[Brieleth]

Alright, if you don't want to download even more programs or pay for something like Diskeeper, here's a fairly simple way to get back the customization and analysis previously boasted by the XP defrag interface.

First, go to Command Prompt (under Accessories) and right click it. Select 'Run As Administrator'

That should bring up Command Prompt. From there, you can type in

defrag.exe -?

which will yield a list of commands that you can use with defrag.exe

Some basic commands:
(of course, you can substitute c: for any drive or folder)

defrag.exe c: -a -v
(will run a verbose analysis on volume C: Of course, you can replace c: with d: or any drive)

defrag.exe c: -a
(a more simple analysis of the volume)

defrag.exe c: -r
(performs the default (partial) defragmentation on the volume)

defrag.exe c: -w
(performs a full defrag that will try and fix all fragmented files no matter the size)


This way, you actually know what's up with your drive and can choose to defrag only one or the other.
Hope that helps!

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Is it just me or with all the technology in Vista why can't we have a defrag with something to let us know its actually working on something. Graph, a %, Est. Time, Something.

[RussellV]

Is it just me or with all the technology in Vista why can't we have a defrag with something to let us know its actually working on something. Graph, a %, Est. Time, Something.

[arborman]

Is it just me or with all the technology in Vista why can't we have a defrag with something to let us know its actually working on something. Graph, a %, Est. Time, Something.

Vista does many things well, some things it does not.
The search function, monitoring tools, stability and UI are in the first category.
The defragger and the UAC fall into the latter category.

If you don't like the Vista defragger, your best option is a third party utility. Unfortunately, the freeware ones don't have many features like MFT defrag, VSS defrag mode etc.
I use a (paid) automatic defragmenter, and I like the way it works. It does not get in the way, yet keeps my 4 drives defragmented and healthy, in the background using idle system resources. I don't have to wait for defrag to end on the busy and large drives so I can use them...previously when I used to schedule defrags the old fashioned way, this used to be an inconvenience. There is also a GUI for analyzing and checking progress on the drives. It has other defrag modes too (manual etc) but I never use them- I just leave it on auto.

[rodneymckay]

Diskeeper for Vista is out and works great. If you have a dual boot using XP and Diskeeper and you have Vista on another partitian you can set automatic defrag for Vista from XP. Either way will work.

[SRX660]

I did not like the vista defrag from the get-go. So, i went looking at derag reviews and chose to use the AUSlogics defrag.

http://www.auslogics...are/disk-defrag

I chose to use it even tho it does not use a schedule defrag simply because it explains everything it does, has a running list of files being defraged ( like XP defrag) and gives you a graph of the different files in the system. I am thoroughly pleased with this defragger.

SRX660

[RussellV]

Thanks everyone for the input. I was trying IOBit and it seems to be really slow on the actual defrag and rarely seems to defrag in the background on its own. I will try your suggestions and see if I can get one I like.


Thanks all

[Abydos]

Just a word of advice / tip to those running automated defrag with idle system-power.

- Windows system files and program files in current use, will not get defragged. So if you have some
running 24/7, it will get fragmented, and sometimes to the point where the program will begin to produce
laggy behavior, errors etc. etc. A monthly full defrag will help tremendously on this.(In safe-mode, minimum programs / services running)

- For Laptop users, this is a bad idea if you value your battery time. The defrag tool will consume resources,
and thus, battery power. Also, when it comes to laptops, its limited how much idle time you have on a laptop.
When users leave their laptops on, they usually leave it in hibernate or with sleep function enabled. Combined, these
things will limit the overall use for a auto-defrag program for a laptop. The use of a fast defrag program are a wiser course.
Such as the Auslogics Defrag tool (Its really fast!)


Abydos

[RussellV]

I agree with Abydos. I think the fastest Vista defrag I have found is the Auslogics Defrag tool. Seems to do a good job in a short amount of time.

[arborman]

Just a word of advice / tip to those running automated defrag with idle system-power.

- Windows system files and program files in current use, will not get defragged. So if you have some
running 24/7, it will get fragmented, and sometimes to the point where the program will begin to produce
laggy behavior, errors etc. etc. A monthly full defrag will help tremendously on this.(In safe-mode, minimum programs / services running)

- For Laptop users, this is a bad idea if you value your battery time. The defrag tool will consume resources,
and thus, battery power. Also, when it comes to laptops, its limited how much idle time you have on a laptop.
When users leave their laptops on, they usually leave it in hibernate or with sleep function enabled. Combined, these
things will limit the overall use for a auto-defrag program for a laptop. The use of a fast defrag program are a wiser course.
Such as the Auslogics Defrag tool (Its really fast!)


Abydos

IMO:

(1) Safe mode defrag is quite outdated. The newer commercial automatic defragmenters for the desktop are descended from corporate versions for servers, and are expressly designed to defrag (with very few exceptions) almost all necessary windows and data files 'online' itself. Infact, the best ones even defrag most of the MFT online (and resize it as necessary) to negate the need for boot-time defrags. Besides, there is always the option of running 'conventional' defrags if you want, and they will finish even quicker because most of the files would have been defragged already, so no loss there.

(2) The automatic defragmenter that I use automatically suspends defragging when the laptop is running on batteries, so it does not harm battery life at all. Whenever the laptop is in use when plugged into the mains, defrag can run in the background as necessary. No computer runs at 100% all the time (unless there is something wrong) so there ought to be resources to complete the day's defrag.

Anyway, it's not that the defragger runs continuously all the time. After it has processed the disk for the first time thoroughly, it needs to kick in for just a few minutes each day to clear up the fragments. And as before, you still have full access to all the 'conventional' defrag modes should you choose.

(3) Auslogics is useless. It's 'fast' that's about it. It does not do a proper job of defragging fragmented files, it cannot defrag in low space, it does not defrag the MFT, it cannot defrag more than one drive simultaneously etc etc. it's better to stick with the Windows default defragger than bother with Auslogics. Especially for Vista, since Auslogics does not even have a VSS-aware defrag option!!