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Defragging external hard drives
Sorry if this thread is in the wrong section (please move it to the appropriate section, thanks!), but I just wanted to know if anyone is using a defrag program that quickly and efficiently defrags external hard drives?
I'm currently trying to defrag a 1TB external Western Digital HDD (USB only). (Tried it last night, but was stuck at 18% defrag; then performed a Disk Check, then defragged again; it actually said it "defragged" the files, but upon looking, there are still big chunks of file needing to be defragged.) I've downloaded a free program that worked great for internal drives, but the program doesn't seem to recognize the external ones. Yikes! (Guess I might have to fork over for a defrag program) I've also read NOT to defrag external hdds, as there is very little performance gained in doing so(???). Thanks for any and all help and suggestions, --JA www.madjavaproductions.com |
Hi Jeff..........
Can't help with the defrag program for externals, tho' as you didn't say what operating system you have, no one could.
As for "not defragging externals", whomever propounded that theory needs a refresher course in disc management. If it's clean, there are no seeks (or a lot less, anyway) and that's what stuffs up access times. Get one (a defragger that works) and use it (lots). CS |
For windows i use Auslogics disk defrag,it's really fast,especially for vista which has a crap built in defrag.with auslogics defrag you can also select which drive you want defraged.Here's the link.
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software...efrag/download . |
Since someone brought up the subject...
Could someone please tell us everyday PC users ), why is a third party program better than the built-in Windows defragger (I guess it's the same in Mac Land though) - other than maybe the option to run automatically when the computer is idle?
And Paul, what do you mean by "with auslogics defrag you can also select which drive you want defraged"? Any Windows OS can do that... Thanks, |
windows does not compress files very well, and windows does not defrag pagefiles. most good defrag software will also need much less free space to operate.
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Ervin,in Jeffs original post he states that he downloaded a program for defragging but the program only see's internal drives,not external drives,which i did think was strange but then i don't know what defragging program he's using.
Auslogics is free to download,and has a drop down list of your pc's drives. |
Allen & Paul, thank you for your replies - I have to confess, I was ignorant when it comes to defragmenting... I thought Microsoft should know how Windows operates best.
I have noticed that sometimes after defragmenting there are still some fragmented files left, so that's probably because the built-in program is not the best... I will give Auslogics a closer look. Thanks again for clarifying, |
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Hi folks,
Thanks for all the suggestions and replies! Chris- I'm on a PC platform, running XP at the moment. And agree with you wholeheartedly! Paul- Will look into auslogics soon. Steve- That's exactly the same program I downloaded from cnet (30 day trial). When I clicked on the PerfectDisk program, none of the externals came up. Would you mind sending me an email on how you gave "permission to the OS for any defrag program to work with externals"? That would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again! --JA www.madjavaproductions.com |
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I was under the impression that the software from WD will defrag as well, maybe that's a pipe dream and I need a good punch in the kisser to wake up. As for degragging in general, I've heard two lines of thought; one; if it aint broke don't fix it and two; defrag after doing a large project. Since I'm still in the storage stage with a large collection of drives, I don't defrag my video drives, heck the sections of data are so large, that it would be like moving large bowling balls around in a bathtub. Just some thoughts. |
microsoft makes a huge amount of software, reasonably well. I am still amazed at how much nicer the free firefox browser is compared to microsofts internet explorer
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Personally, I've never seen the benefit(s) of other browsers but then I'm funny that way. (Though I have just got an HDV camcorder thereby rendering my previous protestations about the format rather hypocritical!) |
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As an alternative to defragging software, if you have enough space on a second drive, simply copy the entire directory structure of the drive you want to defrag then remove all the files (or even quick format it). Copy the files back and you will have a nicely defragged and consolidated drive.
This can actually be quicker than using a defragger. But the drive you are working with mustn't have any files open, especially system files such as paging files etc. |
Just a quick update...
Thanks Steve for the quick email response; but my PerfectDisk free trial download had already expired. I have downloaded the Auslogics Disk Defrag from cnet.com, and big thanks to Paul's link: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software...efrag/download Once downloaded, under the Settings, there is a dialog/check box that asks if you want to include external hard drives for defragging. Just click it and away you go. Currently defragging my 1TB WD external (USB only!), it's only about 60% full so I've got a ways to go; but it looks good so far (fingers tightly crossed, and knocking on wood). --JA www.madjavaproductions.com |
I downloaded the auslogics defrag - very nice, thanks for the tip!
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Success!
Thanks to Auslogics Disk Defrag, I was able to defrag my 1TB WD external drive. It took over 6-7 hours (left to run errands, chores, watch tv, etc. etc.), but the program worked perfectly. Now I'm defragging my other externals... I guess I'll sleep on it, --JA www.madjavaproductions.com |
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Removed double post (same as below)... no idea how that happened...
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Steve, I tried that (just out of curiosity, the drive is fine otherwise, I can defrag it no problems, although drive cashing is enabled), and the option is not available - it's grayed out, so is "optimize for performance".
But this brings up another question, namely the safe removal. I always religiously observe the safe removal procedure being under the impression that simply yanking the USB cable can leave the drive with corrupted data. So, if I "optimize for quick removal"... is that not going to leave me with the potential of corrupting the data? Should I uncheck "enable write cashing"? Obviously, data safety is more important to me than performance. Thanks, Edit: Forget disabling write cashing... it brings down the drive to a crawl...kind of like a USB1 connection. |
How does the Auslogics defrag compare to O&O Defrag? I have been using O&O defrag since Win NT 4.0 (at a time when Microsoft still claimed there was no need to defrag NTFS drives...). O&O Defrag is a very powerful defrag tool in my opinion, but I don't know the auslogics.
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I'm glad you all seem to like Auslogics Disk defrag.
Paul. |
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Does anyone have experience with BoostSpeed? I would buy it but would like to know if it really does what it claims. Thanks, |
Try Diskeeper Professional 2008 (latest version) - I use that ... can "Set up and Forget" ... and it will automatically defrag when hd exceeds a certain percentage. Very good.
Or PrefectDisk will do just as good. |
Boostpseed is very good Ervin !!!
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