Defrag program.... what is best for freeware if any??

[Rabbitrunner51]

Since i reinstalled my newer OS (WXPPro ) about three months ago, I have done one defrag on the "C" main OS HD and think maybe i should go ahead and do another soon. Nothing is wrongor running slow or amok..but i like to keepup with this ..preventing my HD from getting too bogged down or mis-organized.

I have yet to install any outside makers Defrag programs as of yet..; I used the basic MS one the first time.

Is the MS basic defrag program good enough for general purposes?? I think it is extremely simple in its operation and would like a better one.

In the past I have used 'Perfectdisk' ., 'Diskeeper 9.0' and also tried O & O which did not work well at the time due to my overstuffed HD ( almost totally full )

Thks!

[bruceb]

I like Diskeeper 9 Pro .. about $40 retail cost
Works extremley well (first time you run it, it
will take some time depending on how fragmented
your drive is) .. never had any problems with it
including the Boot Time Defrag & also using it to
change the MFT Table size

[mcool61]

XP doesnt' fragment the hard drive as badly as earlier systems. I'd just use the one xp provides. It doesn't cost anything. Unless you are moving a lot of files on & off of the hard disk it won't fragment quickly anyway. Running defrag a few times a year is probably enough. If you do it a lot you'll just wear out your hard drive anyway.
http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilit...entation.shtml

[Kandar]

Windows comes with an earlier and less functional version of disk keeper built in that will do the job. Personally I paid for the full version of Disk keeper and have been using it ever since. Its easy and faster than the freeby.

[Strawbs]

I still use diskeeper v.7! It still works like a charm & does a lot better job than the built-in stripped down version.

"set it & forget it" means you don't have to stop to defrag.

[cdroman]

Open notepad and make a batch file to defrag your drives; type

DEFRAG C:
DEFRAG D:

etc. if you have more drives, click on save, type> all files, and save as DEFRAG_ALL.BAT

put a shortcut on your desktop to the batch file and left click it when you want to defrag your drives. It works in the command line of XP and is pretty quick. If you want you can use windows task scheduler to schedule the defrag batch file to run on a regular basis.

[bruceb]

Strawbs

You should consider the update to 9.0 Pro
It works a lot better than 7 ... you will see
an increase in speed & probably also get
more disk space back

[BipolarBill]

I prefer ver. 7 as well. I had nothing but grief with 8 and 9 - especially scheduling. It seemed to want to defrag whenever it wanted instead of when I told it to.

[bruceb]

I can't say about the scheduling, as I use it on manual defrag
usually once or twice a week or after any new installs
or program removals. Otherwise, no problems whatsoever
(I use the Pro version Cost $49 at their site,
maybe cheaper in some stores & not the home version)

[Rabbitrunner51]

Thanks guys... As always ..opening a discussion of something so basic provides some good insight.

Bill makes a good point. often times in our world of innovation and tech. developement ..newer or more updated is not always better. I agree.
often times they put more interfaces and inside structuring programs that may mess with the simple tasks at hand.

[Strawbs]

I tried version 8 & had problems with it - can't remember what now! I returned it & reinstalled V.7!

"Set It & Forget It" runs whenever the computer is idle - so the speed increase mentioned in V.9 won't apply here, because my drives never really get fragged in the first place.

[Rabbitrunner51]

Computers..and esp. our own personal ones are sometimes hard to understand..

I say this because Defragging a HD gets mentioned so often when users talk about speeding thier machines up or having them run much better... and to some degree that might be so...; This of course solely depends upon how much srtuff you have crammed into your little buddie there..and the compatibility of said programs with the OS. I find cleanig out stuff...,running a good registry cleaner that works...and making sure you have the best and most popular virus ..popup programs integrated correctly ..updating and making sure you run these periodically..seems for me anyway continued overall speed and very good computer operation.

I am always cautious when installig something..and so check it out and the reviews by qualified users beforehand and its ometimes comes down to a matter of personal choice...as is what works for us all.

In a nutshell..I am getting better at not messing my machhine up so bad as to have to spend more time dealing with that then just getting on it and finding that allis fine and dandy.

Last week I sensed some minor if not major things going on I could not put a handle on. this amounted to quirks and some periodic freezing every so often ..and I got worried.

Since i am truthful about my overall knowledge comparered to alot of you guys and gals out there who know far more.. I just do what my intuition tells me and some of my own troubleshooting. Mostly running this program and checking this and that..and the last day or so..I must have done some good things right as my computer is running very fast and better than ever.

I find most problems occuring with the registry and in the documents and settings 90% of the time. Of course it does'nt hurt to keep things orderly inside your OS. That helps when degragging also. LOL

[crossedup]

Ive been running ver 8 for about 6 months now set in screensavcer mode on all drives, works the charm. The speed you gain is worth the amount of $ you pay for it, nothing like a always defragged HD.

I recommend it to everyone that asks.

[Rabbitrunner51]

I just ran Diskeeper 9.0 Pro ..which was updated before I ran the defrag and I like this one very much.

Extremely nice interface...was fast and it did a super job... "0" degrags left after done... My computer is even faster right now and I do notice the difference considerably.

Its a keeper.

[bruceb]

Glad you like Diskeeper 9.0 Pro ... it is extremely nice

I for one, always buy the Pro version of most programs
They seem to work better & are more refined / stable
than the basic home user editions & they are usually
not much more expensive