New
#1
Defraggler question?
I downloaded and ran the untility, but it is not completley defragging, and my hard drive gets about 2 gb more used space on it every time I try to defrag. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill
I downloaded and ran the untility, but it is not completley defragging, and my hard drive gets about 2 gb more used space on it every time I try to defrag. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill
This probably has nothing to do with the defrag but is an increase in restore points in the shadowstorage.
Do the following: Go to All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt > right click on Command Prompt > Run as Administrator => into the little black window type: VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWSTORAGE > look for C:/ and see what the USED, ALLOCATED and MAXIMUM numbers are. ALLOCATED is what is currently missing from your diskspace.
Windows defrag doesn't do this does it?
What is it , where does it come from, do I need it, and why does it eventually go away after 4 or 5 defrags with defraggler? I don't understand what's going on here. Can someone help me understand?
Thanks.
Here is the explanation and it has nothing to do with defrag:
Windows writes a shadow (restore point) of about 1GB - plus one is written each day in Vista and each week in Windows7. For that purpose Vista reserves 15% of your OS disk partition and allocates/uses it as needed. The allocation in Windows7 is variable from 3 to 15% depending on the size of your C-disk.
Find Command Prompt (in All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt), right click on it and Open as Administrator. Into the little black window type VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWSTORAGE and hit ENTER. It will show 3 numbers:
Allocated - that is the amount that it has grabbed from your OS partition at this time
Used - this is the amount currently used
Maximum - this is the ultimate amount it will allocate and use
Once you reach "maximum", it will reuse the space deleting the oldest shadows for the storage of the newest shadows. With e.g. a 200GB OS partition you should expect a maximum of 30GBs that are reserved for the system and that you cannot use. If your OS partition is larger or smaller, the shadowstorage will be accordingly (always 15% max.in Vista but variable in Windows7) But the restore points (shadows) are required the day you need to do a system restore.
The easiest way to change the shadowstorage is with this cmd command: (for the case where you want to set it to the minimum which is 300GB)
Vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=300MB
If you want to set it to e.g. 20GB, the command would look like this:
Vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=20GB
Never forget GB or MB behind the MaxSize number because then the system will assume bytes and you will get an error.
Note: In Windows7 you can also set it in System Protection, but you have to be a good scout to find it. The cmd way is faster – just paste the command into cmd and adjust the last number to your liking. You have to, of course, also adjust the drive letter if you apply it to other than C.
Actually it does. Defragmenting your HDD in certain ways (like Defraggler) causes an abundant amount of Shadow Copies to be created. In my humble opinion, third-party defragmentation is not required. The built in tool is more then smart enough and suffice to get any level or performance out of the drive.
If you want to use Defraggler, personally I do because it allows for mini defrags and it's just more user friendly, download CCleaner as well. It'll allow you to manage your system restore points as well as clean your system of temp files. That way you can delete all but the latest system restore point before and after a defrag.
You can also set how much space you want system restore to use via the system protection option within the sytem menu of control panel.
To set system restore max storage:
Start > Right Click Computer > Properties > System Protection > Choose HDD in question > Configure > Slide the slider to whatever you want the max size to be.
In regards to Defraggler
Make sure that you let the full defrag finish before you exit the program. During the process it will create an extra 5GB or more of files. When it finishes, it deletes those files as they've already been moved and placed in their correct location.
TipWhenever you're doing a defrag, whether it be w/ the system program or a third party program, be sure to turn off any and all unnecessary programs and services.
Last edited by not so gray matter; 19 Apr 2010 at 10:57.
I removed defraggler, cleaned up everything with ccleaner, and got my 6 gb back. Thanks, everyone.
I'll just use the Windows defragger
The state of the art free Disk and Registry Defragger is Auslogics. Have used both for 10 years along with CCleaner with no issues.