The Basics of Deframentation

You purchased a Quad Core a year and a half back and you think that it is slow? How could a Quad Core get slow? Well you had been installing and uninstalling heavy programs. Your start-up has slowed down and you don’t believe. Program response and startup time has increased.

Unfortunately we will think about all facts ignoring a very basic one. When we install more programs on our computer our data starts to get fragmented. When this fragmentation occurs our PC gets bogged down over the passage of time. Common problems such as

CPU making a lot of noise while processing items
CPU consuming high memory all the time
Slower application response

Become a common problem for us. Even if you have a very powerful processor such as the one mentioned in the illustration above there will come a time when it will be slower. When we install programs on the PC the data is stored in the form of clusters on the hard disk. Most of the time these clusters are not placed in the optimal location. The hard disk accesses these clusters and then launches the programs. If these clusters are arranged the hard disk keeps performing at its peak performance. Before you are ready to buy a defragmentation program you should keep in mind some points about the defragmentation process and what a good defrager should do.

PRE-REQUISITES:


1- It is recommended that your system is installed on a disk having NTFS file system. This will significantly reduce data fragmentation.

2- Before beginning the defragmentation process do not forget to clean the junk files and internet cache of your system. Empty your recycle bin. To do things quickly make a shortcut and in the target box type
%SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535
Then run the shortcut to perform an extensive clean-up.

A smart disk defragmentation program analyzes the condition of the disks first. The biggest cause of data fragmentation is the system restore. Which being the most important thing is the cause of performance decline in the hard disk. A good defrager proceeds in the following steps.

1-Moving Files near top of drive:

As disk access is faster near top of drive therefore the data is moved at the top of the drive for faster access. In this process the layout.ini file is also examined. This file has special information about programs frequently launched on the PC. It is available in the Prefetch Folder for enthusiasts curious to examine it.

2-Defragmentation of the MFT Area and its optimization:

The MFT (Master File Table) is a reserved system space for special files. This area contains important system files for OS initiation. If any other clusters other than that of the required files are found in this area then this can lead to a performance hindrance. Consequently the built in windows defragmenter does not have the option to pad the MFT area. Padding the MFT area is especially important and critical because it lessens the disk fragmentation to a great extent. Microsoft recommends increasing the MFT records if you have a lot of programs installed on the Hard disk. A famous disk defragmentation program by the name of Diskeeper does adjust these records to their recommended and prescribed limits as defined by Microsoft. After the MFT area has been cleared and directories optimized the defragmentation of system files and folders begin. Parameters in the registry are adjusted under the key

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\NtfsMftZoneReservation

3-Boot File Defragmentation:

Boot file defragmentation exceptionally speeds up the boot process. People who do not defragment there boot files are often troubled by slow and tardy boot process. Boot defragmentation can be attained manually by typing in
%windir%\system32\Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks in the run dialogue box. This calls for the Windows Boot file defragmenter. The same technique is used by Bootvis along with some other exceptional features to arrange the boot files and improve the boot speed of the system. Boot file defragmentation should be set to automatic in the registry under the follow parameter
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction]
"Enable"="Y"

Where Enable=Y shows that boot defragmentation is enabled. A parameter of N would mean that it is disabled.

4-Defragmentation of System Files:

Defragmentation of system files is also done by the built in disk defragmenter program. Files are gathered together and clusters are arranged in an orderly manner so that program access time is lessened. This is the step which is responsible for the system acceleration. This fragmentation is done in a variety of ways Including stealth defragmentation, Defragmentation by Free space, and the most comprehensive that is the Defragmentation by the access time of each file. Usually free space defragmentation is recommended for highly fragmented data. In most of the programs a red block/ unit or a line represents a fragmented portion of the files and a blue represents the non-fragmented area that is safe from the harm of fragmentation. Usually when drive fragmentation exceeds 10% one should defragment. And a rate above 15-20% is alarming. In this regard a program by the name of Diskeeper initiates I-Fast technology on the system to give a potential performance gain for heavily fragmented data.

5-Consolidation of Files and Free Spaces:

Consolidation is not necessary but is recommended. Consolidation brings in clusters closer so that free space between the files is better utilized and fragmented clusters do not retard the performance of the disk.
On the web O&O Defrag and Diskeeper are the best programs to defragment. They offer scheduled defragmentation for those users who do not de-fragment their disks or do not have the time.

For those who are waiting to get disk fragmentation level 100% can contact me Ill send their names to Guinness World Records with an attached dead disk.


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