Sorry if this thread is in the wrong section (please move it to the appropriate section, thanks!), but I just wanted to know if anyone is using a defrag program that quickly and efficiently defrags external hard drives?

I'm currently trying to defrag a 1TB external Western Digital HDD (USB only). (Tried it last night, but was stuck at 18% defrag; then performed a Disk Check, then defragged again; it actually said it "defragged" the files, but upon looking, there are still big chunks of file needing to be defragged.)

I've downloaded a free program that worked great for internal drives, but the program doesn't seem to recognize the external ones. Yikes! (Guess I might have to fork over for a defrag program)

I've also read NOT to defrag external hdds, as there is very little performance gained in doing so(???).

Thanks for any and all help and suggestions,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Can't help with the defrag program for externals, tho' as you didn't say what operating system you have, no one could.

As for "not defragging externals", whomever propounded that theory needs a refresher course in disc management.

If it's clean, there are no seeks (or a lot less, anyway) and that's what stuffs up access times.

Get one (a defragger that works) and use it (lots).


CS

For windows i use Auslogics disk defrag,it's really fast,especially for vista which has a crap built in defrag.with auslogics defrag you can also select which drive you want defraged.Here's the link.
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download
.

Could someone please tell us everyday PC users ), why is a third party program better than the built-in Windows defragger (I guess it's the same in Mac Land though) - other than maybe the option to run automatically when the computer is idle?

And Paul, what do you mean by "with auslogics defrag you can also select which drive you want defraged"? Any Windows OS can do that...

Thanks,

windows does not compress files very well, and windows does not defrag pagefiles. most good defrag software will also need much less free space to operate.

Ervin,in Jeffs original post he states that he downloaded a program for defragging but the program only see's internal drives,not external drives,which i did think was strange but then i don't know what defragging program he's using.
Auslogics is free to download,and has a drop down list of your pc's drives.

Allen & Paul, thank you for your replies - I have to confess, I was ignorant when it comes to defragmenting... I thought Microsoft should know how Windows operates best.

I have noticed that sometimes after defragmenting there are still some fragmented files left, so that's probably because the built-in program is not the best... I will give Auslogics a closer look.

Thanks again for clarifying,

...
I'm currently trying to defrag a 1TB external Western Digital HDD (USB only). ...
I've downloaded a free program that worked great for internal drives, but the program doesn't seem to recognize the external ones. Yikes! (Guess I might have to fork over for a defrag program)

I've also read NOT to defrag external hdds, as there is very little performance gained in doing so(???).


I use a program for Windows called PerfectDisk www.raxco.com. Works very efficiently on my external drives and I do find a performance advantage if I keep them defragged. You do have to turn on permission at the OS level for any defrag program to work with externals as not all USB drives are well behaved but my WD drives work just fine with it.

Could someone please tell us everyday PC users ), why is a third party program better than the built-in Windows defragger

The built-in defragger is essentially a limited version of Diskeeper. Executive Software (now Diskeeper Corp.) worked in partnership with Microsoft to develop the defragmenter for NT-based Windows.

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the suggestions and replies!

Chris-
I'm on a PC platform, running XP at the moment. And agree with you wholeheartedly!

Paul-
Will look into auslogics soon.

Steve-
That's exactly the same program I downloaded from cnet (30 day trial). When I clicked on the PerfectDisk program, none of the externals came up. Would you mind sending me an email on how you gave "permission to the OS for any defrag program to work with externals"? That would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

I thought Microsoft should know how Windows operates best.


Whew, that's a scary thought. Microsoft knows best, and even though he thinks he's our father, he doesn't always know best. (thanks in advance to the aged who get that.)

I was under the impression that the software from WD will defrag as well, maybe that's a pipe dream and I need a good punch in the kisser to wake up.

As for degragging in general, I've heard two lines of thought; one; if it aint broke don't fix it and two; defrag after doing a large project. Since I'm still in the storage stage with a large collection of drives, I don't defrag my video drives, heck the sections of data are so large, that it would be like moving large bowling balls around in a bathtub.

Just some thoughts.

microsoft makes a huge amount of software, reasonably well. I am still amazed at how much nicer the free firefox browser is compared to microsofts internet explorer

microsoft makes a huge amount of software, reasonably well. I am still amazed at how much nicer the free firefox browser is compared to microsofts internet explorer

Microsoft *could* surpass the other browsers if they wanted to but then they'd be accused of abusing their market position even more than they are now.

Personally, I've never seen the benefit(s) of other browsers but then I'm funny that way. (Though I have just got an HDV camcorder thereby rendering my previous protestations about the format rather hypocritical!)

...
Steve-
That's exactly the same program I downloaded from cnet (30 day trial). When I clicked on the PerfectDisk program, none of the externals came up. Would you mind sending me an email on how you gave "permission to the OS for any defrag program to work with externals"? That would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Email Sent

Email Sent
Steve, I believe that info is needed by many others here - could you please post it?

As an alternative to defragging software, if you have enough space on a second drive, simply copy the entire directory structure of the drive you want to defrag then remove all the files (or even quick format it). Copy the files back and you will have a nicely defragged and consolidated drive.

This can actually be quicker than using a defragger. But the drive you are working with mustn't have any files open, especially system files such as paging files etc.

Just a quick update...

Thanks Steve for the quick email response; but my PerfectDisk free trial download had already expired.

I have downloaded the Auslogics Disk Defrag from cnet.com, and big thanks to Paul's link:

http://www.auslogics.com/en/software...efrag/download

Once downloaded, under the Settings, there is a dialog/check box that asks if you want to include external hard drives for defragging. Just click it and away you go.

Currently defragging my 1TB WD external (USB only!), it's only about 60% full so I've got a ways to go; but it looks good so far (fingers tightly crossed, and knocking on wood).

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

I downloaded the auslogics defrag - very nice, thanks for the tip!

Success!

Thanks to Auslogics Disk Defrag, I was able to defrag my 1TB WD external drive. It took over 6-7 hours (left to run errands, chores, watch tv, etc. etc.), but the program worked perfectly.

Now I'm defragging my other externals...

I guess I'll sleep on it,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Steve, I believe that info is needed by many others here - could you please post it?

Not all external crives drivers support defraggings but I think most of them do. To enable it for those that do, you need to disable write caching. Display My Computer and right-click on one of the drives. Choose 'Properties' at the bottom of the menu. Select the 'Hardware' tab. Selecting each external drive in turn, click the 'Properties' button. Select 'Policies' and click the radio buttin labeled "Optimize for quick removal."

Removed double post (same as below)... no idea how that happened...

Steve, I tried that (just out of curiosity, the drive is fine otherwise, I can defrag it no problems, although drive cashing is enabled), and the option is not available - it's grayed out, so is "optimize for performance".

But this brings up another question, namely the safe removal. I always religiously observe the safe removal procedure being under the impression that simply yanking the USB cable can leave the drive with corrupted data. So, if I "optimize for quick removal"... is that not going to leave me with the potential of corrupting the data?

Should I uncheck "enable write cashing"? Obviously, data safety is more important to me than performance.

Thanks,

Edit: Forget disabling write cashing... it brings down the drive to a crawl...kind of like a USB1 connection.

How does the Auslogics defrag compare to O&O Defrag? I have been using O&O defrag since Win NT 4.0 (at a time when Microsoft still claimed there was no need to defrag NTFS drives...). O&O Defrag is a very powerful defrag tool in my opinion, but I don't know the auslogics.

I'm glad you all seem to like Auslogics Disk defrag.
Paul.

I'm glad you all seem to like Auslogics Disk defrag.
Paul, I have to admit, I fell in love with Auslogics (Disk defrag works wonderfully)... to the point where I also downloaded BoostSpeed, the trial version. Unfortuanately it's not a functional software, it only tells you what the problem is, but will not fix it even for the 14 day trial period.

Does anyone have experience with BoostSpeed? I would buy it but would like to know if it really does what it claims.

Thanks,

Try Diskeeper Professional 2008 (latest version) - I use that ... can "Set up and Forget" ... and it will automatically defrag when hd exceeds a certain percentage. Very good.

Or PrefectDisk will do just as good.

Boostpseed is very good Ervin !!!