Which product is the best defragger

S

Steve Carter

All,

A few weeks ago, in a discussion under the referenced subject, I asked Greg
Hayes of Raxco (makers of Perfect Disk) why Perfect Disk version 6.0 (build
26) failed to complete an offline defragmentation of the system partition on
two of my computers. After ascertaining that I had Symantec PC Anywhere Ver
10 on both machines, Greg directed my attention to this link:

http://www.raxco.com/support/windows/kb_details.cfm?kbid=387

The link references a driver that PC Anywhere loads at boot and a workaround
(setting the driver not to load) which will allow Perfect Disk to perform
it's boot time defrag. I have tested this method and it works just fine.

The method Symantec chose to load their driver is the culprit here, and it
is not a fault in Perfect Disk.

That said, I prefer Perfect Disk to Diskkeeper for a few reasons:

1) Perfect Disk defrags and consolidates NTFS directories during a regular
defrag. With Diskkeeper, this must be done offline.

2) I prefer PD's "smartplacement". I find that it minimizes fragmentation
between defrag runs and, therefore, causes subsequent defrags to be quicker.

3) PD (at least in smartplacement mode, which I use) consolidates free space
far better than Diskkeeper unless Diskkeeper is specifically run in free
space consolidation mode.

4) I prefer PD's scheduling system.

And, as this episode demonstrates, you just can't beat Raxco's customer
service.

Steve
 
G

George Hester

I get the impression you answered your subject. Was there something else you had in mind?
 
S

Steve Carter

George,

No. I accidentally posted my message to the old thread when I meant to post
fresh. Sorry if I offended you.

Steve

I get the impression you answered your subject. Was there something else
you had in mind?
 
D

dcdon

Looks kinda like you just needed a computer psychotrist(sp?)(Maybe I should
have gone to one, then would know how to spell it.

These guys have couches, but not big on patience...
But they are good.

Try Perfect Disk.

thanks,
don
----------



All,

A few weeks ago, in a discussion under the referenced subject, I asked Greg
Hayes of Raxco (makers of Perfect Disk) why Perfect Disk version 6.0 (build
26) failed to complete an offline defragmentation of the system partition on
two of my computers. After ascertaining that I had Symantec PC Anywhere Ver
10 on both machines, Greg directed my attention to this link:

http://www.raxco.com/support/windows/kb_details.cfm?kbid=387

The link references a driver that PC Anywhere loads at boot and a workaround
(setting the driver not to load) which will allow Perfect Disk to perform
it's boot time defrag. I have tested this method and it works just fine.

The method Symantec chose to load their driver is the culprit here, and it
is not a fault in Perfect Disk.

That said, I prefer Perfect Disk to Diskkeeper for a few reasons:

1) Perfect Disk defrags and consolidates NTFS directories during a regular
defrag. With Diskkeeper, this must be done offline.

2) I prefer PD's "smartplacement". I find that it minimizes fragmentation
between defrag runs and, therefore, causes subsequent defrags to be quicker.

3) PD (at least in smartplacement mode, which I use) consolidates free space
far better than Diskkeeper unless Diskkeeper is specifically run in free
space consolidation mode.

4) I prefer PD's scheduling system.

And, as this episode demonstrates, you just can't beat Raxco's customer
service.

Steve
 
D

dcdon

I like Diskkeeper by Executive Software also.
http://www.executive.com/coverpage.asp

don
----------



George,

No question. Just posting the resolution to a previously posted problem.

Why do you prefer Norton? Although I use their products (System Works 2003,
PC Anywhere Ver 10), I think that the defragger is out of date and haven't
used it in some time. I guess it would be adequate for a FAT32 partition;
it's just not up to NTFS. It cannot defrag the MFT, System Files or
Metadata on a NTFS partition as it cannot perform an offline defrag.

If you are still strictly FAT32, I understand. I moved to NTFS for security
purposes but I REALLY miss the ability to access the drives from DOS. As
near as I can tell, the only reliable solution is about $200 from
Systernals. I haven't yet been willing to spend the money. So, for now,
it's Sys Console and Ghost 2003.

Steve

No you didn't offend me I was just trying to figure out what your question
was. I prefer Norton's defragger but as your content seemed not to be about
your subject I just asked.
 
S

s taddie

Don,

Sorry to horn in on your discussion, but sounds like you guys may be
able to help. Want to buy windows 2000 and install it for a small
office, but am confused about the difference between what seems like
regular 2000 and the server edition. Is there a difference, and can
they be used interchangeibly.

We've got a data server and 3 client machines that access data off the
server.

Thoughts??

Steve
 
G

George Hester

Hello Steve

Well actually the MFT should not be defragged. According to Microsoft it is not built defragged. There is no reason to defrag it. I have seen where it looks like it needs defragging but I trust Microsoft on this. The defragger that comes with Windows 2000 is the only one I compared Norton with on NTFS and found it to be less satisfying then Norton's. And believe me I am not a Norton protaganist. In fact I do not like any of their other products. Stopped using all others years ago. And yes it is out of date. That's a problem.

I have not tried Diskkeeper since it was made extinct by the new Windows 2000. I know they have upgraded it since then but I had other issues with it and I no longer trust them.

Yes Norton does not have a boottime defragger. But in my case that really doesn't matter. I always defrag outside of the running operating system. I have many and if I wanted to defrag this one say, I would do it from a different operating system. So boottime defragging is not an issue.

And it can't be scheduled. Well those are a small price to pay for what I believe is the best defragger. It's the one I have found that gets to almost 100% all files defragged and all the free space contiguous although it is not placed where it should be; namely at the end..
 
G

Gert B. Frob

S Taddie,

What are you running now?

Yes, there is a difference. Win 2000 Pro is designed for the desktop (stand
alone or networked) where as Win 2000/3 Server is designed to act as a
dedicated server on the network.

Win 2000 Pro machines can be networked in a workgroup, which in a small
environment, may be all you need. But, if you want to create a domain and
for a higher level of functionality and security, you would need server.

Steve
 
G

Greg Hayes/Raxco Software

George,

"Well actually the MFT should not be defragged. According to Microsoft it
is not built defragged. There is no reason to defrag it."

Where did you hear this incorrect piece of information? Can you point to a
MS knowledge base article or MS white paper that says this?

The ability to defragment the $MFT is something that Microsoft added to
their defrag APIs in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. If it was not
necessary and should not be done, then there would have been no reason for
Microsoft to add this capability.

- Greg/Raxco Software
Microsoft MVP - Windows Storage Management/File System

Disclaimer: I work for Raxco Software, the maker of PerfectDisk - a
commercial defrag utility, as a systems engineer in the support department.





Hello Steve

Well actually the MFT should not be defragged. According to Microsoft it is
not built defragged. There is no reason to defrag it. I have seen where it
looks like it needs defragging but I trust Microsoft on this. The defragger
that comes with Windows 2000 is the only one I compared Norton with on NTFS
and found it to be less satisfying then Norton's. And believe me I am not a
Norton protaganist. In fact I do not like any of their other products.
Stopped using all others years ago. And yes it is out of date. That's a
problem.

I have not tried Diskkeeper since it was made extinct by the new Windows
2000. I know they have upgraded it since then but I had other issues with
it and I no longer trust them.

Yes Norton does not have a boottime defragger. But in my case that really
doesn't matter. I always defrag outside of the running operating system. I
have many and if I wanted to defrag this one say, I would do it from a
different operating system. So boottime defragging is not an issue.

And it can't be scheduled. Well those are a small price to pay for what I
believe is the best defragger. It's the one I have found that gets to
almost 100% all files defragged and all the free space contiguous although
it is not placed where it should be; namely at the end..
 
G

Greg Hayes/Raxco Software

George,

From http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;227350

"Although you cannot defragment the MFT once it becomes fragmented using the
Disk Defragmenter"

This article says that the built-in defragmenter can not defragment these
files. It doesn't say that you should not defragment these files.

- Greg/Raxco Software
Microsoft MVP - Windows Storage Management/File System

Disclaimer: I work for Raxco Software, the maker of PerfectDisk - a
commercial defrag utility, as a systems engineer in the support department.


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;227350

and links in there. Got this page from:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;294950
 

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