How often I should Defrag?

[Question]

Briefly explain your current issue(s)

How often should I defrag?

Steps taken to resolve, but have been unsuccessful

PerfectDisk

How often I should Defrag?

My DefragSoftware is Perfect Disk

Specs:
i7 4770k
GTX 1060 6GB
16GB DDR3 Memory
1x 60GB SSD DREVO X1 (Windows)
1x 500GB HDD WDBlack (Games)
1x 500GB external hard drive (Pictures - Videos - Etc)

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

I have not seen a single test proving, that SSD is faster than HDD, like no gain in FPS in games. I am not saying, that SSD is bad, but is not really needed, it does not do much,

LOL... Umm... LOL Again.

Here, let me benchmark my NVME/m.2..

Now run a bench on your junk mechanical HD and let me know. Ok? I should point out, this machine has a 2.3 second boot time from cold shutoff. Here, I will save you some trouble.. This is a mechanical HD in comparison.

 

[Azure]

Like I said. I know that technology can improve. And the articles I have read in the past can be obsolete now.

But in the end, I'm okay with not using SSDs.

 

[Vasudev]

Sure it is. Since Windows 7, TRIM is enabled automatically on any drive Windows detects as solid state.

How to Check if TRIM Is Enabled for Your SSD (and Enable It if It Isn’t)

It never worked even after a week of system uptime. Never really runs automatically according to scheduled tasks. Even after changing the scheduled task to run after multiple missed schedules. Never really worked. So, I run it manually every week and deleted the worthless scheduled task to Optimise Disk.
I'm using Windows 10 RS4 aka build 17134.137

 

[Vasudev]

I will never ever use SSD, unless forced to. SSD does not improve performance, just loading times. I will rather short-stroke HDD. I do not like an experimental hardware, like Ryzen. CRT was also replaced with LCD, because it is more convenient, but worse quality than CRT and destroys eyes.

Forgive me if I'm going Off-topic.
For a normal user who surf the internet and play small games, HDD will suffice.
SSD simply can satisfy very high IO demands very quickly than standard platter based. For example you are churning out 500MB of cache files for your animation/render on a complex scene then HDD will bottleneck or perform poorly, since the HDD needs to taking OS requests, user requests and app requests to do IOs.
Still 7200 rpm based HDD can be used for gaming w/o impacting FPS at all! I have 3 disks, of which, 2 are m.2 SSD(PCIe and SATA) and standard 2.5" 7200rpm. My game library is close to 250GB.
I still use the same HDD for playing games at ultra settings at FHD w/o any impact. Only issue is when a huge game which uses lot of heavy texs, verts etc.. cause the HDD to perform poorly.
For example, Witcher 3 load times on SSD from already saved point takes a second on PCIe SSD whereas on HDD it takes 5-10sec.

 

[Digerati]

It never worked even after a week of system uptime. Never really runs automatically according to scheduled tasks.

Huh? According to scheduled tasks? I don't think you understand TRIM. It works in real-time, not per some schedule. So it is either enabled or disabled.

For example, if you delete a file, instead of just updating the file tables as happens with hard drives, TRIM immediately wipes the storage locations where the data was stored. This means, next time the OS needs to write data in that space, it does not need to wait to delete the old first.

For those not sure what TRIM is or how it works, or for those in need of a refresher, read this current and excellent article: What is SSD TRIM, why is it useful, and how to check whether it is turned on.

For a normal user who surf the internet and play small games, HDD will suffice.

I am NOT suggesting every one with hard drives run out and replace them. Of course a HDD will "suffice". So will 2GB of RAM, entry-level graphics, a dual-core CPU and a 17" monitor.

It is not about what will "suffice".

All I am saying is, for your next computer, or if looking to add disk space, or if you need to replace your hard drive, use the latest technologies - SSDs. Yes, they cost more (but the prices continue to fall) but spread that extra cost over 5 plus years, factor in lower energy costs, lower heat generation, and increased productivity - not to mention increased satisfaction knowing that you are not just settling on mediocrity because it will simply "suffice", and SSDs are the way to go.

Hard drives are slow, clunky, noisy, slow, electromechanical, heavy, slow, big, legacy technology storage devices. When buying new storage, it is time to step into current technologies and out of the past. Did I mention hard drives are slow? Even the slowest SSD can run circles around the fastest hard drive.

 

[SumTingWong]

SSD is a real deal that you pay for. I also heard if you have a laptop, an SSD will help save power than HDD. I don't know how much power the SSD save over HDD because I haven't tested it yet and I do have a laptop with M.2 SSD and HDD installed.

 

[Digerati]

SSDs are particularly nice in laptops because they do use less power, which of course, means longer battery run times. It would be hard to measure quantitatively because much depends on the tasks being performed and how much disk access comes into play. But one thing for certain, there will not be a drive motor spinning all the time.

But always a concern with notebooks is heat. SSDs generate less heat so that should result in the fan not having to spin as fast, or as often, again increasing battery run times.

And because SSDs are physically smaller and much lighter than hard drives, they allow for thinner and lighter notebooks which means they are easier to lug around without digging trenches in your shoulder.

So clearly, in particular with portable devices, it is not just about performance.

 

[Ink]

Personally, I don't trust SSDs. But to each thier own in this matter.

I better pop that 3.5-inch 5400 RPM HDD into my 2018 smartphone, can't have anything unreliable or unsafe.

 

[SumTingWong]

I better pop that 3.5-inch 5400 RPM HDD into my 2018 smartphone, can't have anything unreliable or unsafe.

Please don't. Your smartphone will be very sad. Your smartphone does have a feeling you know? A feeling of betrayal.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

SSD is a real deal that you pay for. I also heard if you have a laptop, an SSD will help save power than HDD. I don't know how much power the SSD save over HDD because I haven't tested it yet and I do have a laptop with M.2 SSD and HDD installed.

For notebooks, SSD's save power, less weight, less heat, less noise and greater protection from jarring movements/drops.

Every single aspect of performance, operational integrity and power consumption is improved with an SSD. Period. This isn't even a debatable topic at all to be honest. I cannot even believe we've having this discussion in 2018. If it was 2012, sure.. But in 2018 everyone should almost exclusively be using SSD or better (m.2) as the price per GB is dirt cheap and the benefits are profound. My random speculation is. Some people can't afford them and are simply trying to justify the existing of crappy mechanical drives on their potatoes.

 

[SumTingWong]

For notebooks, SSD's save power, less weight, less heat, less noise and greater protection from jarring movements/drops.

Every single aspect of performance, operational integrity and power consumption is improved with an SSD. Period. This isn't even a debatable topic at all to be honest. I cannot even believe we've having this discussion in 2018. If it was 2012, sure.. But in 2018 everyone should almost exclusively be using SSD or better (m.2) as the price per GB is dirt cheap and the benefits are profound. My random speculation is. Some people can't afford them and are simply trying to justify the existing of crappy mechanical drives on their potatoes.

Very indeed. I was very shocked till I came across someone that prefer HDD over SSD.

 

[Digerati]

Every single aspect of performance, operational integrity and power consumption is improved with an SSD. Period.

Except it is not true. As shown before, SSDs do not improve FPS rates in some games. And apparently, there are some folks who rate everything about computer performance on FPS alone.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

I prefer dot matrix tractor feed printers. I will never upgrade. Color Lasers and Injects are too risky.

 

[Vasudev]

Huh? According to scheduled tasks? I don't think you understand TRIM. It works in real-time, not per some schedule. So it is either enabled or disabled.

For example, if you delete a file, instead of just updating the file tables as happens with hard drives, TRIM immediately wipes the storage locations where the data was stored. This means, next time the OS needs to write data in that space, it does not need to wait to delete the old first.

I was talking about Windows defrag which TRIMs or optimises your media regardless of SSD/HDD/SSHD etc... Sorry I didn't include that.

SSD is a real deal that you pay for. I also heard if you have a laptop, an SSD will help save power than HDD. I don't know how much power the SSD save over HDD because I haven't tested it yet and I do have a laptop with M.2 SSD and HDD installed.

I didn't see any difference at all since most HDD/SSD were going to HIPM/DiPM to save power. I can manage 8-10hrs on 2x m.2 PCIe/SATA+1x7200rpm 2.5" HDD. With airplane mode and ethernet I can manage 12-15hrs.
I used this script to enable advanced power savings on win 10 Show/hide hidden settings in Win10 Power Options

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

This reminds me of discussing stuff with people still using Windows XP.

At some point you just need to mic drop, and walk away.

 

[Digerati]

I was talking about Windows defrag which TRIMs or optimises your media regardless of SSD/HDD/SSHD etc...

I don't know what you mean here as TRIM is still not a scheduled task. But ForgottenSeer 58943 is right. It really does not matter here.

Mic dropped.

 

[roger_m]

Windows users can use the built-in disk defragmenter utility on their computers. Run a system scan, then follow the tool's device. It will tell you whether or not your hard drive requires defragging.

There's no need to do that. It runs automatically once a week. The only exception would be, if you wanted to defrag an external drive.

 

[TairikuOkami]

This reminds me of discussing stuff with people still using Windows XP.

At some point you just need to mic drop, and walk away.

Indeed, as I did, it is hard to explain something, when people are not listening, but keep repeating the same thing over and over.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Diekeeper is always defragging my drive real time. Maybe I should just let TRIM do it for me? I am still only using a HDD

 

[Digerati]

it is hard to explain something, when people are not listening, but keep repeating the same thing over and over.

Worse is when posters reply to a dormant thread with incorrect information because they didn't bother to read through the thread first.

The problem with dropping the mic is the thread might be left dangling with misinformation presented as the last word. And that does a disservice to future readers.

@Panny - sadly, everything you said was wrong which you would have realized had you read through this "dormant" thread before dredging it up 2 weeks after the last reply.

As roger_m correctly noted (along with others again and again), Windows automatically defrags the hard drives once a week. Therefore, it is unnecessary for users to manually defrag once a month.

If you load, save and add to files on a regular basis...

Adding and saving files frequently or not frequently has very little to do with fragmentation. The amount of free disk space available on the drive is a much more significant factor. After that, it is modifying existing files, not adding and saving. Modifying files is what leave holes in the sectors as the modified file is saved to a new location and the old version is deleted (or rather that space is marked as available).

And, of course, "loading" a file has absolutely nothing to do with fragmentation. It is only when the file is modified that fragmentation might come into play and again that would depend primarily on how much free disk space there is.

So once again, just leave the Windows defaults alone and let Windows manage your drives (HDs and SSDs). W7, W8x and especially W10 know how to do it very well automatically.

If you really "need" frequent defragging, then you, as the user of that computer, have failed to provide adequate disk space and you need to either free up disk space by uninstalling unused programs, moving files to another drive or partition, and/or you need to buy more disk space. The worst thing you can do at this point is to install a 3rd party defragger - yet another program that takes up even more of your precious disk space.