Help - Looking to defrag folders under XP

[BD]

Hi, all.

I have 2 different external USB hard disks, one 3.5" under NTFS, and
one 2.5" under FAT32. I'm running XP SP2.

I really want to be able to occasionally defrag the folders on these
disks, to get them all on the same place on the disk.

I read a thread in an experts-exchange forum about XP not allowing
that kind of access under any circumstances, but Win9x allowing that
kind of direct access to the disk.

I do have a boot floppy running a Win98 command shell, and direct
support for USB hard disks on my mainboard. So I *can* access the disk
at the command shell level.

I just need to track down a tool which will do folder defrags at the
command prompt.

As to NTFS access, I believe I should be able to find some kind of
boot disk driver which would allow a 9x boot floppy to access NTFS Not
sure about that, though.

I'm really just looking to defrag folders from a 9x command shell.
That's step 1.

Any pointers greatly appreciated - this is something I've been looking
to work out for awhile, and would prefer to not have to install a full
9x OS to make it work...

Thanks!

BD

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hi, all.

I have 2 different external USB hard disks, one 3.5" under NTFS, and
one 2.5" under FAT32. I'm running XP SP2.

I really want to be able to occasionally defrag the folders on these
disks, to get them all on the same place on the disk.

I read a thread in an experts-exchange forum about XP not allowing
that kind of access under any circumstances, but Win9x allowing that
kind of direct access to the disk.

Huh? Why would XP not allow low-level acces? Because the drives are
marked as removable?

I do have a boot floppy running a Win98 command shell, and direct
support for USB hard disks on my mainboard. So I *can* access the disk
at the command shell level.

I just need to track down a tool which will do folder defrags at the
command prompt.

As to NTFS access, I believe I should be able to find some kind of
boot disk driver which would allow a 9x boot floppy to access NTFS Not
sure about that, though.

And you might run into version conflicts and other stuff.

I'm really just looking to defrag folders from a 9x command shell.
That's step 1.

Any pointers greatly appreciated - this is something I've been looking
to work out for awhile, and would prefer to not have to install a full
9x OS to make it work...

Why do you want to do this in the first place? USB HDDs are pretty
slow anyways. If you really have a speed issue, I would recomend
removing the disks from the enclosures fro defrag and attaching them
directly.

Arno

 

[Harry]

Hi, all.

I have 2 different external USB hard disks, one 3.5" under NTFS, and
one 2.5" under FAT32. I'm running XP SP2.

I really want to be able to occasionally defrag the folders on these
disks, to get them all on the same place on the disk.

How to Defragment Your Disk Drive Volumes in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848

 

[Rod Speed]

How to Defragment Your Disk Drive Volumes in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848

Volumes aint folders.

 

[Rod Speed]

BD wrote

I have 2 different external USB hard disks, one 3.5" under
NTFS, and one 2.5" under FAT32. I'm running XP SP2.

I really want to be able to occasionally defrag the folders on
these disks, to get them all on the same place on the disk.

Why ? Modern drives seek so fast that you wont
even be able to pick it in a proper double blind trial.

I read a thread in an experts-exchange forum about XP
not allowing that kind of access under any circumstances,

Thats just plain wrong.

but Win9x allowing that kind of direct access to the disk.

So does XP if the defragger wants to do that.

I do have a boot floppy running a Win98 command shell,
and direct support for USB hard disks on my mainboard.
So I *can* access the disk at the command shell level.

I just need to track down a tool which will do folder defrags at the command prompt.

No one bothers, because its pointless.

As to NTFS access, I believe I should be able to find some
kind of boot disk driver which would allow a 9x boot floppy
to access NTFS Not sure about that, though.

Yes, that is correct.

I'm really just looking to defrag folders from a 9x command shell.
That's step 1.

Why bother ?

Any pointers greatly appreciated -

Dont bother.

this is something I've been looking to work out for awhile, and
would prefer to not have to install a full 9x OS to make it work...

You may find a defragger that runs under XP that does that.

 

[BD]

No one bothers, because its pointless.

Not completely pointless.

The Windows explorer 'alternative' that I use (Directory Opus) has an
option which I like to use, for showing the total space used for each
folder when browsing right off the root of the drive. It scans the
folders and shows how much is in each subdirectory.

When I select my 500GB Lacie external disk, the app spends about 20
seconds rattling around scanning the folders to add up the space
totals. I'm *almost* sure if I were to consolidate the folders close
to the MFT, that process would be quicker and quieter.

It's like doing the 'tree' DOS program off the root of a disk when its
folders are all scattered across the disk, and then after doing it
again after consolidating the folders. Makes a massive difference.

For my internal disks, I agree, I don't care - because they're faster
and quieter anyway. But for this one disk, I think it would help.

 

[BD]

Huh? Why would XP not allow low-level acces? Because the drives are
marked as removable?

Here's the thread. It's a pretty old thread by this point, but XP is
still XP, and these folks seem pretty certain about what they're on
about.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_20323201.html

Why do you want to do this in the first place?

I posted my interest in this as a response to another posting. For
*most* usage of my disks, I agree it's of no use. But when I use
Directory Opus with the 'automatic folder size total', it basically
grinds and grinds on the disk for about 30 seconds while it scans that
disk (presumably the folders). I'm sure if I *could* consolidate the
folders, this would speed up.

Maybe I'll set up a VMware machine with 9x, see if I can pass control
of the USB disk to the 9x VM (think you need to pass control of USB
storage devices to either the host or the VM, not both at once), and
run a defrag under 9x, which apparently does support the folder
consolidation.

Or, I could get myself caught up with a few 500G disks on a SATA
machine with a mainboard newer than 6 years old, ditch the external
disk altogether and basically get with the program again. ;-) But for
now, what I gots is what I gots.

 

[H. P. Holm]

The Windows explorer 'alternative' that I use (Directory Opus) has an
option which I like to use, for showing the total space used for each
folder when browsing right off the root of the drive. It scans the
folders and shows how much is in each subdirectory.

When I select my 500GB Lacie external disk, the app spends about 20
seconds rattling around scanning the folders to add up the space
totals. I'm *almost* sure if I were to consolidate the folders close
to the MFT, that process would be quicker and quieter.

Applications like that behave so.
<http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/> will spend 40 seconds doing its thing
on my C:\ drive and even longer on external drives, but it is cool anyway!

 

[Ed Light]

I like to defrag my extenals with "jkdefrag GUI". It has several
settings. Basically it likes to defrag everything, then arrange the
folders at the start and then a gap for temp files and then the
frequently used files and then a gap for temp files and then the large
and infrequently used files. Of course if you use the jkdefrag command
line utility you may be able to choose a finer task.

--
Ed Light

Better World News TV Channel:
http://realnews.com

Bring the Troops Home:
http://bringthemhomenow.org
http://antiwar.com

Iraq Veterans Against the War:
http://ivaw.org
http://couragetoresist.org

Send spam to the FTC at
(e-mail address removed)
Thanks, robots.

 

[BD]

Look into this program. I believe there is a demo version of it here. It has a
defrag all files in a specific folder option.

Ultimate Defrag 2008

Info herehttp://www.disktrix.com/UDIntroduction.htm

Download trial version herehttp://www.disktrix.com/UDTrials.htm- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That looks promising. Claims to consolidate folders right by the MFT.
Not clear whether that requires boot-time operation or whether it
could be done while the OS is fully up. But I'll find out soon enough!

Thanks for that!

 

[Ed Light]

Here, this can defrag whatever you list to it:

http://www.kessels.com/Jkdefrag/
--
Ed Light

Better World News TV Channel:
http://realnews.com

Bring the Troops Home:
http://bringthemhomenow.org
http://antiwar.com

Iraq Veterans Against the War:
http://ivaw.org
http://couragetoresist.org

Send spam to the FTC at
(e-mail address removed)
Thanks, robots.

 

[BD]

I briefly had a look at some of the front-ends for that tool. But
before I could get a close enough look at it, I tried the tool that
GMAN was mentioning.

Seems to work like a charm!!

I may still look at the JK tool, but for now, I've done the business
on that USB disk of mine, and I'm happy.

Thanks, all!