Recommendation Of Defragger with VSS Compatible Mode Plz

Discussion in 'hardware' started by hawki, May 7, 2016.

  1. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    Are there any defrggers with a VSS compatible mode that have a sensible layout placement method, other than merely defragging files. Free Defragger with these features is preferred :)
     
  2. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    The one included in Windows is just fine. If you want to optimize the defrag process (regardless the program you use) run it in safe mode. They use a sensible placement mode. Today's drives are fast enough to negate any difference. Windows own works with Windows fetch routines too.

    Note that any advantage a 3rd party degragging tool offers is quickly negated as soon as you start using the computer again. That was not true MANY years ago but today, program files (including Windows and our security programs) are constantly being updated via our Internet connections. Any time a file is modified, its location is changed on the disk.

    So the best solution is to just accept the Windows defaults for its own degragger (Disk Optimize) and to minimize fragmentation issues, keep plenty of free disk space on your drives (and 3rd party programs just take up more space!). Files may still be scattered all over the drive, but that's okay because with lots of free disk space, fragmentation will be minimized. So okay, it takes an extra millisecond to find the first file segment, but then most, if not all of the following segments are clustered together.

    And of course, if you have SSDs, you don't run defraggers on them anyway.
     
  3. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    Thanks Bill :)

    I had no idea that the Windows defragger had any placement scheme at all. Still remember the Windows half-baked Diskeeper Days.

    That is one thing I have noticed with all the defraggers I have used. A defragged drive degrades so quickily. I used Diskeeper Premier throuigh 2012. While it had no placement system on a VSS enabled drive, its invisi-tasking worked great at keeping a drive defragmented. But Diskeeper is cooked-put a fork in it. The 2012 version was not compatible with Windows 8, no matter what they claim and they have finally produced the next version (DK 2015) which must be a joke. I tried the demo-it is the worst in many respects. It's invisi-tasking does nothing and it relies exclusively on Opti Write and manual defragging. It's just awful.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2016
  4. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    Starting with Vista, the Windows defragger is automatically run once a week. So you should never need to run it manually unless you want to defragment an external hard drive.

    Sometimes 3rd party defaggers can increase performance, but some actually do a worse job than the Windows one, leading to a decreased disk performance. So for most users, there really is mot much point in using a 3rd party defrag tool, considering Microsoft's one works very well and runs weekly.
     
  5. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    Hi Roger :)

    I believe that starting with Win 8.1 the Optimize runs once daily.

    In theory I like the defragger / ProgramAccelerator in System Mechanic. It's layout placement attempts to place files that are used together next to or near each other on the disk. But that also degraded rapidly. It's space consolidation worked great until Version 15, when it stopped working on my machine. But SM triggers an attack response from HitmanPro Alert so I uninstalled it preferring a lack of convenience and some performance improvements over an encryptred hard drive. I suffer from a severe case of CryptoWhatever Phobia.

    I have beeen of the view that a well defragmented not only improves performance to a degree but more importantly lengthens the life of your hard drive.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2016
  6. Hadron

    Hadron Registered Member

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    Auslogics Disk Defrag Free & Pro
     
  7. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    Hi Hadron :) I used Ausilogics for a year. I think you need the pro version to have it fully functional on Win 8.1 and above. While a little slow, it does have several good placement schemes. It would occaisionally fail and need to be reinstalled, but I have learned to detest the company, at least for their marketing methods. Don't recall if it has a VSS compatible mode. Should take a look.

    Give me an ethical company or give me a fragmented hard drive :)
     
  8. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    It still runs weekly according to the information I have found.

    I use System Mechanic and the Program Accelerator made a huge difference on one my laptops, almost halving the time it took to launch my DJ software. It went from taking 73 seconds to launch down to 38 seconds.

    It's worth noting that for a while now, Iolo have been giving away 6 month licenses to System Mechanic.

    Edit: I also agree that Auslogics is a scam company. For example, they have some fake review sites they use to promote their TweakBit branded products.
     
  9. Hadron

    Hadron Registered Member

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    Nothing wrong with the company in my opinion.
    I actually pay for the Pro version, but if you look on their site, free also supports VSS.

    By the way...
    What unethical things have they done to you?
     
  10. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

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    I use defrag built in Wise Care Free, depending on, how it nicely sorts out files, I would guess, it is VSS compatible.
     

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  11. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    @hawki ,

    I seriously doubt you would see any difference aside from the placebo effect whatever program you use. I'd be happy to let Windows look after your hard drive/s.
     
  12. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

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    Windows maintenance caused grieve to so many people and its defrag never ends. The best tweak, I have ever found:

    reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\Maintenance" /v "MaintenanceDisabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
     
  13. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    That has never been my experience with Windows Defrag, or now that I have a SSD in WIn10, Optimize.
     
  14. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Exactly. And again, even if a 3rd party app did defrag a "hard" drive more efficiently, the next round of Windows Updates or your favorite program update or file modification would negate it all. And of course, as more and more move to SSDs, it becomes a moot point.

    I disagree with TairikuOkami completely. First, it simply is not true that it caused grief to "so many people". It didn't. Are there exceptions? Of course! With 1.5 billion Windows computers out there, there will always be exceptions. But it is very rare Windows defragger (Disk Optimize) has caused problems.

    A defrag process that "never ends" typically indicates a problem with the drive, not the defrag program. It could be a faulty drive, malware, or as is often the case, the drive is critically low on disk space and the defrag program hasn't enough working room to finish in a timely fashion. But when that is the case, it will eventually finish. And I note this problem is exacerbated on computers with a small amount of RAM.

    Another common cause for long defrag times is running different degragging programs on the same drive. This is silly. Each program uses their own algorithms. So when you switch programs, you basically start from scratch and the entire disk needs defragging again. On large drives, it can seem to take forever as every single file is moved about. Not to mention, it creates unnecessary wear and tear (and heat) on the drive.

    Unless you are a REAL bona fide expert at memory and disk management, and Windows too, do not assume you are smarter than the hordes of Microsoft PhDs and computer scientists with their super computers and decades and exabytes (billions of gigabytes) of empirical data.

    Also, one the biggest mistakes I keep seeing over and over (even among the experienced users) is they think what was necessary with XP is still necessary with the newer versions of Windows. That is simply false too. In fact, what was necessary with XP to optimize performance is likely detrimental to W7, W8 and especially W10. Leave the defaults alone! While virtually all Windows computers are unique, it is highly unlikely yours is so unique that it falls into the outer 5% extreme ends of the rest of us that it needs a custom configuration.
     
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