Defrag problems

[Ray Shults]

The number of fragmented files that defrag says it cant move is now half my used drive space. Defrag keeps telling me the drive needs defraging but cant move the files. Most of them are realed ti the games I play, such as world of warcraft.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Get Perfect Disk 8.0.

It's a far better tool than Microsoft's Defragmenter.

DSH


The number of fragmented files that defrag says it cant move is now half my
used drive space. Defrag keeps telling me the drive needs defraging but
cant move the files. Most of them are realed ti the games I play, such as
world of warcraft.

 

[Alec S.]

The number of fragmented files that defrag says it cant move is now half my used drive space. Defrag keeps telling me the drive

needs defraging but cant move the files. Most of them are realed ti the games I play, such as world of warcraft.

Try closing everything before defragmenting. Shut down all applications, quit everything running in the tray, stop all services,
kill any non-system software in the task manager (including Explorer). Now, using the task manager, run the defrag (dfrg.msc), and
see if that helps.

There should not however be a problem with that many files, especially with game files when you're not playnig them. They cannot be
in use, so that's not it. I'm pretty sure that the defragmenter can move read-only/system/hidden files if they are not in use but
if not, then that might be it. There's really no reason for game files to be system or hidden, or even read-only so you could strip
them of those attributes. Try it with a small game and see if the number of unmovables goes down.

You can also try a 3rd party defragmenter. I like VoptXP, some like Diskeeper, and there are free ones available as well.


HTH

 

[Pop`]

The number of fragmented files that defrag says it cant move is now
half my used drive space. Defrag keeps telling me the drive needs
defraging but cant move the files. Most of them are realed ti the
games I play, such as world of warcraft.

Try it from Safe Mode. If that doesn't work, you'll need a 3rd party program. Games often use non-relocatable files.

Pop`

 

[Alec S.]

The number of fragmented files that defrag says it cant move is now
half my used drive space. Defrag keeps telling me the drive needs
defraging but cant move the files. Most of them are realed ti the
games I play, such as world of warcraft.

Try it from Safe Mode. If that doesn't work, you'll need a 3rd party program. Games often use non-relocatable files.


Yes, safe mode is a good idea. What exactly do you mean by games use non-relocatable files? Do you mean read-only? The
defragmenter should be able to move read-only files.

One reason a game file could not be moved however is if it's big (game files are often very big these days) and there isn't enough
space.

 

[Pop`]

Try it from Safe Mode. If that doesn't work, you'll need a 3rd party
program. Games often use non-relocatable files.


Yes, safe mode is a good idea. What exactly do you mean by games use
non-relocatable files? Do you mean read-only? The defragmenter
should be able to move read-only files.

One reason a game file could not be moved however is if it's big
(game files are often very big these days) and there isn't enough
space.

Some files are unomvable because the os requires them to be in the same
location all the time. An example you probably surely have is your
pagefile. Next time you have the defragger open, look at the color codes
for "unmovable files". I have three areas like that on my boot drive;
pagefile, gobackio.bin, and another I forget at the moment. They CAN be
defragged wtih 3rd party software, but not with the usual defraggers,
including the one supplied with XP. Those programs often defrag the
unmovable files during a boot process so all the links to them can also
change.
Google would have a lot of info on that.

Pop`

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Get PerfectDisk v. 8.0. Build 30.

It's a winner.

They even have a trial-period offer.

DSH