Guy's Ezine 141 - Defrag Suppliment
I had my say about defrag in the last Ezine. I don't want to retract
anything, and I don't want to go over old ground. In this supplement I
want to share my postbag with you, It seems only fair to alert you that so many
readers are anti-defrag.
Reader A
I must take issue with the efficacy of de-fragging for the normal home user. In
a corporate environment, database serving, or any environment where chunks of
data are being moved back and forth, manipulated, changed, edited, etc...would
need to be de-fragged on a semi-regular basis.
As a long time computer specialist, I know the value of de-fragging storage
facilities. Woe unto he who does not. But, for the average home user, returns
with regard to performance enhancement are minimal. Unless that person is
installing a lot of software or editing large graphic or mpeg files on a regular
basis, de-fragging is quite typically an unecessary waste of time. Being a pc
enthusiast and pc gamer as well...I want to squeeze every bit of power I can out
of my systems. And I have found that if one does an analysis prior to kicking
off a de-frag, one will find Windows saying it us not necessary to defragment
this drive. That is what I usually find. Unless I have installed and have been
playing several games at once. Otherwise, I agree that defragmentation of
storage can be a good way to get a boost in read/write performance.
Reader B
Defrag software isn't that good. It moves stuff that shouldn't be moved. I know;
I manufactured a defrag software and sold it during the '60s when hard disks
were only 10 and 20 MB. Yes MB!
IMO it is better to do a bit for bit back up then re-format the disk and return
the bits to the disk. Here's how I do it: I use PE Builder from Bart PE. It
quickly builds you a bootable DVD or CD with all the drivers for your box. You
can then get a clone image of your disk. Next I use Acronis as the backup tool.
It provides a plug-in for the PE Builder DVD. Lastly, you need an external hard
drive for a backup location. What you end up with is a bullet proof backup and
protection to rebuild system if it crashes. Additionally, this can all be done
in a fraction of the time it takes to defrag a large disk. I use this method to
upgrade to larger hard disks.
Works like a charm.
Reader C
That ***** de-frag program is a bag of rubbish. It took over my processor
and I could not do any useful work.
Guy Speaks
One day I will explain my reasons for not having a forum. But today I want
to make a few points:
A) I truly believe that you always learn more from disagreements.
B) I have known for along time that you get more letters of complaint than of
satisfaction - and I am not fishing for compliments; no it's more that I am
wondering if there has been a change in philosophy, perception, attitude to the
internet in the last 10 years. My point is that on the face of it, defrag
is not renowned for being a contentious, wicked, wreck your computer process.
C) Although it does not feature in the above readers' letters, co-incidence can
cause prejudice. To digress, the worst thing that could happen is that you
place your first bet on a horse and it wins. You will believe that you are
a genius tipster, and that 'prejudice' will cost you a lot of money.
My point is that computers do crash. If someone was browsing my website
and through bad luck their hard disk failed, human nature dictates that they
have to blame someone and the last website is as good as anything. The
funniest was the reader who claimed they saw flashing lights and mushroom clouds
when the looked at my Exchange section.
I would just leave by saying if defrag is good, or if it's bad, then at least
base your opinion on hard evidence.
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Will and Guy's Humour
Will and Guy have been reviewing their material and conclude that the
funniest article is their collection conversation between an archivist at
the
Smithsonian Institute and the gentleman with his archaeological find. |
