Drive Not Getting Fragmented?

I have, in the past couple months, installed probably 12+ GB in games on my computer, yet according to Defraggler, my fragmentation is about the same, at 1%, only 500MB or so. I know there is a program that can prevent fragmentation from happening, but I don't have it, so why is my hard drive not getting fragmented?

 

Fragmentation happens more so when you start removing some of those files and then adding new ones.

If you have a really large disk you can just keep writing new data sequentially.

As the disk fills up and you start removing some of the files that were there and then adding new ones afterwards overtime the disk has to start splitting files up and moving them around to fit them. You'll continue removing and then adding new files and it'll continue trying to fit it all into that same space and that's how it happens.

So if you just write 12GB of files to a 500GB disk it'll all write sequentially without issue.

 

So if you use disk cleaner and defragger before you add new software will it cause less fragmenting?

 

NO! That will just straighten out the drive placement, and remove temporary files, which will be added with a new program install anyway, so cleanup & defrag after a new install. Heres an amusing scenario Imagin the files of the program your installing being an Army of Ants all after some sugar, they are all over the place right?, they same applies to your new program install, so are it's files. Now imagine your disk cleaner as an Ant eater, and your defragmenter as a hoover, both cleaning and putting all the scattered files into there rightful place, or stacking shelfs in a store, all the items in a nice neat little row easy to get at without having to look too far

 

I like to think of it as legos. You've got 2 wides, 3 wides, 4 wides, etc. You pull a 2 wide (delete it) and there's a 2 wide gap. Next time you put a 3 wide down you split it an difll the 2 wide and put the other 1 at the next available space.

That's a fragment.

Modern file systems provide a buffer so that no lego is next to another lego, they all have a few spacse in between. That way when you delete a piece you can fit any piece in there to an extent.

 

Bit like Tetris then

 

So does the order of the defrag/cleaner change anything?

I have the cleaner/defragger that are part of the OS, and I have two others from Piriform.

 

interesting any recommended defrager heard bout Raxco PerfectDisk Professional being very good but then again ive heard its supposed to have turned to crap as of late , anyone?

 

I recommend to do cleaning first, then defragmenting - to have free space consolidated properly

 

well i clean my temp and whatnot directorys with ccleaner enhanced, so now bout that defrager ,is raxco the answer to all our defraging problems or is there something better?

or perhaps Auslogics Disk Defrag?