MFT fragmentation and space reservation

[Andrew Sadleir]

Knowledge Base Article 174619 describes reservation of
disk space for the MFT, as applicable to Windows 2000 and
Windows NT.
How is MFT space reservation implemented for NTFS under
Windows XP Pro? Running such a system (as a standalone
home/office PC), I note that my MFT is fragmented
(according to Windows Defrag), although this comes as
something of a surprise, given that my 114GB disk is only
about 10% full, this being about the maximum utilisation
throughout its service life.
Could this fragmentation be the result of under-
reservation, or is a certain degree of MFT fragmentation
considered 'normal' under the conditions described? I am
not currently aware of any direct consequences on
performance, but would obviously prefer to limit further
fragmentation, if possible. Availability of disk space is
not an issue, so I could afford to reserve or even
exclusively allocate generous space for the MFT.
I should say that I am about to replace the hard drive,
which is exhibiting erratic CHKDSK results, and has been
confirmed as faulty by the Manufacturer's own diagnostic
software. It is, of course, possible, that MFT
fragmentation has been a consequence of the drive
degradation. However, I would like to take the opportunity
to optimise all parameters when reinstalling my C: volume
on the new drive (which will be essentially the same
specification as the original). In particular, does the
zone reservation run-time registry parameter, as described
in KB174619 for NT4.0 SP4, have a counterpart for use with
XP Pro?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Visit http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_d.htm and scroll down to
the topic titled "Defrag on boot - Enable/Disable".

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

You might wish to consider purchasing a more powerful
and thorough defragmenter program, such as PerfectDisk,
which has the capability to defrag both the MFT and pagefile
offline.

Perfeck Disk
http://www.raxco.com/products/perfectdisk2k/more_info.cfm

Try out PerfectDisk® free, for 30-days
http://www.raxco.com/products/downloadit/perfectdisk2000_download.cfm


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Knowledge Base Article 174619 describes reservation of
| disk space for the MFT, as applicable to Windows 2000 and
| Windows NT.
| How is MFT space reservation implemented for NTFS under
| Windows XP Pro? Running such a system (as a standalone
| home/office PC), I note that my MFT is fragmented
| (according to Windows Defrag), although this comes as
| something of a surprise, given that my 114GB disk is only
| about 10% full, this being about the maximum utilisation
| throughout its service life.
| Could this fragmentation be the result of under-
| reservation, or is a certain degree of MFT fragmentation
| considered 'normal' under the conditions described? I am
| not currently aware of any direct consequences on
| performance, but would obviously prefer to limit further
| fragmentation, if possible. Availability of disk space is
| not an issue, so I could afford to reserve or even
| exclusively allocate generous space for the MFT.
| I should say that I am about to replace the hard drive,
| which is exhibiting erratic CHKDSK results, and has been
| confirmed as faulty by the Manufacturer's own diagnostic
| software. It is, of course, possible, that MFT
| fragmentation has been a consequence of the drive
| degradation. However, I would like to take the opportunity
| to optimise all parameters when reinstalling my C: volume
| on the new drive (which will be essentially the same
| specification as the original). In particular, does the
| zone reservation run-time registry parameter, as described
| in KB174619 for NT4.0 SP4, have a counterpart for use with
| XP Pro?
|