Comments for What is 'defragging', and why should I do it?

Comment from Raymond Anderson on 2008-09-21

2008-09-22T00:25:09Z

Defragmentation is complete for: HP_PAVILION (C:)

Some files on this volume could not be defragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files can you tell me why this comes up and the defragmentation does not finish? Thank you

Defragging can fail on certain files if they're too large (not enough free space on the drive), if they are system files, or in some cases if they are in use and locked. You'll have to look at the log that the messages it telling you about to see what files are not defragged.

And for the record: it's ok if some don't. I wouldn't worry about it.

- Leo
22-Sep-2008

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Comment from Rajinder on 2008-09-18

2008-09-18T09:44:08Z

hi LEO sir, really very beautifully written that even a layman like me can also understand.humbly saying sir i am very impressed.easy to understand means you have done a lot hardwork thanks a million sir.

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Comment from Sas on 2008-09-03

2008-09-03T07:29:23Z

Excellent article, extremely helpful.
But I'm having a problem, I can't save the Notepad file because it's saying I need permission from the Administrator or something. But my user account *is* the Administrator account on my machine? I'm running Vista if that helps... Thanks!

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Comment from anonymous on 2008-07-23

2008-07-23T11:24:50Z

hi.. do we need to power on our pc if we schedule to defrag at night or early in the morning even if we're away from our pc's? thanks..

Nothing will happen unless the PC is turned on.

-Leo

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Comment from Brad on 2008-07-13

2008-07-14T01:24:08Z

Thanks alot Leo. I seen my optimizer say that it was reccomended for a defragmentation and i wanted to know what i was doing first. Thankyou!

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Comment from Anonomys on 2008-05-21

2008-05-21T14:39:17Z

what an analagy about book being a harddrive

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-04-19

2008-04-19T17:52:03Z

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No. This article applies to registry cleaners and
optimizers:
http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_best_registry_cleaner.html

Leo

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Comment from troy on 2008-04-18

2008-04-19T02:22:08Z

Do your comments about defragging also apply to the program "registry optimizer"?

Thanks
Troy

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Comment from John Barron on 2008-03-08

2008-03-08T19:38:43Z

My wife ran defragment and now many of the programs are not working properly. My I-tunes keeps searching for the file to open and never opens. Please help.

Thanks

John

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Comment from Ness on 2008-02-28

2008-02-28T20:14:36Z

Wow, this is really informative. I don't think I would have gotten a simpler explanation anywhere else. Now I think I will go and do some defragging. Thanks.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-01-22

2008-01-23T01:34:08Z

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No, you must leave your computer turned on for scheduled
tasks to run.

Leo

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Comment from Kevin Chan on 2008-01-19

2008-01-20T03:49:50Z

Hi Leo,
I find this article quite informative, I never knew that there is such an option available and I am the computer guy at my house. Anyway, I wanted to ask about the task scheduler, so let's say I did everything like you said; would the computer simply turn itself on and perform the defrag?

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Comment from Jordan on 2007-10-16

2007-10-16T21:39:23Z

Leo, I set my computer to defrag the other night, and it got hung up on a video file at 26%. So, I deleted the video, and it got stuck again at 13% on a different video file. A third attempt and it got stuck at 6% after 8 hours of running on yet a different video file. What do you think I should do, besides not storing too many movies on my hard drive? Thanks.

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Comment from Ralph on 2007-09-22

2007-09-22T17:28:16Z

I just downloaded that video, Leo - U're Da MAN!

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Comment from stephanie on 2007-07-04

2007-07-05T02:56:48Z

I defragged my father's system and it will not boot up now. It starts in dos mode and tells me that the system is too fragmented and then prompts me to uninstall recovery genesis and defrag my disc. Can anyone help me, please?

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Comment from windsor on 2007-06-22

2007-06-22T13:14:03Z

Nice Article Leo.I'd like to compare fragmentation to a person running continuously to pick up different packets from different places, it would certainly make him whole lot more tired than if he were to go pick it up at once from a single point! I wonder why there is even a debate whether fragmentation affects systems or not.I cannot imagine servers performing at their best if this disease were to afflict them.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-05-25

2007-05-25T23:05:36Z

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Other than wear and tear on your hard drive you can't really defrag "too much".
I now recommend once a week.

If you're seeing more and more defragmented files, it's typically a function of
how you use your machine and the effectiveness of the particular defragging
software you use.

Leo
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Comment from Paul on 2007-05-25

2007-05-25T21:03:01Z

HI,
Can you defrag too many times? I notice that there seems to be and increase in fragmentted files if I repeatedly defrag.

Thanks.

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Comment from Brent on 2006-12-30

2006-12-30T16:48:06Z

I ran defragment on my external hard drive and it came back with alot of file fragmented and clusters.What can I do to get rid of them?

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Comment from lulu on 2006-12-14

2006-12-14T21:53:05Z

well leo, nice to read you article bas i have problem in doing such thing,, am asking about the temporary files, whats will happens if i deleted them?
will i lose info ??
thanx

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Comment from huyn on 2006-10-27

2006-10-27T23:50:33Z

After I defraged C: drive using windows disk defrag facility,there is a report of the files that can't be defragged. However, the names of those files are shortened/incomplete and I don't know how to see the whole file path so that I can get rid of them. I used window xp home. How can I enlarge the report box or get the complete namepath somehow? I tried to print it, but it did not help either. Thanks.

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-09-09

2006-09-10T03:42:15Z

Nope. Defragging is transparent to your installed software.

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Comment from some kid on 2006-09-09

2006-09-10T02:17:24Z

Do you have to re-load any software after you defrag your computer

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-09-04

2006-09-04T15:47:18Z

I would update to Windows Defender (that's Microisoft AntiSpyware's new name and new version), uninstall Microsoft AntiSpyware and simply delete the file.

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Comment from Ben Lacey on 2006-09-04

2006-09-04T10:56:55Z

whenever i defrag, i click the "view report" button after it has finished and it has said for the last couple of weeks that 5% is still fragmented; the programme/file that is is:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft AntiSpyware\errors.log
and it has 16,923 fragments and is 4gb big, what should i do with it and is it a "vital" file?

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Comment from Carl on 2006-07-07

2006-07-08T02:23:00Z

I defrag regularly (once a week). Seeme to make the system more "compact" every time I do it. Plus, it helps - it really does. Sunday is my "computer maintenance day" LOL. As for "Mary" who is still runnig 98 - time to upgrade to an OS from THIS century!

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Comment from Leo on 2006-06-30

2006-06-30T15:39:54Z

Well, I at least disagree with him! :-)

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Comment from Duane on 2006-06-30

2006-06-30T10:28:08Z

Many, many moons ago I spoke with a tech who insisted does not *ever* need to be defragged and, more specifically, should *never* be defragged. I've defragged at least once a week for well over 10 years; I suppose he was wrong??

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Comment from Leo on 2006-06-23

2006-06-24T05:26:41Z

I would see what program might have those files open (this article: http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_find_out_who_is_using_a_file_in_use.html) - if they're not in use, since they are temp files, I'd probably just delete them.

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Comment from jake on 2006-06-23

2006-06-24T00:08:24Z

after i defragment i still have more then half thw bar in fragmented files,
File fragmentation
Total files = 131,712
Average file size = 624 KB
Total fragmented files = 3
Total excess fragments = 16,451
Average fragments per file = 1.12
yeah then theres,
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
395 14.64 GB \Documents and Settings\Jake\Local Settings\Temp\~GLH0004.TMP
16,064 18.48 GB \Documents and Settings\Jake\Local Settings\Temp\~GLH0005.TMP
i dont know how to get rid of those can you please help me?

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Comment from VMO on 2006-02-04

2006-02-04T15:45:58Z

I am having Windows 98 SE. The Defrag does swiftly all the other Drives like D, E & F but not Drive C. I wait and wait and wait nothing seems to happen. Recently I kept the system on for more than 6 hours; still no result. I have used the command option also in vain. Please help.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2006-01-21

2006-01-21T16:54:12Z

Much less than that, for sure. You didn't say what operating system version you are running. ("blank white screen" makes me wonder - that's not how the XP defragger looks).

What happens if you run a Command Prompt, and then in that prompt, run:

defrag c:

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Comment from jean on 2006-01-19

2006-01-19T22:01:25Z

I have tried to defrag my pc 3 times so far and it ran for over 8 hours each time but never left the 0% complete and when I click on show details, I just see a blank white screen. I have never defragged my pc before.
How long should I expect it to take?

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Comment from Leo on 2005-03-21

2005-03-22T04:58:49Z

How does it "not work"?

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Comment from Mary Minnehan on 2005-03-21

2005-03-22T04:47:57Z

My defragment will not work. Can you help me?

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Comment from Leo on 2005-03-12

2005-03-12T16:48:11Z

defrag will not, but you could add the following lines to the sequence:

date /t >>c:\defrag.log
time /t >>c:\defrag.log

The double greater-than signs cause the test to be appended to the log.

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Comment from rabbit on 2005-03-12

2005-03-12T14:18:16Z

Along the lines of my earlier question about the size of the log file, is it possible to get it so it has a date stamp.
It reports the defrag was done, but I would like for it to post the date/time of the defrag.

BTW, this trick automated defrag perfectly and now reports 0% defrag. Thanks.

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Comment from Leo on 2005-03-09

2005-03-10T04:39:04Z

Actually in the example above, the file is created anew each time. Not sure how big it'll get, but you can get an idea by running it once.

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Comment from rabbit on 2005-03-09

2005-03-10T04:33:17Z

How large is the log file going to become that is being created giving the results of defrag?
Does this overwrite with each scheduled defrag or will it over time consume lots of space?
Excuse if this is a silly question, I'm a novice.

Thanks for a great article.

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Comment from Simcha on 2005-02-16

2005-02-16T13:16:24Z

It seems to me that defrag in Windows 2000 doesn't work from the command line. In my office we found a product called Autodefrag which will automate running the Windows Defrag in graphical mode. You can get it here: www.morphasys.com\autodefrag.

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Comment from Leo on 2004-11-09

2004-11-10T02:53:50Z

The built in defragger in Windows should work just fine.

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Comment from Dan Hoagland on 2004-11-09

2004-11-09T19:47:47Z

I tried to defrag C: using the Executive Home freebie, but got error message, "clusters too big, must be no larger than 4K." Will any defragger do this?
(Previously I said "4M")

Thanks

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Comment from Leo on 2004-10-16

2004-10-17T04:26:06Z

Defragging will help your computer run more efficiently, but will have no impact at all on spyware or virus infestations. For spyware particularly, the only real defense is, as you have been doing, running a spyware scanner periodically, and avoiding the sites and software that carry spyware when you can.

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Comment from Questionable Content on 2004-10-16

2004-10-17T04:17:39Z

I'm defragging my computer as I type this. But lately, I've been getting beaten up by dozens upon dozens of spyware and malware. I run Spybot - Search & Destroy and AdAware, but it seems everytime I scan again some of the same programs are there. Will defragging help me get rid of some of these programs? Will it affect their getting on my computer or their affect on it at all?

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Comment from Leo on 2004-10-06

2004-10-07T05:08:14Z

The computer will get slower and slower and slower...

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Comment from deloris cousin on 2004-10-06

2004-10-07T04:53:35Z

If you do not defrage your PC, then what is the worst possible thing that can happen?

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Comment from Leo on 2004-07-17

2004-07-17T16:23:20Z

The full command to run is "defrag c: >c:\defrag.log 2>&1". (And yes, Task Scheduler shows up in different places depending on whether you're using default, or "classic" start menu.)

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Comment from Andrea Moore on 2004-07-17

2004-07-17T13:42:02Z

Performance and Maintenance is not in control panel in my Windows XP. Task scheduler is in Programs/Accessories/System Tools. The command c: >c:\defrag.log 2>&1 did not work when saved as c:\defragit.cmd and entered as a new task from the browse list. Do you have any other suggestions?

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