The 'new' disk defragmenter...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

....is far below my expectation's. Is there anyway to even see the progress?
And where'd the analyse option go?

No sir, i don't like this at all >_>
 
No way to view progress. They did away with things that were not accurate.
It just does its job and does it well.
 
Sphynx said:
...is far below my expectation's. Is there anyway to even see the
progress?
And where'd the analyse option go?

No sir, i don't like this at all >_>
Click to expand...

I used to find the graphical defrag quite useful. Sadly, it is no longer
there.
 
Hi,

Part of the design change is that users didn't want to just sit there and
watch, afraid to touch the machine for fear of having to restart the process
while the defragger ran. It simply does what it needs to do in the
background while you continue on your use of the system. After all, you
didn't buy it to just sit and watch the hard drive being logically
rearranged. If you want pretty graphics and a reinstallation of that fealing
of awe-inspiring wonder as the blocks are shifted, you can use a third party
program. Frankly, defragging is overrated and is overused by the majority.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Rick

Nobody bought a computer for that, but it is scary when you learn the kind
of numbers who were transfixed by Defrag.. as long as the user could see it
happen, it must have happened, even though the visual was not exactly
accurate.. you may remember the fuss caused by XP defrag not shuffling every
space out of the visual.. users were asking why XP defrag wasn't as good as
the Win 98 version..
 
How do you know it does the job well?

Byron Hinson said:
No way to view progress. They did away with things that were not accurate.
It just does its job and does it well.
Click to expand...
 
just use the command line DEFRAG. and youll get the benefit of control.
the -a switch does an analysis only
the -w switch does a "full" defragmentation... by default, windows defrag
doesnt defrag file fragments smaller then 64MB! thats a big fragment! by
using -w EVERY fragment if defrag'd
 
You don't see any user interface now, it just gets on with the job in the
background.

If you want something you can 'watch' then change to an alternative disk
defragmenter, such as PerfectDisk 8.0. PerfectDisk is far superior and i
have used it for quite a few years now.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
 
You would believe it more if it told you "I am doing a good job, just look
at these neat graphics I can draw!"?

-Frank
 
...is far below my expectation's. Is there anyway to even see the progress?
And where'd the analyse option go?

No sir, i don't like this at all >_>
Click to expand...

There are Vista versions now for both PerfectDisk and O&O Defrag.
 
What a bogus argument. It is not about pretty graphics, it is about knowing
the state of your hard drive. Is it fragmented, does it need to be
defragmented, approximately how long until the defrag is complete, etc.

Instead of fixing their defrag app MS opted to hide it. Not a brilliant
solution IMO.

--
Leo

When I was young and adventurous, I wanted to join a violent,
armed group with no regard for the law, but the IRS wasn't hiring.
 
Leo said:
... does it need to be defragmented ....
Click to expand...

Isn't it enough that it tells you in words: your disk does not need
defragmenting ?

If it's going to do the job in the background who needs graphics? How
accurate are time estimates anyway (and I don't remember ever getting
any with Norton, Diskkeeper or with XP)

And I used to like watching all those blocks moving around <g>
 
Hi Mike,

I know there will be those that just want to see the defragger, it's human
nature. To me, it's also a waste of time to sit there watching it work when
a machine should be being used for work, gaming, or whatever you bought it
for, and for a fair percentage of users the defrag function doesn't really
do much to improve performance. I mean, if people want to watch blocks
moving there are plenty of screensavers that'll do that. I recall all the
whining I would hear when I told Win98 users that they had to kill all
processes and the screensaver, and stop using the system in order for defrag
to complete. Now it runs as a barely perceptible background process and
people want to sit there and watch it. Talk about your non-sequitors.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
It is interesting to see the replies here saying, of the defragmenter, "It's
not about the graphics..." and so on. I seems to me that the graphics is all
Vista is about!

I made a big mistake. I did not uninstall Diskeeper and other utilities
before running the Vista Business upgrade. As a result, Diskeeper apparently
prevented the Windows defragmenter from installing. I have uninstalled
Diskeeper, but I cannot get to Windows defragmenter. Amazingly, here is the
message I get when I try to defrag:

"The Disk Defragmenter is not installed on your computer. To install it,
double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon in Control Panel, click the
Install/Uninstall tab, and then follow the instructions on your screen."

Of course, those of you using Vista know THERE IS NO ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
ICON anymore (Oops! Someone didn't get the word eh?). And Programs and
Features doesn't even list defragmenter as an option to add or remove.
Should I just rerun the Vista setup? Its a little scary since I have other
"activation-required" programs like Adobe Photoshop CS2 ($650!!!) on this
computer.

I learned from others here that I can't run a clean install from the Upgrade
version, so that wasn't an option for me--although it would have been my
first choice otherwise.

Is my XP Pro product key really deactivated? Or can I reformat and install
XP from scratch, and then call Big Bro Microsoft for an activation? Mama
told me to wait for SP1. Why didn't I listen?
 
In message <[email protected]> "Troy
McClure said:
just use the command line DEFRAG. and youll get the benefit of control.
the -a switch does an analysis only
the -w switch does a "full" defragmentation... by default, windows defrag
doesnt defrag file fragments smaller then 64MB! thats a big fragment! by
using -w EVERY fragment if defrag'd
Click to expand...


Smaller, or bigger?

In general files that frequently accessed at the ones you really need to
defrag, a file that is accessed multiple times an hour that is in two
fragments will have a far worse effect on performance then a massive
file you only touch monthly, but happens to be in a thousand fragments.
 
In message <[email protected]> Bill
It is interesting to see the replies here saying, of the defragmenter, "It's
not about the graphics..." and so on. I seems to me that the graphics is all
Vista is about!
Click to expand...

You have misunderstood. Visually, it's about a clean, intuitive,
relatively simple (vs older versions of Windows) GUI.

Under the hood, Vista performs substantially better then WinXP on at
least two of my computers.
"The Disk Defragmenter is not installed on your computer. To install it,
double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon in Control Panel, click the
Install/Uninstall tab, and then follow the instructions on your screen."

Of course, those of you using Vista know THERE IS NO ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
ICON anymore (Oops! Someone didn't get the word eh?). And Programs and
Features doesn't even list defragmenter as an option to add or remove.
Should I just rerun the Vista setup? Its a little scary since I have other
"activation-required" programs like Adobe Photoshop CS2 ($650!!!) on this
computer.
Click to expand...

First off, make a backup of your system as-is. Worst case, you have to
restore from backup.

Next, do a repair install of Vista, or just upgrade it on top of itself.
Again, worst case you do a restore.

If that fails, do a custom install (Which will not leave your apps in a
working state), reinstall, and reactivate. Again, worst case, your
original backup can still be restored.
I learned from others here that I can't run a clean install from the Upgrade
version, so that wasn't an option for me--although it would have been my
first choice otherwise.
Click to expand...

You can do a "Custom" install, which is roughly the same thing, although
it will leave a "Windows.old" directory on your hard drive.
Is my XP Pro product key really deactivated? Or can I reformat and install
XP from scratch, and then call Big Bro Microsoft for an activation? Mama
told me to wait for SP1. Why didn't I listen?
Click to expand...

Deactivated, no -- At worst, you have to phone.
 
Bill said:
It is interesting to see the replies here saying, of the defragmenter,
"It's
not about the graphics..." and so on. I seems to me that the graphics is
all
Vista is about!
Click to expand...

Then you haven't looked very much under the hood and kicked the tires. It's
much more than the eye candy.
I made a big mistake. I did not uninstall Diskeeper and other utilities
before running the Vista Business upgrade. As a result, Diskeeper
apparently
prevented the Windows defragmenter from installing. I have uninstalled
Diskeeper, but I cannot get to Windows defragmenter. Amazingly, here is
the
message I get when I try to defrag:

"The Disk Defragmenter is not installed on your computer. To install it,
double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon in Control Panel, click the
Install/Uninstall tab, and then follow the instructions on your screen."

Of course, those of you using Vista know THERE IS NO ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
ICON anymore (Oops! Someone didn't get the word eh?). And Programs and
Features doesn't even list defragmenter as an option to add or remove.
Should I just rerun the Vista setup? Its a little scary since I have
other
"activation-required" programs like Adobe Photoshop CS2 ($650!!!) on this
computer.
Click to expand...

I would start over again. Hopefully you did a full system backup of the XP
installaton, maybe even imaged it with a drive imaging program so you can go
back to the previous XP installation quickly. And this time remove AV
programs, firewalls, system level utilities like diskeeper, partition magic,
CD/DVD burning software, and any other software that uses drivers.
I learned from others here that I can't run a clean install from the
Upgrade
version, so that wasn't an option for me--although it would have been my
first choice otherwise.
Click to expand...

There is a recently documented way to do it, but do it at your own risk.

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201
Is my XP Pro product key really deactivated? Or can I reformat and
install
XP from scratch, and then call Big Bro Microsoft for an activation? Mama
told me to wait for SP1. Why didn't I listen?
Click to expand...

The XP license that is used as the qualifying OS for the Vista install
cannot be installed separately when Vista is installed. That's part of the
Vista license agreement. But when Vista is uninstalled, then the XP license
can be reused. It's as simple as that. You might have to call for
activation, yes.

If you have no compelling need or desire to upgrade then don't. It is not
so much SP1 to wait for but more drivers will be forth coming and more
software designed for Vista. Vista at this stage is better than XP was in
it's initial release.
 
But, that is how people were assured it was working. Now we do not see it
running and the default is to defrag all drives. For you to say users did
not want to see the progress and were "afraid" to do anything else is
balogna. I teach classes on PC and have been a tech for 40 years and never
heard the likes of that story. MS took something away that people were used
to having, and many are disappointed. Get real.
 
Back
Top