Percent MFT in use = 44 %
Total MFT fragments = 3
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
None

Here's the message after running Defrag:
Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

However, the defragmentation report "list" is empty.
I've never encountered this before. Is there anything I can or should do
to
"fix" this defrag process?

PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

 

[Carmel]

I appreciate the link. Being a non-guru, however, I'm a little daunted by
the procedure described therein. I will take some time to study it. Thanks
again.


PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

If you want to go the commercial route, the is PerfectDisk
<http://www.perfectdisk.com/>. It is a far more robust utility than the
Microsoft application. It has a beta product available. Perhaps you could get
in on that and grab a free copy of the program.

 

[Jose]

If I read the defrag report correctly, it is only the page file that is
fragmented. I've no idea how important its being fragmented is.
I wonder what the "experts" at this newsgroup think of the following advice
from Ed Bott et al.:
"Like many Windows utilities, Disk Defragmenter offers a basic set of
features that are sufficient for average users. If you want more bells and
whistles, you'll need to pay extra for a third-party alternative. Your
easiest choice is Executive Software's Diskeeper utility
(http://www.diskeeper.com), which is a full-featured version of the exact
same utility bundled with Windows XP. The full version allows you to
schedule continuous defragmentation in the background and also allows youto
perform boot-time defragmentation of the page file, which the built-in
Windows utility doesn't touch."
(Windows XP Inside Out, Second Edition, page 1087)

Here is the defrag report:
Volume (C
Volume size = 76.33 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 13.03 GB
Free space = 63.30 GB
Percent free space = 82 %
Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation
Total files = 59,550
Average file size = 264 KB
Total fragmented files = 1
Total excess fragments = 4
Average fragments per file = 1.00
Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 768 MB
Total fragments = 1
Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 4,546
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0
Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 142 MB
MFT record count = 64,206
Percent MFT in use = 44 %
Total MFT fragments = 3
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
None





PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

That report looks pretty good. I don't want to open the XP defragment
can of worms here.

The MS defrag is a slimmed down version of Diskeeper. I just use the
XP defrag and PageDefrag, and rarely. I also don't want anything
extra running in the background "monitoring" my system cosuming CPU
ticks or memory that I can use someplace else.

Here is a good article:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc302206.aspx

Even if a file is all in one piece, that one piece itself is still
technically a fragment.

Sometimes people are worried about pagefile fragmentation and how to
eliminate it. PageDefrag will do it but you can also do it yourself
for a better psychological good feeling that it has really been done.

You can defrag your pagefile (or any file) with 100% certainty by
deleting it and recreating it.

It is easy to create a new pagefile, but before you do make note of
the current settings because you are
going to be changing them. Unless you know more about managing memory
that XP, the settings are usually
best when set to "System managed size".

1. Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced"
tab, in the "Performance"
section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory"
make a note of the current
settings, section select "Change". Change the values to 0. Click OK,
etc.

2. Delete c:\pagefile.sys

If you cannot see the pagefile.sys, in Explorer, click View, Folder
Options, tick "Show hidden files
and folders" and UNtick Hide extensions for known file types. Now you
should be able to find
pagefile.sys. Delete it.

3. Reboot Windows and verify pagefile.sys is really gone.

4. Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced"
tab, in the "Performance"
section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory"
section select "Change".
Change the values to System managed sizeor whatever they were from a
manual setting. Click
OK, etc.

5. Reboot Windows

Double check the settings again and also check to be sure c:
\pagefile.sys has been recreated
with the current date and time.

 

[JD]

The PageDefrag utility shows the page file and all other system files with 1
fragment. Does this not mean that the page file is, in fact, not
"fragmented"?
BTW, my page file is dated 4/3/2004 and its settings are 768 and 1536,
apparently the default with 512 MB of RAM.

If I read the defrag report correctly, it is only the page file that is
fragmented. I've no idea how important its being fragmented is.
I wonder what the "experts" at this newsgroup think of the following
advice
from Ed Bott et al.:
"Like many Windows utilities, Disk Defragmenter offers a basic set of
features that are sufficient for average users. If you want more bells and
whistles, you'll need to pay extra for a third-party alternative. Your
easiest choice is Executive Software's Diskeeper utility
(http://www.diskeeper.com), which is a full-featured version of the exact
same utility bundled with Windows XP. The full version allows you to
schedule continuous defragmentation in the background and also allows you
to
perform boot-time defragmentation of the page file, which the built-in
Windows utility doesn't touch."
(Windows XP Inside Out, Second Edition, page 1087)

Here is the defrag report:
Volume (C
Volume size = 76.33 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 13.03 GB
Free space = 63.30 GB
Percent free space = 82 %
Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation
Total files = 59,550
Average file size = 264 KB
Total fragmented files = 1
Total excess fragments = 4
Average fragments per file = 1.00
Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 768 MB
Total fragments = 1
Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 4,546
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0
Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 142 MB
MFT record count = 64,206
Percent MFT in use = 44 %
Total MFT fragments = 3
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
None





PageDefrag will fix you up.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

That report looks pretty good. I don't want to open the XP defragment
can of worms here.

The MS defrag is a slimmed down version of Diskeeper. I just use the
XP defrag and PageDefrag, and rarely. I also don't want anything
extra running in the background "monitoring" my system cosuming CPU
ticks or memory that I can use someplace else.

Here is a good article:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc302206.aspx

Even if a file is all in one piece, that one piece itself is still
technically a fragment.

Sometimes people are worried about pagefile fragmentation and how to
eliminate it. PageDefrag will do it but you can also do it yourself
for a better psychological good feeling that it has really been done.

You can defrag your pagefile (or any file) with 100% certainty by
deleting it and recreating it.

It is easy to create a new pagefile, but before you do make note of
the current settings because you are
going to be changing them. Unless you know more about managing memory
that XP, the settings are usually
best when set to "System managed size".

1. Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced"
tab, in the "Performance"
section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory"
make a note of the current
settings, section select "Change". Change the values to 0. Click OK,
etc.

2. Delete c:\pagefile.sys

If you cannot see the pagefile.sys, in Explorer, click View, Folder
Options, tick "Show hidden files
and folders" and UNtick Hide extensions for known file types. Now you
should be able to find
pagefile.sys. Delete it.

3. Reboot Windows and verify pagefile.sys is really gone.

4. Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced"
tab, in the "Performance"
section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory"
section select "Change".
Change the values to System managed sizeor whatever they were from a
manual setting. Click
OK, etc.

5. Reboot Windows

Double check the settings again and also check to be sure c:
\pagefile.sys has been recreated
with the current date and time.

 

[JD]

I moved my page file to an external drive, then ran Defrag on that drive. It
reported it clean, with no files that "could not be defragmented."
We've been assuming all along that it was the page file that was fragmented.
However, I suspect that the cause of the Defrag "failures" lies somewhere
else. Allow me to explain. It is my understanding that the Windows XP Defrag
utility does not defragment files in the Recycle Bin, the page file, the
Bootsect.dos, Safeboot.csv, Memory.dmp, among others. Therefore it should
not report that it was "unable" to defragment these files, since it doesn't
even try.
When Defrag finishes, it says,
"Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files."
This implies that there are "some files" that it should be able to defrag,
but for some unknown reason is unable to do.
The bottom pane of the "report" is empty. It identifies no files. So the
question is what files is Defrag unable to defragment, and why?
The only changes made to my system prior to this occuring are the removal of
CA Anti-virus and the installation of Microsoft Security Essentials.
Is is possible that there are some files associated with MSE that the defrag
utility cannot access?
I have two files in the Windows/Mini-dump folder. I don't know what that
means (perhaps someone will enlighten me), but might they be the villains of
the piece?
I'm really stumped, and in need of "expert" advice.

 

[Jose]

I moved my page file to an external drive, then ran Defrag on that drive.It
reported it clean, with no files that "could not be defragmented."
We've been assuming all along that it was the page file that was fragmented.
However, I suspect that the cause of the Defrag "failures" lies somewhere
else. Allow me to explain. It is my understanding that the Windows XP Defrag
utility does not defragment files in the Recycle Bin, the page file, the
Bootsect.dos, Safeboot.csv, Memory.dmp, among others. Therefore it should
not report that it was "unable" to defragment these files, since it doesn't
even try.
When Defrag finishes, it says,
"Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files."
This implies that there are "some files" that it should be able to defrag,
but for some unknown reason is unable to do.
The bottom pane of the "report" is empty. It identifies no files. So the
question is what files is Defrag unable to defragment, and why?
The only changes made to my system prior to this occuring are the removalof
CA Anti-virus and the installation of Microsoft Security Essentials.
Is is possible that there are some files associated with MSE that the defrag
utility cannot access?
I have two files in the Windows/Mini-dump folder. I don't know what that
means (perhaps someone will enlighten me), but might they be the villainsof
the piece?
I'm really stumped, and in need of "expert" advice.

"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message

While you are waiting for experts:

Did you get that list of files from a source that applies to XP or
some other Windows OS (like 2000). That list seems to show up in a
lot of places - even the Vista and Windows 7 notes with no reasonable
explanation.

I follow the methods outlined and my report shows zero fragments when
I use the tools properly.

Do you have any of those files on your system? If you think they are
an issue, figure out what they are and decide if you can delete them
or not.

Sometimes I have files in my Recycle Bin and there is no issue or
complaining with defrag.

It will not defrag files that are in use - like the pagefile.sys and
hiberfil.sys, but they can be defragmented with 100% certainty by
removing them and recreating a new file. That is where PageDefrag or
the other instructions come in. Sometimes it is annoying to people
when the PF will not defrag or they think (or somebody told them) it
is the cause of their performance woes, but that can be remedied.

The memory dump files are generated (generally) when you have a BSOD
(Blue Screen of Death). They are useful for pinpointing the cause of
the BSOD, so if you have no interest in them, they are expendable. If
you don't like them and think they are a problem, delete them. I
don't see why defrag would exclude them in the modern world.

I want to see my report say zero fragments everywhere and will make it
so without extraordinary methods - the simple methods work fine. It
is annoying to have any unresolvable fragmentation in the report.

On my 5+ year old XP installation, a very cluttered Recycle Bin, 127
old crash dump files, none of the other files in your list can be
found, a general XP defrag and a PageDefrag, my report looks like
this:

Volume (C
Volume size = 37.26 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 12.70 GB
Free space = 24.56 GB
Percent free space = 39 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 30,984
Average file size = 387 KB
Total fragmented files = 0
Total excess fragments = 0
Average fragments per file = 0.00

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1536 MB
Total fragments = 0

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 3,918
Fragmented folders = 0
Excess folder fragments = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 94 MB
MFT record count = 31,444
Percent MFT in use = 12 %
Total MFT fragments = 0

 

[JD]

Jose, I appreciate your patience with me in this matter. I ran PageDefrag,
then Windows Defrag, but the result was the same as before. Checking with
PageDefrag again, I found the same list of 10 files (page file and nine from
System32) all showing the number "1" in the right column.
Here's the Windows Defrag report AFTER running PageDefrag. Did it just not
work, or did I do something wrong?
Volume (C
Volume size = 76.33 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 13.13 GB
Free space = 63.20 GB
Percent free space = 82 %
Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation
Total files = 59,523
Average file size = 266 KB
Total fragmented files = 1
Total excess fragments = 4
Average fragments per file = 1.00
Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 768 MB
Total fragments = 1
Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 4,545
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0
Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 142 MB
MFT record count = 64,188
Percent MFT in use = 44 %
Total MFT fragments = 3
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
None

I moved my page file to an external drive, then ran Defrag on that drive.
It
reported it clean, with no files that "could not be defragmented."
We've been assuming all along that it was the page file that was
fragmented.
However, I suspect that the cause of the Defrag "failures" lies somewhere
else. Allow me to explain. It is my understanding that the Windows XP
Defrag
utility does not defragment files in the Recycle Bin, the page file, the
Bootsect.dos, Safeboot.csv, Memory.dmp, among others. Therefore it should
not report that it was "unable" to defragment these files, since it
doesn't
even try.
When Defrag finishes, it says,
"Defragmentation is complete for: (C
Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files."
This implies that there are "some files" that it should be able to defrag,
but for some unknown reason is unable to do.
The bottom pane of the "report" is empty. It identifies no files. So the
question is what files is Defrag unable to defragment, and why?
The only changes made to my system prior to this occuring are the removal
of
CA Anti-virus and the installation of Microsoft Security Essentials.
Is is possible that there are some files associated with MSE that the
defrag
utility cannot access?
I have two files in the Windows/Mini-dump folder. I don't know what that
means (perhaps someone will enlighten me), but might they be the villains
of
the piece?
I'm really stumped, and in need of "expert" advice.

"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message

While you are waiting for experts:

Did you get that list of files from a source that applies to XP or
some other Windows OS (like 2000). That list seems to show up in a
lot of places - even the Vista and Windows 7 notes with no reasonable
explanation.

I follow the methods outlined and my report shows zero fragments when
I use the tools properly.

Do you have any of those files on your system? If you think they are
an issue, figure out what they are and decide if you can delete them
or not.

Sometimes I have files in my Recycle Bin and there is no issue or
complaining with defrag.

It will not defrag files that are in use - like the pagefile.sys and
hiberfil.sys, but they can be defragmented with 100% certainty by
removing them and recreating a new file. That is where PageDefrag or
the other instructions come in. Sometimes it is annoying to people
when the PF will not defrag or they think (or somebody told them) it
is the cause of their performance woes, but that can be remedied.

The memory dump files are generated (generally) when you have a BSOD
(Blue Screen of Death). They are useful for pinpointing the cause of
the BSOD, so if you have no interest in them, they are expendable. If
you don't like them and think they are a problem, delete them. I
don't see why defrag would exclude them in the modern world.

I want to see my report say zero fragments everywhere and will make it
so without extraordinary methods - the simple methods work fine. It
is annoying to have any unresolvable fragmentation in the report.

On my 5+ year old XP installation, a very cluttered Recycle Bin, 127
old crash dump files, none of the other files in your list can be
found, a general XP defrag and a PageDefrag, my report looks like
this:

Volume (C
Volume size = 37.26 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 12.70 GB
Free space = 24.56 GB
Percent free space = 39 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 0 %
File fragmentation = 0 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 30,984
Average file size = 387 KB
Total fragmented files = 0
Total excess fragments = 0
Average fragments per file = 0.00

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1536 MB
Total fragments = 0

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 3,918
Fragmented folders = 0
Excess folder fragments = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 94 MB
MFT record count = 31,444
Percent MFT in use = 12 %
Total MFT fragments = 0

 

[JD]

This thread began because I was getting "some files couldn't be
defragmented" messages after running Windows Defrag. The "report" pane was
always empty, and it was mystifying. At the suggestion of several posters, I
deleted, resized, recreated and defragged my pagefile (via PageDefrag), all
to no avail. I think I may have found the "answer," and it might be helpful
to others with similar experience. Note that I had recently installed
Microsoft Security Essentials--and that I had noticed the USN Journal being
checked by Chkdsk. This from the Piriform (CCleaner) forums:

That "some files couldn't be defragmented" issue from my experience was the
result of some software enabling the USN Journal on the system that
previously didn't have it - no Piriform software to my knowledge ever
enables it. Sure you can remove the USN Journal but from what I've read with
negative effects. Some antivirus software ("Microsoft Security Essentials,
etc.") require it to be active, so even if you remove it, they'll just
re-enable it.
Edit: And worrying about MFT fragmentation, well I have a freshly rebuilt
system and within one day the MFT had three fragments. Nothing to even be
concerned about since it will happen anyways.

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?s=e4b4b699ff295c10219c924df2c3da5d&showtopic=26586