With Windows 8.1 do u still use 3rd Party Defragmenter?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by sweater, Dec 26, 2015.

  1. sweater

    sweater Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2005
    Posts:
    1,678
    Location:
    Philippines, the Political Dynasty Capital of the
    I was wondering if you still need to use other defragmenter with windows 8.1 OS, coz I was then thinking that its hard drive optimizer are just good and fast enough.
     
  2. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2015
    Posts:
    1,920
    I have never felt the need for a third-party defragmenter. The defragmentation tool that comes with my Windows OS has always been good enough for me.
     
  3. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2004
    Posts:
    17,546
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    No, I also never did on Win XP, and I don't even use the one from Windows. Looking back, I should have used it, because my HDD was highly fragmented, and it took its toll on performance. But now I use a SSD, so I don't think I need it.
     
  4. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    It depends on how you define "need". The defrag built into Windows has always been limited and that includes Windows 8 and 10; there are no configurable options and no disk map. In my experience the more advanced features of something like PerfectDisk do result in better performance on a mechanical hard drive. It's not dramatic though, so it depends on how important it is to you.

    Note that SSDs are another matter. PerfectDisk has an SSD optimization mode that does a lot less since placement on an SSD is not relevant, but some argue that nothing at all should be done.
     
  5. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2013
    Posts:
    2,115
    Location:
    Brasil
    For regular users, default Defragger is OK. For advanced users, it's not.
     
  6. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2012
    Posts:
    4,064
    Location:
    Canada
    With 8.1 they look to provide minimal benefits, and with SSD's, they probably should be avoided all together.

    HTG Article
     
  7. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2009
    Posts:
    5,869
    i dont use any regular, maybe twice a year. NTFS is fine enough to handle files and fragmentation will always occur, like DonQuichote versus windmills. On SSD its pretty pointless. modern hdd are fast enough. some better create several partitions for several purpose.
     
  8. fblais

    fblais Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2008
    Posts:
    1,340
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    I open a cmd.exe box with admin rights and use "defrag c:".
    As simple as that.
     
  9. MerleOne

    MerleOne Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2006
    Posts:
    1,336
    Location:
    France
    O&O Defrag 19 which is fast in stealth mode and also supports SSD trimming.
     
  10. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Posts:
    8,627
    The Windows defragmenter automatically does a defrag in the background once a week. It works very well, and because of this there not much need for a 3rd party defragmenter. Having said that, some 3rd party defragmenters can boost disk performance somewhat, but for most users the standard Windows defrag will be all they need.
     
  11. allizomeniz

    allizomeniz Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2009
    Posts:
    943
    The Win 8 Optimizer is a little better than just defragging but it's still miles behind some of the third-party optimizers. I'd say it really depends on you. If your performance is good, and you're not the type of person who likes tinkering, then stay with what you have; otherwise, try an optimizer that gives a lot of control over file placement. I don't care what anyone says, optimal file placement can improve performance, quite a bit in some cases.
     
  12. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    I have seen many examples over the years where defrag has never been performed even though the default once per week schedule has been set.
     
  13. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Posts:
    8,627
    @Victek I was not aware of that sometimes it doesn't run. I'll start checking computers I work on too see if it has been running.
     
  14. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    It was mentioned in the HTG article that the scheduled defrag won't run if the computer is off. Since, by default, it's scheduled to run in the middle of the night it makes sense that it would never run on computers that are turned off after typical daytime use. I haven't tested it though and don't know if this is true. Perhaps the task can turn on the computer and run in some instances? Regarding task scheduling in general some apps have an option to run missed tasks at the soonest opportunity, eg next logon, etc. A quick look at the Windows 10 task manager shows that there are a number of options for scheduled tasks to make sure they will run, but these are not made available in the top level defrag scheduler.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2015
  15. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
    May 9, 2005
    Posts:
    10,213
    You never NEED a third-pary defragmenter it in the first place, so there's no need to stop using anything.
    Mrk
     
  16. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    Never? I've experienced more than once that it is not possible to shrink a partition regardless of how much free space there is because some data is written at the end. Because the Windows defrag utility does not offer a way to identify specific data (in other words a map), and no control over placement there is no way to solve the problem without third party utilities. Sometimes I've been able to resolve it using PerfectDisk since I can view precisely what data is preventing the shrinking operation. At other times it has been necessary to use a third party partition utility, such as EASEUS Partition Master. Either way the built in Windows utilities cannot get the job done.
     
  17. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Posts:
    8,627
  18. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
    May 9, 2005
    Posts:
    10,213
    Victek, that's a side effect of defragmentation. It does not mean the default optimization is any worse compared to third-party tools.
    Mrk
     
  19. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    Is there any way to determine what the default optimization is?
     
  20. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
  21. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
    May 9, 2005
    Posts:
    10,213
    Victek, of course.

    You take a disk in a state, run an IO-based benchmark.
    You clone an image.
    Run the Windows defragmenter, rerun the benchmark.
    Restore the image.
    Run a third-party defragmenter, rerun the benchmark.

    Mrk
     
  22. sm1

    sm1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    570
  23. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for this. I was thinking it would need to be done along these lines, but for me this is another example of the benefit of a third party defragger that simply provides detailed information in the UI.
     
  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.