Disk Defrag

[fish]

My file server keeps saying it could do with a defrag when I analyse it however after a defrag it hasn't changed because the fragmented files can't be defraged ie page file etc.

I assume I could run defrag in dos mode and it would do this, or is there an easier way round it, make the page file small and defrag?

below is the log after a defrag:
Volume (C:
Volume size = 10,001 MB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 5,322 MB
Free space = 4,679 MB
Percent free space = 46 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 14 %
File fragmentation = 29 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 18,404
Average file size = 340 KB
Total fragmented files = 13
Total excess fragments = 864
Average fragments per file = 1.04

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1,536 MB
Total fragments = 1

Directory fragmentation
Total directories = 1,255
Fragmented directories = 1
Excess directory fragments = 1

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 23,018 KB
MFT record count = 19,701
Percent MFT in use = 85 %
Total MFT fragments = 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Files that did not defragment
2 354 KB WINNTsecuritylogsscepol.log
2 788 KB WINNTDebugNtFrs_0005.log
2 64 KB WINNTNETLOGON.CHG
18 8 KB WINNTsystem32configsoftware.LOG
2 1 KB WINNTsystem32configSECURITY.LOG
8 1 KB Documents and SettingsAdministrator tuser.dat.LOG
2 984 KB WINNTShellIconCache
2 1,023 MB WINNTMEMORY.DMP
2 7,744 KB Program FilesTapeWaredatabaseTW6XXOBJ.TWD
2 13,032 KB Program FilesTapeWaredatabaseTW6XXINS.TWD
2 1 KB WINNTsystem32dhcpDhcpSrvLog.Wed


Any help would be appreciated as it does seem to be running slower at the moment

[neilus]

It looks like you're running Windows NT or higher, with a NTFS partition. Which I think rules out booting to DOS and running a defragmentation tool.

Looking at the report, the volume doesn't appear to be that badly fragmented - I've certainly seen a lot worse (and I mean a lot worse).

If it is running slower at the moment, I wouldn't have thought it's down to the fragmented drive.

You could try a third party defragmenter, like Diskeeper from Executive Software. I've just looked at the website and it's €25.50 or €45.50 depending on version.

This allows boot-time defragmentation of the page file, and directory consolidation.

Neil.

[Mark.S]

Well according to your report the page file is in one piece anyway, so not to worry about that. As a quick aside, I always do the following after rebuilding a PC:

1) Install OS
2) Delete pagefile (set size to zero)
3) Defrag
4) Fix pagefiles size

That way it can never become defragmented.

Does seem strange that you still have such high fragmentation (29%) when the list of files that couldn't be defraged is so small. Definately worth trying a third party defrag (www.sysinternals.com have stacks of free win widgets) or try booting into safe mode (minimum drivers and services) using Msconfig.exe and then running defrag.

[neilus]

Mark.S said:

Does seem strange that you still have such high fragmentation (29%) when the list of files that couldn't be defraged is so small.

I think this figure is calculated based on file sizes, rather than the number of files. In which case there's one file WINNTMEMORY.DMP which is 1023MB, and the volume only has 5322MB used.

Didn't notice the pagefile was all in one piece - still half asleep.

Neil.

[fish]

thanks for the help, I've downloaded a trial version of diskeeper which i'll use to sort it then try a reset of page file size.

thanks again

[agent006]

Defrag isn't the be-all and end-all of performance on servers, and has much less performance impact than on desktops. 99.999624% of servers can and do survive perfectly well for years and years without being defragged.

[Mark.S]

I'm inclined to disagree - it really depends what the servers being used for. If for example it stores roaming profiles, frequently edited documents etc it can make an enourmous difference.

Many a busy Exchange server has got a new lease of life from a simple out-of-hours defrag.

[robertuk]

Also windows puts frequently used files in key places,
as it defrags. This helps apps load quicker.

If speed is important consider building a RAID setup.

This uses two or more hard disks and would write a
10mb in two 5mb chunks.

It is quicker to write two 5 MB files to two hard disks than 1 10mb to a single disk.

You can also mirror drives with RAID,
this means you have a backup available.

For the ultimate setup you can have both types !

Very useful if you frequently shift large amounts of data ( server / video /photo editing e.t.c,).

[agent006]

Mark.S said:

I'm inclined to disagree - it really depends what the servers being used for. If for example it stores roaming profiles, frequently edited documents etc it can make an enourmous difference. Many a busy Exchange server has got a new lease of life from a simple out-of-hours defrag.

True, and 2000 and onwards do online automatic defrags for system files and the AD data.

[malman]

The winntmemory.dmp file is a memory dump from the last time your server crashed with a bugcheck error. Are you keeping this to send to Microsoft or for sentimental reasons . Its taking up 1023Mb so will be pushing up the fragmentation figures.