Defrag in XP

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I use Perfect Disk to defrag my XP system but my son doesn't want to have to
buy the software. Are there any free ones available that anyone can recommend
for his XP PC? Thanks.
 
Yes, am aware of that one in Windows but I read somewhere that it is not as
efficient. Do you know anything about that? Joan
 
-----Original Message-----
Yes, am aware of that one in Windows but I read
somewhere that it is not as
efficient. Do you know anything about that? Joan
Click to expand...

Define "efficient". Various defraggers have various
algorithms and claim theirs is best. (And each can be
shown to be best for some given scenario.) Some have a
few features that the Windows tool doesn't have but the
limits of the included tool aren't severe for most people.
 
=?Utf-8?B?Sm9hblJN?= said:
Yes, am aware of that one in Windows but I read somewhere that it is not as
efficient. Do you know anything about that? Joan
Click to expand...

I am more and more tending to believe that except for extreme cases,
such as just having finished installing SP2, but otherwise for the
average user I really doubt anyone could detect the difference in
speed before versus after a defrag. The latest issue of one of the
PC magazines had a comment in it to the effect, for the average user
don't waste your time defragging the disk again and again and again.
Thus I really doubt you could tell the difference between a "more"
and a "less" efficient defrag tool.

I do realize this is a religious issue with many and they are out
there defragging their drive every twenty minutes, absolutely sure
that this is making a difference. But I'd bet money on a good
double blind test that they could never tell the difference.

If anyone has any *real data* to the contrary I'd love to see it.

And, this doesn't say that SP2 having sledge hammered your disk
won't then improve with one defrag, although I'd like some real data
to see just how much difference the defrag really makes there.
 
Hi,

You really only need to defrag maybe once every 2 weeks or
every month. If you tend to download a lot of stuff and
delete them when your done, then your HDD will have a lot
of fragmented files. If you installed a bunch of programs
then later uninstalled them, that will also leave gaps.
If you don`t really download/delete, install/uninstall a
lot, then defraging once a month is enough. Windows built-
in defrag tool is good enough for that.

Jeff
 
I use Perfect Disk to defrag my XP system but my son doesn't want to have to
buy the software. Are there any free ones available that anyone can recommend
for his XP PC? Thanks.
Click to expand...


Want everything for nothing eh?

Want a good one with extra features then pay for it.

Want a free one...Use the one in XP
 
Perfect Disk has a modest pricing for Home users, around $45.00 US.

As to it's effectiveness, Once you do a comprehensive Off-line and GUI
defrag - Perfect Disk prevents future fragmentation, due to it's integration
with XP's Prefetch/Layout.Ini. It does an excellent job of using XP's
Layout.Ini to place critical system files in an optimal location on the
drive.

It can be scheduled, so it will take care of your drives without doing a
manual
session. Usually, a full defrag once a week is sufficient and won't take but
a
few minutes to complete.

I believe there is sufficient testing to prove that a defragmented hard
drive
performs better. The "Perfect"example is the noticeable loss of performance
after installing Service Pack 2.
 
JoanRM said:
Yes, am aware of that one in Windows but I read somewhere that it is not as
efficient. Do you know anything about that? Joan
Click to expand...

If you want the efficiency of Perfect Disk (or Disk Keeper,, though I
prefer PD) you have to pay for it
 
Out of curiosity, why do you prefer PerfectDisk to Diskeeper? I have used
both and like both. I have also used the native XP defragger. Frankly, I
can't tell which one works best in terms of disk performance, except that PD
takes a whole lot longer than the other two programs to defrag the drive.

TIA
Ken
 
I have experienced PD6 to be a lot faster and more efficient than other
defragmenters. Plus PerfectDisk has the ability to defrag the directories
which I have found to greatly speed up XP.
hth
Kristi
 
Ken said:
Out of curiosity, why do you prefer PerfectDisk to Diskeeper? I have used
both and like both. I have also used the native XP defragger.
Click to expand...

Two reasons: One Perfect disk does not require a lot of free space on
the drive in order to run. And also it does a good job of consolidating
free space. I regard that as a major point in a defrag, and Diskeeper
people (they may have changed) were saying not needed and not doing it
 
Thanks. Free space isn't an issue for me, but your point about free space
consolidation reminds me of why I have primariliy used PD rather than
Diskeeper (although I like Diskeeper as well).
 
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