Defragment doesn't finish job

K I typed the command 'convert c: /fs:ntfs' and this is what I got:

THE TYPE OF THE FILE SYSTEM IS FAT32.
CONVERT CANNOT RUN BECAUSE THE VOLUME IS IN USE BY ANOTHER PROCESS. CONVERT MAY RUN IF THIS VOLUME IS DISMOUNTED FIRST. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID. WOULD YOU LIKE TO FORCE A DISMOUNT ON THIS VOLUME? <Y/N>

Meep yes or no What does this mean?

 

it means your using the OS say yes and it will convert on the reboot

 

But before that it asks something about forcing a 'dismount' on the volume. Do I answer that question yes as well?

 

yes that is correct

 

What does dismounting mean in this case?

 

Dismounting a drive just means closing all processes on it and shutting it off.

 

Done. Now the computer is NTSF-ed. Defragmenting with Diskeeper 2007 Pro. It's at 80% (it's been more than 5 hours now, but at least it's not stuck at 38% anymore), and the file performance and file structure maps look like Reagan's election victory map: it's almost ALL RED!! I guess I have to run the damn thing a 1000 times.

 

Hi, folks: more than 5 hours to reach 80%(of 130 GB, right?), and map still shows All red? Can something be learned from this? Thanks.

 

p0rn is bad?
(that cant be right)
Fat is bad?
(but tasty)
Fat Porn is bad?
(think Im getting close)

 

Well, whatever can be learned from this, IN MY OWN DEFENCE, I must say, once again, that this IS NOT my computer and I'm forced to use it until I go back to my own place at the end of the holidays. My own laptop is defraged at least once every month.

And lessons to be learned:
1) Defrag frequently.
2) Partition your drive smartly.
3) Watch less porn. And no, porn is NOT bad. But I like your deductive logic, Ice_Czar (or wait, is that inductive? :S)

 

i think "download less porn" would be a better lesson. watching it on TV is still a-OK

and a general lesson would be that defragmentation goes easier when theres more free space.

 

a point that wasnt focused on
how the porn (or other data) was acquired
if by chance it was via P2P, by its very nature it fragments the living dogsnot out of a partition.
(little this little that little something else a little more of that this something else ad nauseum)
And any avid downloader should definately have a "dropzone" partition for P2P downloads which are then transfered out to err...normal space

 

So we can all agree at least that porn is not bad, and fragmentation is. Good.

 

sort of depends on if your the one throwing the grenade or the one catching it

 

K after 8 defrag runs, here's what I get:


Little or no fragmentation detected on this volume. You
should keep Automatic Defragmentation turned on full time
to maintain maximum performance.

Master File Table (MFT) usage is 80% or higher on this
volume. Use Frag Shield to configure the MFT on this volume
to better match the current MFT usage.

The paging file on this volume is heavily fragmented. Run
Boot-Time Defragmentation to defragment the paging file on
this volume.


Health
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warning!

The overall health of volume C: is degraded

The overall health is at "Warning" level for the following
reasons:

1. The MFT usage was currently 99 percent of the total MFT
size, which indicates it is likely the MFT will become
fragmented.

2. The paging file was fragmented into 1368 pieces.


Access Time

So I opened Frag Shield but instead of giving me an automatic recommendation it gives me a warning on my low level of free space (23%) and that expanding the MFT might reduce the free space below 20%. THe free space used to be at 5-6%, now it's at 23. I can't increase it anymore that it is. What do I do?

Also, do I need to run boot-time defrag a couple of times as well? I already ran it once, seemed to have little effect.

 

1. (W2K\XP pro) Start > Run > (type) gpedit.msc > Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options > DClick Clear virtual memory pagefile when system shuts down > Enable > OK > Reboot

(XP Home & Pro) Start > Run > (type) regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value] // Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Clear Page File Disabled / 1 = Clear Page File Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot

2. change it back again (with alot of memory it takes awhile and may piss him off to leave it like that) its a common security tweak but one most home users have no need for (some malware can try to pull sensitive data out of a pagefile, network passwords ect)

3. The master file table will actually contain the data if the entry its pointing to (its like an index) is so small its more efficient just to incorporate it.

MFT @ NTFS.com

4. Can I adjust some master NTFS table size to handle large number of files better?

5. personally Id again look at backing up at least 20% more of the data
have him do it, burn it to DVD and check its veracity then delete and try to defrag the MFT again, or even alter the partitions. Youd resize the partition to fit the remaining data and create a new one(s). Then transfer data back. He ends up with hard backups, a better partition strategy, likely enhanced performance and defraged data

 

Is good to keep NTFS volumes with at least 15 % free space in order to prevent the fragmentation of MFT.