Windows Defragment

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by Michael Lee Powell, Dec 2, 2017.

  1. Michael Lee Powell

    Michael Lee Powell MDL Novice

    Nov 25, 2017
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    A way to automatically defrag drives;

    Hi. I was wondering if there's a way to create an event that can automatically defrag a
    driver once it finds out that it get's fragmented? Like instead of manual defrag, it can

    be set to auto defrag..
     
  2. Michael Lee Powell

    Michael Lee Powell MDL Novice

    Nov 25, 2017
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    Cool, thanks. :)
     
  3. Enthousiast

    Enthousiast MDL Tester

    Oct 30, 2009
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    Afaik windows does that already, it is set to run in the background and it's called "optimize" in windows 10.
     
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  4. pf100

    pf100 Duct Tape Coder

    Oct 22, 2010
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    That's one thing Windows 10 seems to have gotten right.
     
  5. Scottmorre

    Scottmorre MDL Novice

    Nov 29, 2017
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    What's the point of defragging drives?
     
  6. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream
    Staff Member

    Dec 21, 2012
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    For SSD, none. SSDs don't need to be "defragged".

    For spinning rust drives, "defragging" makes sense. By making files and directories contiguous and strategically placing them, head movements are minimized and read/write operations will be a lot faster. Plus, mechanical hard disks are usually ~30% faster at the platter outside than the inside.


    Note: I put the term "defragging" in quotes, because these days, the major improvement is achieved by optimizing data placement. So, "defragging" actually means optimization, as actual pure defragging has almost zilch performance gain.
     
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  7. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami MDL Expert

    Mar 15, 2014
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    Well said, Windows defrag call it free space consolidation, this is what it looks like before and after:

    capture_11192017_195231.jpg capture_11192017_195742.jpg

    Not to mention, that HDD's speed can be further improved by short-stroking.

    capture_10082017_103315.jpg
     
  8. halasz

    halasz MDL Member

    Jan 13, 2013
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    Not really. Defrag.exe runs on a (by default weekly) schedule. It will then do what it feels is best (nothing, defrag, optimize, slab-consolidate depending on storage type) but will not be triggered when certain defragmentation level is reached.

    If you want to trigger defrag.exe at some other time (for example after upgrading but before compacting a VM) to run then you need to do it yourself.
     
  9. monkeylove

    monkeylove MDL Member

    Dec 8, 2013
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    I found out that defrag for Win 7 might not run as scheduled if something does not make the system idle. To solve the problem, I disabled the default defrag schedule and made a new one to run whether or not the system is idle at a time when I know no one will be using the machines.

    I didn't experience the same problem for Win 8. and 10.

    I also found out that the OS does optimization in the background every few days.
     
  10. rockyanexpert

    rockyanexpert MDL Junior Member

    Mar 6, 2010
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    Use professional defeat solutions like perfect disk
     
  11. endbase

    endbase MDL Guru

    Aug 12, 2012
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    I have bad experience with those so called "pro" solutions too much options and using resources that the purpose is long lost along the way hehe
     
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  12. pcnavarra

    pcnavarra MDL Senior Member

    Nov 13, 2017
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    With O&O Defrag 21 Professional Edition it is build around windows default defrag.
     
  13. monkeylove

    monkeylove MDL Member

    Dec 8, 2013
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    I found out that the same problem takes place for one Win 8.1 machine. The built-in defrag is scheduled daily but the last defrag took place three days ago.

    I have to disable the schedule feature in the defrag program then create a new one in task scheduler.
     
  14. forwardintofuture

    forwardintofuture MDL Junior Member

    Dec 7, 2016
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    O&O defrag would be your best bet. There is nothing better on the market.But its a paid product.