A little trivia for you (Attributes and Defrag)

OK, since I've been preoccupied lately with getting a decent backup program working, I've been concerned about file attributes.

Trivia question 1: What does the attribute "N" denote?

Defrag has some interesting command line switches, everyone who uses it should be aware of the '-w' switch which causes defrag to pay attention to fragments larger than 64KB. The default for Windows Ultimate x64, in the scheduled defrag has the command line: 'defrag -c -i -g'. '-c' is easy.

Question 2: What do the '-i' and '-g' switches do?

Now, in case you were thinking there was anything but rep at stake, there isn't. Nor do I know the answers. (Cute, huh?) But I would appreciate knowing the answers.

Hi Hogtowner,

Answers for your trivia.

Question 1

The "N" attribute is set by the Search/Indexing component in Vista.

N = Non indexed file or folder.

You cannot add/delete/change this attribute in the normal way, ie: it cannot be changed using the attrib command.

To change this attribute, right click the folder/file and select 'Properties'. Click on the 'General' tab and then click 'Advanced...'. This opens the 'Advanced Attributes' dialogue box. For folders the option you require is under 'Archive and Index attributes' and is 'Index this folder for faster searching' whereas for files the option required is under 'File attributes' and is 'Index this file for faster searching'. These are checkboxes, and for either case, the procedure is the same. To remove the "N" attribute, click to place a tick in the relevant checkbox. To replace the "N" attribute, click to remove the tick from the relevant checkbox. In both cases, click 'OK' twice to apply changes.

Question 2

The following switches are undocumented.

-i This switch makes Defrag run in the background and operate only if the system is idle - as it does when run as a scheduled task.

-b This switch optimizes boot files and applications while leaving the rest of the drive undisturbed.

I have not been able, as yet, to find anything referring to a "-g" switch.

Hopefully, this should answer your questions.
Dwarf

Thanks, Dwarf. That does help.

Doncaster, huh? I have an Uncle Mort there, know him?