Best free defrag tool - IYHO

I don't want to start a flame war here, I just want some good, honest (& civil) opinions please

I've looked at some articles online on this subject matter but they're dated. I'm sure things have changed and Wilders Members are known for keeping up with these changes. And are any of these free apps any better than the Disk Defragmenter built into Windows (XP)? If not, I won't bother.

Thanks

 

One thing the default defragmenter can't do (I think) is to defrag individual files. Piriform's Defraggler has this feature.

In general, I'd be wary of using other defraggers that use mechanisms different from that the built-in defragger if you don't turn off the background auto-defrag that is on by default. The reason is that using two different mechanisms could be a waste of labour.

That's my 100% non-expert two bits.

 

Are you talking about a feature that's on this program you recommend?... or are you saying the Windows Defragger runs in the background?

I came across this site and something called "PageDefrag". It claims to be able to do things the Windows Defragger can't (or won't) do.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx

I also heard good things about MyDefrag (formerly JkDefrag).

 

on win7 you have to disable the task it has already otherwise it runs in the backround.. its in task manager

and for free puran imo best there is.

paid im still searching myself after many dissapointments

 

I'm using XP. As far as I know that doesn't apply to me, but I could be wrong. I know it depends on the DCOM service to run though.

Thanks for the recommendation, and for the list (JRViejo). But putting a list like that in front of an indecisive person like myself is futile. I'm like this in restaurants too...

 

For free Defragmentation tools, my choice is in following order:
• Auslogics Disk Defrag
• Defraggler Slim
• Puran Defrag
• Smart Defrag
• UltraDefrag

 

Sorry for not being clear.

With reference to Win XP, the operating system carries out maintenance in the background and that includes defragging.

The point I was trying to make was that one should ensure that the defragging by a external program should not conflict with the type of defragging Windows does in the background otherwise one of the two gets to be pointless.

 

+1 for Puran Defrag Free

 

Well I've done a lot of trial and error and used a lot many too.

The best free ones are MyDefrag and Puran Defrag and both of them do a good job.

But I'm loving Puran Defrag for its ease of use and its automated schedule as well as boot time defrag. You will not go wrong with Puran.

 

Puran gets my vote too!

 

I agree with Auslogics Disk Defrag since it's what I use regularly. After running it I notice Firefox's initial launch time is reduced, in addition to the system running faster overall. Excellent program!

 

Best free Defragmentation tools, my choice:

Puran Defrag - simple and fast.

Auslogics Disk Defrag - clean GUI, efficient and fast.

 

Oh yeah, I know all this, believe me. But I value the opinions of the members here, so hopefully they can help me narrow it down to a few choices instead of trying out all 50. I fully expect varying opinions, in fact... I'm depending on it.

I'm certainly going to give the Piriform product a test run because I use (and love) CCleaner. And with so many votes for Puran, that will get a look too.

Thanks for the recommendations everybody

 

I have bought a Defrag for one machine and I can't complain (if I had the choice though to go back in time I wouldn't have spent the money). I'm very pleased with the performance of Puran Defrag on 3 other machines and a free promotional version of O&O Defrag10 Professional.

It has been quite a topical discussion here at Wilders how useful it is to defragment a hard drive, and as far as I can tell from experience XP seems to benefit more from a defrag than Vista (some members reckon that Vista and Win7 are somewhat self-sufficient). Vista has never really shown any improvement in terms of speed after defragmentation, although I do defragment every now and again.

 

I've mentioned this on another tech forum but I'd just copy/paste it here for the ease of the member who started this thread...

This is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree but don't mention it directly to me

Smart Defrag:
Pros: Most of its fans are attracted to it's automatic defrag feature and ease of use. Set & forget.
Cons: Results are arguable...Trust issues regarding company's ethics (Iobit-MBAM debacle)

Auslogics:
Pros: Suitable as a quick-to-go portable defragmenter. It does it's job quickly and with minimum resources.
Cons: Results are arguable.

Defraggler:
Pros: Suitable as a quick-to-go portable defragmenter.
Cons: Made by the same guys who develop CCleaner but without the same kind of 'punch' that comes along with CCleaner. Results are arguable.

MyDefrag:
Pros: Suitable for those who want results. This is in my opinion the best defragmenter among the 4 in terms of the defragmentation algorithm in terms of application startup times after the defrag process, etc.
Cons: Defrag process may be too slow for some users.

Puran Defragmenter:
Pros: Suitable for those who are after "jack of all trades" but arguably "master of none". Has complete set of features as a defragmenter including a boot time defrag...which is missing in the other programs...
Cons: Results are arguable....

Ultimately, you choose what's best for you I've got Puran Defrag installed on my PC and I use Auslogics portable when I feel like it. Hardly use MyDefrag as it's too slow for my liking but I've used it before and I would probably in the future.

Another thing - as much as possible, avoid auto-daily defrag because it actually causes disk trashing which in the long run affects your PC negatively. If need be, set it to weekly or monthly

And yes, no matter which 3rd-party disk defrag you use, leave the Windows 7 built-in defrag alone. Don't disable it as it works along-with the SuperFetch concept that optimizes your boot time

Source: How SuperFetch makes Windows faster

Vista is a different issue altogether...it either works for you or it doesn't If you're using XP, then a 3rd-part defrag tool really helps...

 

Installed this last evening and agree - very nice freebie

My cold boot and restart times have increased lately and after running the boot defrag, those times are much shorter now. Sweet

 

Auslogics Disk Defrag is all I use anymore

 

cant wait for it to test. hopefully it will be a overall great defragger

 

Auslogics and Piriform Defraggler suit me fine, they are quick and I see no benefit in trying anything else.

 

When I use one I prefer JKdefrag/MyDefrag.

When I want to defrag something like an .iso I use wincontig.

Defragging is often over-rated in the performance gains, but nothing wrong with using them.

Sul.

 

Was using Auslogics Disk Defrag for quite sometime, currently using Puran Defrag

 

Best free defrag tool - IMHO:


Wait for it.



You're not going to believe it.




You might even get mad at me.




But the best free defrag tool is.............................................................














Linux!!!!!