Any good HD defrag alternatives to XP's?

**LeeJend** · April 11th, 2004

Using NTFS in Win XP. Searched the forums but only hit was a 2 year old post by Waddy.

Looking for something that will defrag and compact the files on my HD. Windows XP leaves empty areas all through the disk so it constantly fragments again.

Any suggestions?

**ElementalDragon** · April 11th, 2004

uhm.... i am rather fond of PerfectDisk. believe it's made by Raxco. which reminds me that i have to find that again

wadada · April 11th, 2004

perfect disk 6.0

**Kush** · April 11th, 2004

i thought the best was diskkeeper...

wadada · April 11th, 2004

maybe your right , i dont know wich is the best, i just like perfect disk very much

**ElementalDragon** · April 11th, 2004

according to the makers of PerfectDisk, PerfectDisk arranges the files on the hard drive in a more efficient way than DiskKeeper

**ming** · April 11th, 2004

I've tried PD and Diskeeper. Not sure which is better but I prefer Diskeeper for ease of use. XP's internal defrag is actually a cut down version of Diskeeper 7.
I haven't played around with PD enough to say whether or not it's better than Diskeeper, but I did find it confusing at first with regards to offline defrag and stuff like that.

cpugeniusmv · April 11th, 2004

i like diskeeper...i set it a long time ago, and i forgot it

**ElementalDragon** · April 11th, 2004

Ming, how is it confusing? Offline Defrags just mean that it will Defrag your computer on the next reboot, before it starts windows. the other 2 options if you don't do an offline (maybe if you do an offline too, don't remember) is either a normal Defrag, or the one that arranges the files so they are accessed more efficiently, moves the MBR to the optimal position on the hard drive, and makes the hard drive need defragging less often.

**ming** · April 11th, 2004

Originally Posted by ElementalDragon

Ming, how is it confusing? Offline Defrags just mean that it will Defrag your computer on the next reboot, before it starts windows. the other 2 options if you don't do an offline (maybe if you do an offline too, don't remember) is either a normal Defrag, or the one that arranges the files so they are accessed more efficiently, moves the MBR to the optimal position on the hard drive, and makes the hard drive need defragging less often.

Well first of all, for a first-time user of PD, how would they know that offline = next boot?

**ElementalDragon** · April 11th, 2004

.......maybe because it tells you so? if you would read into it i believe it tells you right underneath where it says "offline defrag".

rotjong · April 12th, 2004

Originally Posted by ElementalDragon

.......maybe because it tells you so? if you would read into it i believe it tells you right underneath where it says "offline defrag".

It's been awhile since I did an offline defrag with PerfectDisk but you can run an offline defrag on a non-boot drive w/o having it take place on the next boot. As long as PD can lock the drive then you can run the defrag right then. Maybe this has changed. Obviously if it is a boot drive it will take place the next boot and it tells you this when you attempt to run the defrag.

I registered Diskeeper at one point. Sad to say I was disappointed by it and it actually totally hosed my system on a number of occasions because of install/uninstall issues. I threw it away and will never touch it again. Sorry, but I consider it garbage.

As much as I love PerfectDisk I do have one particular issue with PD and it might have been changed since they upped from v5 to v6. When I registered v5 I got a retail download and you had to download and run each consecutive update in order to get your PD totally up to date. You couldn't download the latest update, install it, and be ok. This meant if you are like I am and save all your installation files for software that you are wasting space with all these in-between updates. Some might think this is a sad complaint but when I do a clean install I have all the software AND updates I need without even going online. This speeds up the whole installation/configuration process. This may have been resolved with v6 but I haven't had to do a clean install so I have no idea.

Other than my irritation at the updates process PerfectDisk wins hands down.

**LeeJend** · April 12th, 2004

Thanks all. Went with Perfect Disk. Their 30 day trial talked me into it. And a lot cheaper for XP PRO than Diskeeper.

**NetRyder** · April 12th, 2004

A good choice. PerfectDisk 6.0 does a very thorough job.

**ElementalDragon** · April 12th, 2004

goes kinda quick too, which is a bit surprising

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #1
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,261 Reputation: 3386 Power: 199	Any good HD defrag alternatives to XP's? Using NTFS in Win XP. Searched the forums but only hit was a 2 year old post by Waddy. Looking for something that will defrag and compact the files on my HD. Windows XP leaves empty areas all through the disk so it constantly fragments again. Any suggestions? Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #2
ElementalDragon The One and Only Joined: August 2002 Location: Lehighton, PA Posts: 3,160 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1095 Power: 161	uhm.... i am rather fond of PerfectDisk. believe it's made by Raxco. which reminds me that i have to find that again Core 2 Quad Q9450 \| 4GB DDR2 800 \| Abit IP-35 Pro \| eVGA GTX 295+ I Love Windows 7! Has my post been helpful to you? If so, please click the to the left to add to my reputation.

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #6
ElementalDragon The One and Only Joined: August 2002 Location: Lehighton, PA Posts: 3,160 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1095 Power: 161	according to the makers of PerfectDisk, PerfectDisk arranges the files on the hard drive in a more efficient way than DiskKeeper Core 2 Quad Q9450 \| 4GB DDR2 800 \| Abit IP-35 Pro \| eVGA GTX 295+ I Love Windows 7! Has my post been helpful to you? If so, please click the to the left to add to my reputation.

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #7
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 162	I've tried PD and Diskeeper. Not sure which is better but I prefer Diskeeper for ease of use. XP's internal defrag is actually a cut down version of Diskeeper 7. I haven't played around with PD enough to say whether or not it's better than Diskeeper, but I did find it confusing at first with regards to offline defrag and stuff like that. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #9
ElementalDragon The One and Only Joined: August 2002 Location: Lehighton, PA Posts: 3,160 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1095 Power: 161	Ming, how is it confusing? Offline Defrags just mean that it will Defrag your computer on the next reboot, before it starts windows. the other 2 options if you don't do an offline (maybe if you do an offline too, don't remember) is either a normal Defrag, or the one that arranges the files so they are accessed more efficiently, moves the MBR to the optimal position on the hard drive, and makes the hard drive need defragging less often. Core 2 Quad Q9450 \| 4GB DDR2 800 \| Abit IP-35 Pro \| eVGA GTX 295+ I Love Windows 7! Has my post been helpful to you? If so, please click the to the left to add to my reputation.

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April 11th, 2004	Top \| #3
wadada OSNN Senior Addict Joined: November 2002 Location: netherlands Posts: 707 Reputation: 180 Power: 125	perfect disk 6.0

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #4
Kush High On Life! Joined: January 2002 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 4,590 Reputation: 1300 Power: 185	i thought the best was diskkeeper...

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #5
wadada OSNN Senior Addict Joined: November 2002 Location: netherlands Posts: 707 Reputation: 180 Power: 125	maybe your right , i dont know wich is the best, i just like perfect disk very much

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #8
cpugeniusmv Computer Genius Joined: April 2003 Posts: 485 Reputation: 50 Power: 116	i like diskeeper...i set it a long time ago, and i forgot it

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #10
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 162	Originally Posted by ElementalDragon Ming, how is it confusing? Offline Defrags just mean that it will Defrag your computer on the next reboot, before it starts windows. the other 2 options if you don't do an offline (maybe if you do an offline too, don't remember) is either a normal Defrag, or the one that arranges the files so they are accessed more efficiently, moves the MBR to the optimal position on the hard drive, and makes the hard drive need defragging less often. Well first of all, for a first-time user of PD, how would they know that offline = next boot? Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

April 11th, 2004	Top \| #11
ElementalDragon The One and Only Joined: August 2002 Location: Lehighton, PA Posts: 3,160 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1095 Power: 161	.......maybe because it tells you so? if you would read into it i believe it tells you right underneath where it says "offline defrag". Core 2 Quad Q9450 \| 4GB DDR2 800 \| Abit IP-35 Pro \| eVGA GTX 295+ I Love Windows 7! Has my post been helpful to you? If so, please click the to the left to add to my reputation.

April 12th, 2004	Top \| #12
rotjong OSNN Senior Addict Joined: January 2004 Location: The far side of nowhere Posts: 573 Reputation: 585 Power: 112	Originally Posted by ElementalDragon .......maybe because it tells you so? if you would read into it i believe it tells you right underneath where it says "offline defrag". It's been awhile since I did an offline defrag with PerfectDisk but you can run an offline defrag on a non-boot drive w/o having it take place on the next boot. As long as PD can lock the drive then you can run the defrag right then. Maybe this has changed. Obviously if it is a boot drive it will take place the next boot and it tells you this when you attempt to run the defrag. I registered Diskeeper at one point. Sad to say I was disappointed by it and it actually totally hosed my system on a number of occasions because of install/uninstall issues. I threw it away and will never touch it again. Sorry, but I consider it garbage. As much as I love PerfectDisk I do have one particular issue with PD and it might have been changed since they upped from v5 to v6. When I registered v5 I got a retail download and you had to download and run each consecutive update in order to get your PD totally up to date. You couldn't download the latest update, install it, and be ok. This meant if you are like I am and save all your installation files for software that you are wasting space with all these in-between updates. Some might think this is a sad complaint but when I do a clean install I have all the software AND updates I need without even going online. This speeds up the whole installation/configuration process. This may have been resolved with v6 but I haven't had to do a clean install so I have no idea. Other than my irritation at the updates process PerfectDisk wins hands down.

April 12th, 2004	Top \| #13
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,261 Reputation: 3386 Power: 199	Thanks all. Went with Perfect Disk. Their 30 day trial talked me into it. And a lot cheaper for XP PRO than Diskeeper. Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

April 12th, 2004	Top \| #14
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 298	A good choice. PerfectDisk 6.0 does a very thorough job. http://kunal.kundaje.net

April 12th, 2004	Top \| #15
ElementalDragon The One and Only Joined: August 2002 Location: Lehighton, PA Posts: 3,160 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1095 Power: 161	goes kinda quick too, which is a bit surprising Core 2 Quad Q9450 \| 4GB DDR2 800 \| Abit IP-35 Pro \| eVGA GTX 295+ I Love Windows 7! Has my post been helpful to you? If so, please click the to the left to add to my reputation.

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