Best Windows 7 Defrag App

[xSeanBoi]

There is always a lot of controversy when it comes to disk defragmentation tools. Some people believe that you do not need a third-party disk defragmentation tool. Others are loyal to a specific program. Well, here's my thoughts. I will even tell you why.

I know that a lot of you are huge fans of free programs but this is one case in which I would recommend making an exception...

For regular 'home' users all defragmenters do the same good job... with one exception: Vopt is the only one capable of optimizing start-up files
INCLUDING realigning the pagefile. To do this the right way, a little bit of thinking is required.

Some say the size of your pagefile is depending on your installed RAM. Wrong.
It depends on your daily work. For example:

The "commit charge" of Designers working with Photoshop day in day out
is WAY higher than for the average guy who plays some games - no matter how much RAM is installed.

To find your "personal" pagefile size, use the computer as you normally would. After a few hours, open your Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL) and go to the Performance tab and check the "commit charge"

Performance
Total: RAM currently used
Limit: Physical RAM + current pagefile
Peak: Most RAM used today (well... peak)

As you can see, the difference is quite noticeable. You can reduce the size of your pagefile. Smaller pagefile = better performance.

Now press Win+Pause -> Advanced tab -> Performance -> Click Settings
-> Advanced tab -> Virtual Memory -> "Change"

By default "System managed size" is checked. Now Windows
tends to increase and decrease the filesize whenever it's bored, causing your pagefile to split into fragments which then causes performance loss.

To optimize this, check "Custom size" and lock the file by entering YOUR
personal value TWICE. Don't forget to click on "Set" afterward. Nowadays a value of 512MB is just fine. Don't go lower.

If you have, for example, 1GB of physical RAM and your "Peak" was 695MB (729,000 KB) set it to 512MB or 768MB

Windows will ask you to reboot your computer once you accept all changes. Do it.

Finally, run Vopt and run the Clean Tasks first to get rid of junk files. Select the Drive with your new pagefile (usually drive letter C) Click "Defragmenting" -> "Defrag pagefile"

The clever method - and Vopt is the ONLY one who does it:
Vopt moves the complete pagefile to the very middle of your HDD. Why? Because the middle or the center is the Idle-point for the HDD's shuttle. This ensures the LOWEST access time possible.

Furthermore, Vopt overrides loading AutoStart and some Core Applications during the next boot. Otherwise you couldn't access and/or move them. Sounds logical, right? I thought so too

This procedure is what I've been doing FIRST on a fresh system for the past 8 years.http://www.sevenforums.com/[/IMG][IMG]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1061/vopt2.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Total]

where is Vopt located ? thanks

 

[xSeanBoi]

Here is a link to the homepage. You can download a trial here.
Trial downloads are full and unrestricted product versions which are time-limited. You must register them to continue using them beyond the 30-day trial period.

 

[Total]

Here is a link to the homepage. You can download a trial here.
Trial downloads are full and unrestricted product versions which are time-limited. You must register them to continue using them beyond the 30-day trial period.

thanks

 

[madtownidiot]

Why use a trial version of anything, especially when there are FREE applications with the same or better functionality. Try jkdefrag.

 

[RST101]

Smart defrag is a neat little app that has some other tidy features on it and best of all it's free.

Smart Defrag

 

[xSeanBoi]

The main point I was trying to make is that this is the ONLY defrag program that will realign the pagefile and moves it to the very middle of your HDD so that access time is as low as possible. JkDefrag, MyDefrag, Smart Defrag, Puran Defrag, Auslogics Disk Defrag, UltraDefrag, Diskeeper and the built-in Windows Defrag cannot do this. Vopt is the ONLY defrag program that does and it noticeably increases overall system speed. The program also defrag quite quickly; so fast that daily defragmentations are very tolerable.

 

[A Guy]

So many opinions about page file size over the years, with most of the people who actually wrote windows saying let the OS manage the file. In these days of fast CPU's and with 4+ Gigs or Ram common, I don't think you'll see a noticeable increase in overall system speed. My opinion.

If Vopt was free, great, but to pay for a program, only to acquire that specific feature which has questionable results on system performance...

Not saying you are wrong, just saying there are no doubt other things you can do for free that will have greater effect on system performance. I'll stick to my system managed page file, and free defrag programs. A Guy

 

[si8mon]

Smart Defrag is good free program but I prefer Defraggler a free program developed by Piriform (who are the developers of Ccleaner).

 

[madtownidiot]

Puran Defrag is a free app that defrags the pagefile

 

[ccatlett1984]

For stuff like this, I'll stick with the microsoft utilities. I don't like risking data corruption, and MS can test for that more completely than other companies.

 

[jsmoline]

Auslogics works best for me. It's also fast. It has a defrag and optimize option. Also has auto defrag option.

 

[Zaxx]

Heh...I just gave Auslogics BoostSpeed a try, had never heard of 'em but looked decent, but not enuff to budge me off TuneUp 2010. Re: defrag software, there's a few good freeware ones as mentioned above. But for me, things get a bit more involved.
I'm running 2 very different SSDs from Ocz for boot drives as well as 2 - 1TB raid0 arrays (2x500gb) for storage and a 2x250GB external raid1 (via a JMicron JMB363 controller on my mobo) for backups ofc. The tricky part for me is that I have both a current SandForce based SSD as well as an older 1st gen. SSD with the infamous stuttering JMicron602 controller and gawd awful 4k random write speeds.
As most are aware, defragging an SSD is not good for it's health/longevity. But in the case of gen1 (JMicron) SSDs, which don't support Trim, have no external write cache and no garbage collection during idle time. Without TRIM and/or GC, drive maintenance get a bit complicated. You sorta have to do a 'manual' trim/GC about once every few weeks. This means using a defragger that has the 'aggressively consolidate free space' option instead of just the usual HDD degragger. Good one's I know of that have this option are PerfectDisk 10 & 11 as well as My Defragger. Was surprised that Diskeeper didn't have a 'CFS' option. I recommend and run DK 2010 Premier Pro w/ HyperFast for SSDs at all times. You'll have to goggle HyperFast, I'm to lazy to attempt a summary (it reduces random writes basically). After consolidating, all the free space is then wiped clean and written to with an 'FF' (which is hex for a '1'). I use an app written by one of the members of the Ocz forums and is called AS Cleaner v0.5..yeah it's the same person who wrote AS SSD Benchmark. This makes all the freshly emptied/erased blocks immediately ready to write to, instead of the normal routine where the controller waits until a write is 'on deck' before it resets the block with an FF.
Yeah, It's an extra chore added to my regular pc 'housekeeping' but it does a decent job all things considered. The drive has been running 24/7 for almost 2 years as an XP boot/OS drive without Trim and without GC, yet it shows absolutely NO write speed degradation thus far!!
So, a certain type of defragging is actually good for a 'certain type' of SSD.
As far as defragging my arrays, I let DK run 24/7 as a service so it maintains the hdds in real time more or less and HyperFast reduces the overall amount of small random writes which were/are the weakest area of SSD performance. Heh...but you'd never guess that to be the case when you try a new generation (SF) ssd, now 4k writes are fast as hell...go figure..lol.

 

[jsmoline]

Zaxx,you had me at ssd

 

[Zaxx]

Judging by the msg on my profile page, it seems I've said/typed something against the rules. Was half asleep and I'm not sure what it is that I said. I'm unable to reply to the msg to even ask what I did wrong.

 

[xSeanBoi]

For stuff like this, I'll stick with the microsoft utilities. I don't like risking data corruption, and MS can test for that more completely than other companies.

I'm sure Microsoft is more worried about getting their product on the market than making sure it is as fast and secure as possible. Just take a look at how soon they begin work on a Service Pack. They were working on SP1 for Win7 less than a month after it was released and are working on Win8 simultaneously.

As for the other comment(s) about freeware programs that optimize and defrag the pagefile, they are still not as good as Vopt. Vopt is just as fast as Auslogics Disk Defrag and while the other programs optimize and defrag the pagefile, so does Vopt. However, none of the other programs realign the pagefile and move it to the very middle of your HDD so that access time is as low as possible. As far as optimizing goes, Vopt (through an option you can select within the program) can do as good of a job, if not better. See attached picture of the two options in Vopt.

 

[jsmoline]

Zaxx, I don't know what you did. Most of your post was too deep for me. What ever it was, I hope I don't do it.

 

[AlexRD]

They should improve the aesthetics of their site.
I, for instance, didn't try the product because of the site win 95 style.

But i think smart defrag is very good, i defrag once a day, fast optimize once a week, and deep optimize once in a month. Keeps my HD in peak performance.

 

[jsmoline]

Thanks AlexRD. Smart Defrag is a good product. I have used it before. I just like Auslogics more. What looks like W 95?

 

[A Guy]

Judging by the msg on my profile page, it seems I've said/typed something against the rules. Was half asleep and I'm not sure what it is that I said. I'm unable to reply to the msg to even ask what I did wrong.

Zaxx, it's a private message from an Admin or Moderator probably. Just open it like any PM. If you are unclear, they are all nice guys and probably could explain, but better to read the rules thread 1st:

http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/8-forum-rules-please-read.html

A Guy