[wonderer17]

I have had my computer for nearly 4 years and I have never done a defrag...i wish to do it now...but these things are stopping me:
1: what are the risks ?
2: how long its it most likely to take...please don't say it depends on the amount of files...i want to know YOUR estimate for a computer that has never been defrag before.

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Hi -
1) NO risks to any system -
2) You have answered that question yourself - Please go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter -
Now click on Analyse - The amount of free space and the amount of fragments will be displayed -
Please post back with your results -

Thank You -

Edited for extra information

Edited by noknojon, 13 December 2010 - 12:02 AM.

[noknojon]

Hi -
1) NO risks to any system -
2) You have answered that question yourself - Please go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter -
Now click on Analyse - The amount of free space and the amount of fragments will be displayed -
Please post back with your results -

Thank You -

Edited for extra information

Edited by noknojon, 13 December 2010 - 12:02 AM.

[phillpower2]

I have had my computer for nearly 4 years and I have never done a defrag...i wish to do it now...but these things are stopping me:
1: what are the risks ?
2: how long its it most likely to take...please don't say it depends on the amount of files...i want to know YOUR estimate for a computer that has never been defrag before.

1: None!
2: Not as long as you may need to wait for a reply due to the lack of system information provided!
Is the computer a laptop or desktop, SATA or IDE and storage capacity of the HDD to be defragged?
Your HDD is more likely to fail, to lose data or corrupt the OS if you do not defrag on a regular basis.


EDIT: In addition to the information provided by rshaffer61http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/47989

Edited by phillpower2, 13 December 2010 - 02:09 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Based on the info you gave I would surprised if it even ran. Depending on the amount of free space the defrag may not be able to run anyway.
Depending on the size of the drives, how badly it is fragmented and yes even the amount of files.
I have had systems that has taken a day to defrag and they have been done in the last 2 years, Yours 4 years it could take a day or longer again depending on the above.

[noknojon]

Hi again -

Now that you have seen (I hope) the 3 responses , can you post back with any of the information that has been mentioned -

My request for the basic information after you visited the Defrag section of System Tools -
The request from phillpower2 as to "Is the computer a laptop or desktop, SATA or IDE and storage capacity of the HDD to be defragged" -
Also include ANY items that you think are needed (Do you have XP SP3 installed and updates from M/soft) - All are relevent -
Or has this just been a fishing expedition ??

Thank You -

[arborman]

I have had my computer for nearly 4 years and I have never done a defrag...i wish to do it now...but these things are stopping me:
1: what are the risks ?
2: how long its it most likely to take...please don't say it depends on the amount of files...i want to know YOUR estimate for a computer that has never been defrag before.

1. No risks as long as you use a good defragger from a reputable vendor. Don't download and install random software off the internet.
You may also want to run chkdsk /r once if you've never done so.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
It will ensure that the filesystem is free of corruption before the defrag.
Running a disk cleanup is also recommended before a defrag since you'll not waste time defragging useless temp/junk files.

2. Nobody can predict. It depends on the number and size of files, extent of fragmentation, drive speed, defragmenter's algorithm and other running processes that access disk/CPU resources during the defrag. If you don't want to deal with the time factor yet want a comprehensive defrag, use a good automatic defragmenter that runs in the background and defrags using only idle resources (Get a free trial version free from a reliable vendor's website and try it out). This will allow you to use the computer normally while defrag runs in the background.