Hey guys/gals,

What do you recommend for defrag software?
I would like an application that doesn't run in the background all the time, just runs when i execute it. I have used a few but would like all your opinions and maybe a quick " I like it because..." if you don't mind.

Thanks in advance everyone !

Diskkeeper

executive software diskeeper

And whats wrong with the disk defragmentor that comes with windows?

Yeah what is wrong with it?

Cant do some stuff like defrag registry, pagefile, MFT.

Does it really make a big difference?

Yes this does make a difference specially increasing the size of the mft and a regular defrag of the PF, and MFT. This will prevent long term file errors and increase access times in the long run. Also windows defrag will cause long term errors because windows defrag cannot move files that the system has in memory or cache.

What's right with the disk defragmenter that comes with windows?

It shows the estimated disk condition after the defrag as being the same as the start, which is no use at the start.

It takes an age and slows the PC down (which one puts up with because after all one is defragmenting the disk) but does seem overly intrusive.

When it's finished you look at the result and are amazed to find it hasn't bothered to collect all the free space in one place.

Also it has failed to defragment some of the files so when you analyse it again it suggests the disk needs defragmenting again.

Not sure if I caught everything but I think that's the main bits. It's ok, it does a job, but it hardly achieves a top quality service.

So that's it ? No votes for anything other than (executive software) Diskeeper ? Sounds a bit of a coronation, rather than a debate.

This looks like an old thread, but since it's been bumped up, I'll throw in another vote for Diskeeper. It always works perfectly on my system(s) and has multiple defrag modes to choose from.

yeah diskeeper is the sweetspot,if you dont like it running it on the background you can disable it from the services.msc.

It's not that old really, and did come up on Google when I searched for advice

Well I downloaded the trial. It seems to work reasonably. Performed an intial normal defrag. But then failed when I tried a boot-up defrag (after complaining of not being able to open a log file ?!?)

Doesn't seem able to get rid of all the "red". And has serious problems when the free space is limited, finishing with next to nothing changed.

And comes up with some strange claims at times, such as claiming my C: drive had 0% free space, when it actually has 38%.

But on the plus side, after a number of runs, it has made a big difference in the fragmentation, well above what the MS supplied defrag was able to do. And unlike the MS one, informed me that the page file was in 13 parts (!), which it has now gathered together into one.

It seems a reasonable utility, but with a few unexplained bits as mentioned.

Diskeeper 2008 is optimized for background defrag, and performs significantly better running it as suggested, compared to running it in manual mode. I've always left it on background defrag mode, and it has performed excellently. The only time I even need to access the GUI to occasionally check the state of the drives (and they're always fine). It even defragged my 160 GB Hitachi drive which was filled with MS Office docs, gazillions of JPEGS/TIFFs etc when there was only about 4 % free space left.

I've been using Auslogics disk defrag for quite a while now and I think it does a pretty good job. It's also free...can't beat that!

Ref to defrag programs - MaxumPC June 2008 Ed.

XP uses a stripped down version Of Diskkeeper, Vist used a redesigned defrag program.

These quotes are in reference to Vista, NOT XP.

Auslogis Disk Defrag
"It's free and fast but doesn't improve system performance."

Diskeeper 2008
"For all its options, Diskeeper 2008 did nothing to increse our rig's performance."

After defrag using vista and the other two, Bench mark PCMark Overall was higher using vista's defrag. And startup faster. Vista 133 Sec, Auslogics - 176 Sec and Diskeeper - 186 Sec.

For XP I use Nortons, NOT as Good as the older version used on 98.

PerfectDisk 2008.

Main rival to disk keeper, but does actually work in my experience.

I just used Auslogics cleaner, and it did one important thing that vistas standard defrag doesn't do, and that is free up 32Gb of space. I mean, come on thats about 13% of the drive, and I was wondering where it was cause I just couldn't account for it.

Disk defrag should *not* clear up any space; it should only rearrange file fragments to make them contiguous. Unless it deletes files ofcourse.

Can you check and reply whether whether Auslogics has deleted your restore points in Vista? Are there any restore points from the time before you ran this defrag? The fact that it freed up ~13% of the drive which is about the amount of space reserved for restore points, is a bit unnerving.

With Vista, it's always better to use a VSS-aware defragmenter to preserve shadow copies/restore points. Infact, I use Diskeeper 2008 pro, and the manual expressly recommends the use of the VSS-aware defrag mode on such Vista volumes. Incidentally, I've not had any problems with Diskeeper, and it always does an excellent job in keeping the drives defragmented.