Defragmenters! Which do you recommend?

[eXPeri3nc3]

My vote goes to Disk Keeper. Serves me well so far.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Rotarizer

When a HDD is turned on, the platters will spin all the time, regardless of whether the drive is in 'use' or not. The notable exception is with hybrid drives where unless non-cached data is needed, the platters are static, AFAIK. Because of this, hybrid drives are also very slow when accessing non-cached data because the platters have to spin up from stop.

As for defragging, if it is done regularly, then the overall level of fragmentation is low, and every successive defrag run lasts generally only a short time.

Take a good automatic defragger for instance. Since it runs in the background using I/O sensing, it keeps the drives optimized when necessary and when it has idle resources to tap into. After initial processing of the drive, it kicks in for merely a few minutes a day for typical usage. It does it automatically, so there is no prior planning required for off-peak times unlike with older scheduled defragmentation, saving the user/admin some time and effort.

Also, defrag is just another drive operation, no more harmful than P2P or watching a movie off the HDD, AFAIK.

Excellent reply! +rep!

[graysky]

I didn't see JKDefrag in the list. It is my all time favorite defrag program due to its power and small footprint (it's also opensource).

Have a look at it at the homepage (also download the 64-bit version is need be):

JkDefrag v3.34

[Mac Daddy]

Originally Posted by graysky

I didn't see JKDefrag in the list. It is my all time favorite defrag program due to its power and small footprint (it's also opensource).

Have a look at it at the homepage (also download the 64-bit version is need be):

JkDefrag v3.34

Haven't tried it Graysky but will give the 64 bit version a shot on my new Vista Ultimate X64 install .. Cheers

[Zenphic]

Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

Haven't tried it Graysky but will give the 64 bit version a shot on my new Vista Ultimate X64 install .. Cheers

It's a really good software. I use it myself.
The GUI is really bare though. You might or might not like that, but you can find some GUIs made by other people at the bottom of the JkDefrag homepage.

[Mac Daddy]

Originally Posted by Zenphic

It's a really good software. I use it myself.
The GUI is really bare though. You might or might not like that, but you can find some GUIs made by other people at the bottom of the JkDefrag homepage.

Cheers on the heads up from both of you if its open source I will prolly like it

[hjlavery]

Originally Posted by Rotarizer

When a HDD is turned on, the platters will spin all the time, regardless of whether the drive is in 'use' or not. The notable exception is with hybrid drives where unless non-cached data is needed, the platters are static, AFAIK. Because of this, hybrid drives are also very slow when accessing non-cached data because the platters have to spin up from stop.

I had thought that drive spin down was a function of the controller chip, which is why cheap raid cards can decrease the life of hard drives... I could be wrong though....

[Rotarizer]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Excellent reply! +rep!

Thanks! Appreciate it.

[Rotarizer]

Originally Posted by hjlavery

I had thought that drive spin down was a function of the controller chip, which is why cheap raid cards can decrease the life of hard drives... I could be wrong though....

I've never used RAID, so I don't know about that point.
From what I understand, the greatest wear and tear on a drive platter is whenever it spins up or spins down. Also, the power consumption is supposed to be maximum during this operation.

Interesting, some of the more pricey laptops come with HDD shock-protection systems where the heads are parked in a 'safe' position away from the drive platter surface as soon as the built-in accelerometer detects sudden acceleration. I don't know if the platters spin down too, but I would guess not.

There is a general misconception that the HDD works like an old record player, but the read/write head actually floats a few nanometers or microns above the platter surface and never comes in contact with the magnetic media. Well, for any reason, if it buries itself on the platter, then you can kiss the HDD goodbye because the magnetic media is only a thin film on the platter substrate, and any physical contact with the head will irreparably damage it.

[Adrian Wong]

Current drive technology have "hardened" the media substrate so they can withstand some amount of head crashes. Still, you do NOT want to shake the hard disk drive while it's running!!