Cannot lower file fragmentation at all

[theundergod]

okee dokee I have a SATA 250Gb HDD that is partitioned into 2 drives (C: 40Gb and D: every thing else). The problem I have is my primary (C will not defrag properly. It started at 8% then 12% and now 19%. Anyone have any idea what is going on? I have run defrag several times running windows XP Pro regularly, in save mode, in safe mode with command promp, and I have run it regularly but shut down ever single service I could think of and then run defrag. Any ideas would be great.

I have:
Abit NF7-S nForce 2 mobo
Amd Athlon XP 2500+ cpu
2Gb Mem 333mhz
250Gb SATA HDD

if you need any additional info about my PC just ask thanks

 

[theundergod]

oh yeah, i have also run disk cleanup and chkdsk with the /f and /r tags. there is also a huge amount, in my opinion, of unmovable files. thanks again

 

[theundergod]

crap, one more thing - it's NTFS. sorry about forgetting that bit of info. I really hope someone can help me out. That's the last bit of information I hope.

-Jon

 

[micker377]

I use a third party defrag program. Since I added an external drive (NTFS - rest of HDDs are Fat 32), I get a message "Defrag set to "loose" compaction, due to NTFS". Unmovable files are placed there by the individual program installs.

 

[wolluf]

Have you actually got a problem? I run XP/ntfs systems for years without defragging, with no significant decrease in performance (partitions never > 65% full). Unless the system has seriously slowed (in which case I'd look at possible spyware/virus first), why bother constantly defragging and worrying about the stats?

 

[Wishdiak]

theundergod,

A third party product like Norton SpeedDisk might help with defragementing, but your system files will still be unmovable.

If you're concerned about running out of free space on your C: drive (rather than file fragmentation), then you could try moving your pagefile to the other partition.

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003

http://www.wishdiak.com

 

[garebo]

I stopped defragging years ago. I feel its more trouble than its worth in a number of ways.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[theundergod]

I will definately check for spyware and viruses before proceeding any further. I have noticed a decrease in performance which is what concerns me the most. Mainly because I not only game on this machine but I do video editing as a hobby as well. All the files I work with are well over several gigs in size and are on a separate partition that is having the same sort of problem only the fragmentation is only about 9%. I just don't want to have a huge file spread all over my HDD. If I really shouldn't be that concerned with fragmentation then thats good news to me. Thanks for all the great advice from all of you.

 

[garebo]

I believe there are a number of reasons for not worrying about fragmentation these days. One would be the sheer size of hard drives allow a lot of files to stay together and not be all over the place, two would be the speed of the hard drives, three would be win xp's ability to quickly handle requests and such, four would be faster cpus, and the list likely goes on.

If the computer is set up properly then by far the main impediment these days, in my opinion, is virii, malware, trojan horses, and a host of other words and names. There are a few programs that kind of hog system resources, but aside from that, its the above.
A lot of people feel if their updated a\virus says the system is clean, its clean. Far from it! Today you need an up to date a\virus plus a good number of:
adaware
spybot search and destroy
stinger (from Macafee)
hijack this
microsoft antispyware
popup stopper
cwshredder
Free online system scan from trend-micro - Has saved my butt a few times, found stuff that others miss and repaired them as well! Never harms your pc!

I have all of these and you can google and install them all for free. There is a popup stopper in quite a few of these type of progs, i just use the separate popup stopper but you dont have to.

I bet if you install them and run them you will report back your pc is running a lot faster.

One other thing i do is to go to the run command, type in:
msconfig and once it comes up go to startup and uncheck some of the progs that you dont need to start up all the time. You may have to experiment a bit if you arent used to this, maybe you are, i dont know. If not be careful, you dont want to disable your a\virus or other important progs that should start up with your pc.

This is only what i do and i am only offering suggestions and my own personal opinions. But my computer is running fast.





Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[theundergod]

Excellent. Thanks for the tips. I will do what you suggested and report back. I have used msconfig before but could not remember how to get back to that screen. Thanks for reminding me.

Jon

 

[garebo]

you're welcome.
I realize that if you havent done all that i have mentioned above, its a lot of work, but you can google all the progs, they are free, and they install pretty easily. You do have to fiddle with settings a bit. But in the end we should all have all or most of these progs to protect our computer anyway, so its not really anything extra. Its a real shame but thats the way it is. Worst thing is so many people think that having a good a\virus is all they need. They also write here about problems, thinking its their hardware because the first thing they say is that their a\virus says all is well. Today, thats only the start! It take a lot more than just an a\virus prog!



Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[micker377]

You forgot a GOOD firewall.

 

[garebo]

Indeed i did micker!!!
I think its safe to say thats the very first thing one should have, either that or a\virus. If i could only have one, i would have the firewall as trend-micro can take care of a\virus online!
So add a firewall to the list, you can google free ones from zone labs, blackice (i think), few others as well.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[theundergod]

cool, thanks again for all the great advice. What do you think about hardware firewalls? I have a Linksys router with a simple built in firewall. Would the combination of that and a windows firewall be as good as a retail software firewall?

 

[micker377]

The main problem with the default Windows firewall (and some routers), is that they protect against incoming internet only. They don't protect against outgoing virii, or outgoing calls to Russian hackers. When I build a new system, I install the latest version of ZoneAlarm before I even go to MS update!

 

[garebo]

I too suggest your get the free version of zone alarm and use that together with your router firewall.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[theundergod]

Ok great advice. I will do that. Thanks again for everything guys/gals.