Cleaning Up My Computer. Ever Use...

[Don Ro]

Auslogics disk De-Frag?
Fast and complete.
Has "Defrag & Optimize" feature. I use it almost daily...after CCleaner.
I also use Trend Micro Anti-Virus Malware deal...and Trend Micro "Housecall".
XP Pro spins like a top. Love it!
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Auslogics Disk Defrag - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com

[masraum]

I used to use Trend-micra, but I stopped and now only use the free Microsoft stuff.

I used to use a defrag, but I can't remember whose it was.

[RedBaron]

Consistently stick to one and never use one with a SSD.

Defraggler is good (They make CCleaner) Defraggler - File and Disk Defragmentation - Free Download I am pretty sure you can set schedules with it.

MyDefrag is also good (Open Source) MyDefrag v4.3.1 You can set manual schedules using Task Scheduler.

[Don Ro]

What is SSD?
If that's bad, does the Auslogics Defrag have it?
'Puter dummie, here.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

What is SSD?
If that's bad, does the Auslogics Defrag have it?
'Puter dummie, here.

SSD means solid state drive. Without going into the nerdy details of how an SSD works, suffice it to say that defragging an SSD on a regular basis will kill it. SSDs don't need defragging because they're basically just memory, and there's absolutely no performance to be gained by doing so.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by RedBaron

MyDefrag is also good (Open Source) MyDefrag v4.3.1 You can set manual schedules using Task Scheduler.

That's the one that I used to use. IIRC, you could set a schedule, but you could also tell it to start when the PC had been idle for a period of time. I believe it was also possible to tell it "don't user more that XX% of the processor cycles".

[Oracle]

If you're running windows Vista or 7 or 8 you have the defrag on by default once a week, I think on Wed. night..
No need to buy any of that software

[Don Ro]

OK...speak slowly and pronounce every word perfectly, please.
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Re: SSD...anything I need to be cautious of with my Lenovo R61i, XP pro, etc.
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My rig runs much better when I use the Auslogics defrag instead of the built-in defragger.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

OK...speak slowly and pronounce every word perfectly, please.
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Re: SSD...anything I need to be cautious of with my Lenovo R61i, XP pro, etc.

Not unless you have upgraded the HD to an SSD. SSD are gaining in popularity because of their speed, and prices are coming down. They weren't used in your model by default.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by masraum

Not unless you have upgraded the HD to an SSD. SSD are gaining in popularity because of their speed, and prices are coming down. They weren't used in your model by default.

I wouldn't know an SSD from an STD...so I'm good to go, I guess.
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BTW, thanks for all the help.

[Scott Douglas]

Will those work with Vista 64?
Sorry, old computer here, but it works!

[azasadny]

I use CCleaner, no defragging my SSD's and the built-in Microsoft defrag of the hard drives. That's all...

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Will those work with Vista 64?
Sorry, old computer here, but it works!

MyDefrag should work just fine on Vista 64. That's what I used to use it on.

[Por_sha911]

I wouldn't defrag too often. Its not needed and you are wearing out your HD. I would think once every 1-3 months should be fine.

[Scott Douglas]

I think I've defragged it about 3 times in 6-7 yrs of use. =:>O

[Por_sha911]

It depends on the usage. I do mine about once a year.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

I wouldn't defrag too often. Its not needed and you are wearing out your HD. I would think once every 1-3 months should be fine.

This concerned me, so I looked around:
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"does defragging cause hdd wear?"
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does defragging cause hdd wear? - Hard Drives - Storage
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Heat is typically the #1 thing that causes mechanical things to fail.
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I think to answer this question, you have to look at the various mechanisms that can cause a hard drive to fail.

1. High temperatures that result in lowered magnetic properties, to the point where the surface of the platter can't store bits reliably anymore.

2. Internal contamination that either abrades the heads, scratches the platter surface, or otherwise causes interference between the heads and the platter surfaces. The internal contamination can result from flaking of the platter magnetic surface, seal failure and entry of contaminants from outside, or some other broken piece inside the drive.

3. Motor failure, such that the platters won't spin or are unable to maintain the proper RPM.

4. Bearing failure, such that the platters won't spin.

5. Head crash, where the head and platter touch while the platter is rotating, resulting in head abrasion, platter scratch, and internal contamination.

6. Voice coil failure, such that the head arm can't move.

7. Electronics failure, resulting in inability to read/write through the head, inability to send current to the voice coil to move the head, or inability to control the spin motor.

8. Mechanical damage from dropping, etc. that cracks or breaks a platter, causes misalignment of the heads/head arm, binds the platters or head arm, etc.

9. Complete erasure of the platters, including the servo tracks, resulting in inability to position the heads.

Repeated and excessive reads/writes to the hard drives place stress on some of the components inside the hard drive. Mainly, continuous read/writes cause elevated temperatures due to the current that's constantly being send to the voice coil to move the heads. They also cause continuous mechanical stress cycles on the head arm. After several million cycles, you elevate the risk of metal fatigue cracking, but this generally requires that a preexisting flaw in the head arm existed during manufacturing.

Bearing wear from continuous operation is another concern, although the fluid dynamic bearings used in modern hard drives have so little wear under operation.

For the most part, I'd say that overall mechanical wear on the hard drive components will eventually cause it to fail at some point, but in all likelihood there will be some other event that occurs that causes the hard drive to fail long before these mechanical stresses have a chance to cause a failure.

A power surge that fries the electronics (or erases a critical piece of servo information), a large temperature cycle that destroys the magnetic properties of a few sectors, a manufacturing defect in the platters that causes flaking and internal contamination -- these are the real-world reasons that cause a hard drive to come to its demise, not excessive seeks.

I don't see anything wrong with running defrag on a regular basis, nor running chkdsk. (Exception: If your file system is really messed up and you can't access your files, there is a chance that chkdsk can cause more damage than it repairs. Most professional data recovery experts will tell you that chkdsk will generally make the job harder, not easier when it comes to data recovery).
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If you're keeping it cool, it should last a long time provided it's a quality product. A lot of drives can fail just simply because of poor manufacturing processes or quality of parts / handling of it etc.
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Performing defrags / chkdsk isn't going to do anything that wasn't about to occur anyway. But they are probably blamed because any mechanical weakness will show up under stress and these procedures are a bit stressful... but it doesn't mean they should be blamed for the failure.

[Por_sha911]

You can certainly do whatever you think is best. Just think of your optical HD like a motor. You get a certain amount of miles out of it before it wears out. Defrag doesn't hurt a drive but it puts a lot of miles on it without much benefit unless there is a lot of fragmentation. Back when drives were slower and smaller, you were using a larger percentage of the usable space it was far more necessary.
I've owned computers since the mid 80's. Trust me when I say that its a matter of when and not if a HD will fail. To that, I remind everyone that
"Jesus saves and so should you. Have reliable backups of anything too important to lose. "

[Don Ro]

Prudent. Thanks.