Disk Defragmenter

[Jenny]

I use a laptop at home with Windows XP Home Edition
operating system. I ran the disk defragmenter and it did
not completely defragment. It said there were files in
the volume that would not defragment. Why would this
occur and what does it mean?
Thank you, Jenny

 

[Guest]

XP never completely defragments the files in System Restore and some other system folders. It's nothing to be concerned about. XP is much more tolerant of fragmentation than previous versions. As long as you're under 10% after defrag you should consider it complete.

 

[Jenny]

Thank you Mary. I have one more quick question and please
excuse me if it sounds stupid. I am not sure how to
interpret the defrag report. So, what do I look at to see
that it is under 10%?
Thanks, Jenny

-----Original Message-----
XP never completely defragments the files in System

Restore and some other system folders. It's nothing to be
concerned about. XP is much more tolerant of
fragmentation than previous versions. As long as you're
under 10% after defrag you should consider it complete.

 

[S.Sengupta]

Hi,
There are several things you may adopt before defragmentation :-

Analyze volumes before defragmenting them >

After analyzing a volume, a dialog box tells you the percentage of
fragmented files and folders on the volume and recommends whether to
defragment the volume.

Analyze after large numbers of files are added >

Volumes might become excessively fragmented when users add a large
number of files or folders, so be sure to analyze volumes after this
happens. Generally, volumes on busy file servers should be defragmented
more often than those on single-user workstations.

Ensure that your volume has at least 15% free space>

A volume must have at least 15% free space for Disk Defragmenter to
completely and adequately defragment it. Disk Defragmenter uses this
space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has less than
15% free space, Disk Defragmenter will only partially defragment it.

Defragment after installing software or installing Windows>

Defragment volumes after installing software or after performing an
upgrade or clean install of Windows.

Disable any antivirus software

or you may do the same in safe mode.

regards,

ssg MS-MVP
pronetworks.org

 

[Plato]

I use a laptop at home with Windows XP Home Edition
operating system. I ran the disk defragmenter and it did
not completely defragment. It said there were files in
the volume that would not defragment. Why would this
occur and what does it mean?

It's not really an issue.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I use a laptop at home with Windows XP Home Edition
operating system. I ran the disk defragmenter and it did
not completely defragment. It said there were files in
the volume that would not defragment. Why would this
occur and what does it mean?

There are always a few of those around - they are in use by the system
at the time. The good commercial defragmenters provide for doing it
'off line' at the next boot. But the matter is not likely to be
serious.