Round a friends last night and hi pc is like a snail. Turns out he has never run a disc clean up or disc defragment or any sort of 'clean' in 6 years of having the computer. We ran a Disc Defragment and 8 hours later it was still running. Is this ok? Can you just let it run? How long could it take? I am no expert but i keep my own pc up to scratch and clean but bit stuck on this. Thankyou in advance.
disc defragment- How long!
- Thread starter tilerman
- Start date
J
joinerjohn
When running defrag, don't forget to disable any screensaver, sleep mode etc.
Defrag can take hours, depending upon the amount of data on the HD that needs re-writing on the disk.
Defrag can take hours, depending upon the amount of data on the HD that needs re-writing on the disk.
How much free disk space is there? Defrag will run like a pig if there isn't at least one-third free space and preferably quite a lot more.
Sorry, got suckered into this one. Check OP in 2007 
XP right?
It might help to select "Always On" from "Power Option Properties" for now.
You could try deleting C:\Windows\Prefetch directory (it will get recreated automatically)
I never uninstall Windows patches, so I delete the hidden C:\Windows\$Ntuninstall* directories, as they are system folders and won't defragment.
I never use System Restore, so I turn that off too. Again, it uses system directories that won't defragment.
If there is enough memory, I temporarily turn off Virtual memory in Advanced tab of Performance Options. I also disable Hibernation from Power Option Properties.
Probably best to run "chkdsk /f C:" and reboot to check health of hard disc and file system.
After rebooting, check that Virtual Memory is still disabled. If it is, then you can delete C:\pagefile.sys. Double check that hibernation is disabled, then you can delete C:\hiberfil.sys. These are both large system files and won't defragment.
Then defragment the hard disc again. Then again and again... until it comes back almost immediately.
Turn Virtual Memory back on; I'd specify a custom size that matches the recommended size.
Enable hibernation (if used). Possibly "System Restore" too.
Go back to the original power scheme; I avoid "Always On" and "Home/Office Desk", as they don't adjust processor speed.
After a couple of days use, run
Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
This runs defrag.exe again especially to optimise the newly populated Prefetch directory and often reduces boot time. This is supposed to happen automatically, but sometimes it doesn't.
XP right?
It might help to select "Always On" from "Power Option Properties" for now.
You could try deleting C:\Windows\Prefetch directory (it will get recreated automatically)
I never uninstall Windows patches, so I delete the hidden C:\Windows\$Ntuninstall* directories, as they are system folders and won't defragment.
I never use System Restore, so I turn that off too. Again, it uses system directories that won't defragment.
If there is enough memory, I temporarily turn off Virtual memory in Advanced tab of Performance Options. I also disable Hibernation from Power Option Properties.
Probably best to run "chkdsk /f C:" and reboot to check health of hard disc and file system.
After rebooting, check that Virtual Memory is still disabled. If it is, then you can delete C:\pagefile.sys. Double check that hibernation is disabled, then you can delete C:\hiberfil.sys. These are both large system files and won't defragment.
Then defragment the hard disc again. Then again and again... until it comes back almost immediately.
Turn Virtual Memory back on; I'd specify a custom size that matches the recommended size.
Enable hibernation (if used). Possibly "System Restore" too.
Go back to the original power scheme; I avoid "Always On" and "Home/Office Desk", as they don't adjust processor speed.
After a couple of days use, run
Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
This runs defrag.exe again especially to optimise the newly populated Prefetch directory and often reduces boot time. This is supposed to happen automatically, but sometimes it doesn't.
Thankyou for all your help and advice. On recomendation of a PC nerd friend (no disrespect) we have downloaded anther program called Auslogics Disc deframgmenter. Worked a treat and best of all, unlike Vista Disc Defragmenter had a progress bar so you could see what was going on and how long it was taking. Thanks again to all your replies.
Defraggler, once the disk is Analyzed,displays a list of all the defragged files and how many fragments. You then click to select which you want to defrag (usually all of them) and click the defrag button.
Progress is shown as a %.
dave
Progress is shown as a %.
dave
It took me more than 8 hours once to defrag with the built in defragger. Its pretty common if you have low free space/or if some program interrupts etc.
I now use a fully automatic defragmenter (not free but IMO really worth it) thats really fast and defrags the system files as well. Its also great if you have less than 5% free space.
M
Mickymoody
FAT formatted systems work better on defragged systems, but NTFS, ie Win97 upwards? prefer a NON defragged system, hence it uselessness.
Better to use a program called CCleaner, the first C = Crap.
It's clogged up registry that slows the machine down, as opposed to displaced inputs on the hdisk, because the hdisk is quick enough to allieviate these issues, due to the use of NTFS, rather than FAT.
A problem with CCleaner, is that many virus writers know how good this tool is, so be sure to download the correct version, and that it also resets all your history, and passwords.
A good tool to speed up the system is to upgrade your computers memory, and reset the page file,
Better to use a program called CCleaner, the first C = Crap.
It's clogged up registry that slows the machine down, as opposed to displaced inputs on the hdisk, because the hdisk is quick enough to allieviate these issues, due to the use of NTFS, rather than FAT.
A problem with CCleaner, is that many virus writers know how good this tool is, so be sure to download the correct version, and that it also resets all your history, and passwords.
A good tool to speed up the system is to upgrade your computers memory, and reset the page file,
Bull, Micky. No filesystem can eliminate the performance costs of fragmentation.
No mechanical drive is fast enough to ignore fragmentation.
And no, NTFS does not prefer a fragmented filesystem. Here's a good one to read: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967351
No mechanical drive is fast enough to ignore fragmentation.
And no, NTFS does not prefer a fragmented filesystem. Here's a good one to read: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967351