Defragger

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by TomAZ, Apr 10, 2014.

  1. TomAZ

    TomAZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    Posts:
    1,131
    Location:
    USA
    Looking for a good, free defragger for XP. One that defrags quickly would also be very desirable. Any suggestions?
     
  2. DBone

    DBone Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2010
    Posts:
    1,041
    Location:
    SoCal USA
    On my XP test rig, I use Auslogics Portable with good results. No need to install, and is wicked quick. Towards the bottom of the page on the lower right:

    http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/
     
  3. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    I'm using Defraggler and I'm happy with it. You can use quick defrag which is really quick.

    hqsec
     
  4. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2005
    Posts:
    3,418
    Location:
    Slovakia
  5. subhrobhandari

    subhrobhandari Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2009
    Posts:
    780
  6. daman1

    daman1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2009
    Posts:
    1,292
    Location:
    USA, MICHIGAN
    What about W7? anything better then the standard one on that OS??
     
  7. TomAZ

    TomAZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    Posts:
    1,131
    Location:
    USA
    Does the free portable version "call home" like the installed versions (at least the Pro version)? As I recall, everytime I would defrag with Pro, it would send a defrag report to the Auslogics site. Not sure what they did with that info or how long they kept it, but didn't really care for that.
     
  8. DBone

    DBone Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2010
    Posts:
    1,041
    Location:
    SoCal USA
    Nope, not that I've seen.
     
  9. TomAZ

    TomAZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2010
    Posts:
    1,131
    Location:
    USA
    Good to know. I've tried a lot of them and am currently using Defraggler (which seems to do an okay job), but it seems a little slow. So, this might be a good alternative. However, because it's free and portable, I would assume that there aren't a lot of "special" defrag options other than for a basic defrag and/or disk optimization.
     
  10. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2005
    Posts:
    6,102
    Location:
    on my zx10-r
    puran defrag just make sure to decline the add ons during install but its free does a great job and is much faster than defraggler imo
     
  11. DBone

    DBone Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2010
    Posts:
    1,041
    Location:
    SoCal USA
    Correct. No boot time defrag, or "place system files at the beginning of disc" like the installed version, but it has straight defrag as well as optimize and defrag.
     
  12. kyuzo

    kyuzo Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    Posts:
    38
    Location:
    USA
    Second on Puran. I actually use O&O, but honestly, I think Puran does a great job. Boot time defrag, Turnoff at end of defrag, disk check before defrag, auto scheduling and FAST. You do have to watch that initial install, however, as the decline is somewhat tricky- necessitating a double decline.
     
  13. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2008
    Posts:
    6,065
    Location:
    DC Metro Area
    Hi:)

    With O&O, when you set it to run a boot time scan does it give you the option to run CHK:DISC first.

    I had been using Diskeeper Pro or Premier for years and it gives you that option. I know there are programs that do a better job at defragging, but I was attracted by the intelligence of its auto defrag - install it and never again have to think about defragmentation. (Despite what they claim, Diskeepeer 12 is nothing but problems with Windows 8 and may actually be incompatible with it.. It sometimes will not open and ALWAYS freezes my PC at some point. I have uninstalled and reinstalled it at least 50 times with all but absolutely necessary programs removed with the same result. There are several postings on the net by others experiencing the same and similar issues. Also since Diskeeper changed its name or was bought by Condusiv, it's customer support for the home user has seriously degraded. They used to be excellent.)
     
  14. ifacedown

    ifacedown Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2013
    Posts:
    121
    Location:
    Philippines
    Puran Defrag

    However, If you will ask for paid, I could recommend three:

    Diskeeper
    PerfectDisk
    System Mechanic's Program Accelerator

    All three have preventive anti-fragmentation technology (Intelliwrite, OptiWrite, Acceliwrite).
    What I like about System Mechanic is its' ability to realign program files and its dependencies. diskeeper is the fastest in curing fragments that have bypassed its anti-fragmentation technology.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2014
  15. kyuzo

    kyuzo Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    Posts:
    38
    Location:
    USA
    I didn't know if you were joking with me or no, hawki...

    I have O&O Pro 16 and PerfectDisk Pro 11 and like both very much. Neither offer Checkdisk before defrag (at least not that I've found). I like PD because it's relatively quick (though not as quick as Puran) and has auto shutdown after defrag. Its Performance mode seems to really help boot time, but the disk fragments more because the most modified files get moved to the front of the disk (the PD Classic mode is the opposite). For me, PD's auto defrag can get a bit weird at times. Often after a defrag, the defrag algorithm leaves the file arrangement different from the selected method. I often vascillate between it and O&O.

    I currently use O&O, but heavens is its Complete Defrag slow! I use the Complete Name defrag because it doesn't spend time moving files around due to their either being modified or not . It just puts them in alphabetical order. Its Space defrag is lightning quick. My sister has thousands of photos clogging up her disk, and I installed O&O on her computer with Zone filing enabled (I don't use Zone). It actually did help boot time and everyday use by moving her photo files to the end of the disk where they're out of the way.

    None of the ones I've tried are perfect, but PD, O&O and Puran are pretty good. Just my opinion from everyday use.
     
  16. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2008
    Posts:
    6,065
    Location:
    DC Metro Area
    Re: Perfect Disk Pro 13. On sale through Memorial Day = %50 off = $14 and change. There's a coupon code on the page below to use

    http://www.raxco.com/home/?utm_camp...RxNssPz2Ea_3zHKbAzoIBxdgJpXugQ&_hsmi=12834702

    Kyuzo: I just uninstalled O&O Defrag cause while I think it does an outstanding job, a Complete Defrag of my 110 MB of used space was taking 4 hours.

    I was wrong about O&O. It will run chkdisk before a boot time defrag BUT it is not capable of correcting any errors it finds.

    Diskeeper will do a chkdisk and correct errors before a boot time defrag. But if you are running Windows 8 or 8.1 stay away from it. Just look at their forums and my post above.
     
  17. kyuzo

    kyuzo Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    Posts:
    38
    Location:
    USA
    I know what you mean hawki. When I have to run a Complete defrag using O&O 16 Pro, I usually cook a 9-course meal, build a house or walk to Mars while the program defrags. :)
     
  18. Veeshush

    Veeshush Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2014
    Posts:
    643
    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defragmentation_software

    Free: I've used Defraggler for years and it's good enough. Lately I've been trying out UltraDefrag just to try something different. When I work on other peoples' machines though, I just make sure the Windows defragger is set to automatically defrag every so often, and that also works good enough for most people.

    Paid: The first paid one I ever bought was Diskeeper, and that was pretty good back in 2006 or so. PerfectDisk I've also used on a few systems that had files no other defragger would automatically move (like swap, Metafiles, system backup files ,etc)

    I don't think defraggers mean as much these days compared to the 90s and early 2000s when the hard disks were a lot slower, swap files were used more cause everyone had low amounts of ram, practically no one manually defragged so their drives were usually very fragmented, and the stock defrag software included with Windows wasn't as great as third party defraggers. Nowadays you have SSDs that don't need to be defragged.

    Throughout all these years of pushing the importance of defragging, people forget that it isn't something that has to be done everyday. Even once every few months is good enough, or after a major install (like a game or right after installing Windows and all its updates on a fresh system). If you overdo it though with daily defragging you're just going to overwork the drive anyway, so it would have actually been less strain had it been left a bit fragmented. I can't say there's any major speed gains these days, especially with SSDs out. Maybe on a noisy drive you'll hear it less, and that's about it.

    And even if one defragger can organize a drive better than another, less you have OCD, you won't notice a difference.
     
  19. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2005
    Posts:
    5,752
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    Had to uninstall latest version of Auslogics due to pop up adds.
     
  20. Keatah

    Keatah Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2011
    Posts:
    1,029
    Pop-up ads within the program? How lame..
     
  21. DBone

    DBone Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2010
    Posts:
    1,041
    Location:
    SoCal USA
    The portable version has no such issues.
     
  22. cloudstr

    cloudstr Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2012
    Posts:
    30
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2014
  23. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2005
    Posts:
    3,418
    Location:
    Slovakia
    4 years old version performed better than most updated defragger tools, now that is impressive. o_O
     
  24. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2005
    Posts:
    5,752
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    Thanks good to know.
     
  25. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2005
    Posts:
    6,102
    Location:
    on my zx10-r
    odd i dont have any pop up issues with auslogics.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.