Defragmenting

B

BluePeter

Member
Hi Forum,

My question is brief.
How often should one defragment the Hard Drive ? I seldom install or uninstall
programmes and my PC is working splendidly but I am just curious in this matter.
System is Windows Vista Home Premium (64bit) on HP HDX 18 Laptop and the
Defragmenter I use is the excellent Auslogics one which is quick and reveals the
process visually unlike the laborious Windows version.
Another point: How does one remove Windows Mail completely from a PC..I now
use Google mail.
 

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Sounds like you might only need to do a defrag once a few months. I would try maybe ever 90 days.

Vista's default Disk Defragmenter is really slow. You can better off with a 3rd party application like:
 

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There's no official answer to how frequently to defragment. It certainly shouldn't be done excessively. IMHO, I'd say every month or two (in your case with rarely making changes, you could probably lean closer to the two month side or perhaps even three). If a scan indicates it isn't required, then I would not bother doing it. I do so monthly (using another program than what comes with Vista BTW - at first I thought it was the same one but in fact, it is the one mentioned above by eldinv) because I frequently add and remove programs as I need to install them to assist people who are having problems with programs I don't have and can do so easier if I have the program to work with.

As far as Windows Mail, you can't remove it from Vista as it is built into the operating system and not a separate installation or something that can be separately uninstalled. But it doesn't take up much space and if it isn't used, shouldn't take up any resources. If you have used it in the past and it contains data such as emails, contacts, calendar info, newsgroup information and posts and the like, you can of course delete any or all of those items from within Windows Mail if you don't need them anymore and want to free up the space.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

P.S. Hope are things well in Dublin. It's nice to see so many people here from all over the world working to help each other and gathered together for a common cause.
 
Last edited:

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Hi Lorien and Eldinv,

Just as I thought..defrag every two or three months or so. I do not like the Piriform Defraggler and much prefer the Auslogics which works quickly and efficiently.
Yes, I'll leave Windows Mail (an awful programme that caused me heartbreak with
it's problems) but I shall delete some files and folders stored there.
It is great to be part of our community and help eachother:D. I have saved more expensive call outs for problems that members have been able to help me with...wonderful. I am not too technical so I have not really been able to reciprocate in this.
Dublin is fine but we are facing a "winter of discontent" with an oncoming budget to try and ease the country's woes.:cry: Thanks for all help.

Peter.
 

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It was our pleasure to respond. I guess I'll now have to check out this Auslogics program since you so highly recommend it (and specifically over what I am currently using as well).

Thanks for the feedback - it is appreciated. If we can ever assist you with any other questions or problems, don't hesitate to post - that's why we're here.

Good luck and best wishes!
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

    Dell AIO Printer A940

    Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem

    6TO4 Adapter
    Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
    Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
    Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
    Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

    Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
@Lorien

yes I used to use defraggler but switched to Auslogics Disk Defrag as I also think that it performs better over all and seems to give you more visually.
 

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So, now TWO recommendations for it. I guess I'll have to check it out this afternoon.

Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

    Dell AIO Printer A940

    Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem

    6TO4 Adapter
    Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
    Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
    Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
    Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

    Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
Everyone has there choice but When you get down to business they all do the same Job Anyway near enough it is Just the UI and Visuals that make a difference

Josh
 

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Right!

Windows 7 built in works great. It defrags once a week, via scheduler, and if I ask it to defrag only takes minutes.

I dunno if weekly defrags are bad, built that's how its setup right out the box.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device
    Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
don't forget if you use another defragger to turn off the Vista one in task scheduler
 

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    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
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    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
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    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
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    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
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    Other bits a pieces as needed
Frequency of defrag would depend upon the disk traffic i.e. the rate at which files are written/deleted/modified etc. it would differ from user to user depending on the personal usage patterns.

Yeah, I also prefer a third party defrag utility over the windows defragger since it's faster, more thorough and has more options. Especially with Vista and 7, a defrag utility that supports shadow copy services is very useful so that you don't lose old system restore points after a defrag.
 

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