For years, I used the O&O Defragger, which was good, and had lots of options. Not the fastest around, but it worked well.
Since migrating to Windows Vista in late 2007, I've been stuck on the Windows Defragmenter.
It runs on a schedule, every Wednesday at 0100, and I'm prone to leaving the computer on 24/7, so that works out fine.
Windows defragmenter... has never been the best. Like most Microsoft products, it works... more or less. There's a bunch of stuff it doesn't do, and the interface is written for someone that thinks AOL is complicated. There is zero customization, and slightly more than zero information given. When working, it says only that it's defragmenting. No percentage done, estimated time remaining, what file its working on, nada.
You can't even select which drive(s) to defrag. It's all of C:\ or nothing.
I had let it run earlier today, but I knew from past experience that the results would be less than astounding.
So, I went digging for a new defragmenter; not wanting to drop $60 on a new O&O license.
Seems that Piriform, maker of CCleaner - a longtime favorite of mine for cleaning temporary files from the windows environ - has decided to jump into the defrag market with both feet.
True to what I've come to expect from them, the program just fucking rocks. Not only is it fast, but you can select individual files to defrag, and others not to; as well as the usual 'do the whole drive, Hal'.
Analyzed, selected files, and defragged my windows AND data drives in less than a half hour.
Also worthy of note, is that my C:\ drive was still almost 15% fragmented, even after the windows defragger did its thing.
So... the windows defragger is no longer allowed to run on its little schedule, and can now join the rest of windows' automatic "helpers" in hell, where I generally send them all within two hours of starting the PC up the first time.
Best of all, Defraggler? Is free. Totally. 100%. Not an ad, nor a pop-up box, nothing.
Even if you already have a defragmenting program, I fully recommend you check out defraggler. I don't think you'll be sorry. I know I'm not.
For some odd reason I can't run the defraggler for it keeps failing each time yet the slow ass windows one works.
ReplyDeleteProbably have to take that one up with Piriform tech support to get any answers, since it ran without a hitch for me.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is welcome to the wonderful world of windows computing, where things that make no sense whatsoever are the norm.
I personally prefer MyDefrag - you should check it out
ReplyDeleteDownloaded MyDefrag as well that day, but being as I was already familiar with Piriform I installed their product first.
ReplyDeleteSince it worked on the first try, I didn't bother installing anything else.
I am a long time user of Magical Defrag - does its work when the computer is idling. Never given me a whiff of trouble, aside from needing to upgrade to version 3, because the original does not play well with Vista/Win 7.
ReplyDeleteThe Auld Grump
Like I said, I used O&O for years, through 2000 Pro and later XP, and it does technically work with Vista... but not terribly well.
ReplyDeleteDid a great job... Trouble is, it was slooooooooow. To defrag a 160gb hard drive took somewhere on the order of fourteen hours, I think.
Defraggler did two 160gb drives in less than a half hour. By the time I was done eating, and had finished reading FML entries and a couple web comics, the computer was sitting at 0% fragmentation and ready to go again.