Disk Defragmenter and Scandisk utilities.

[pyrate83]

Does anyone know how often a hard drive should be defragmented and how often scandisk should be run? I'm using XP and it does say when u should defrag it but sometimes I do it anyway so I have smooth gameplay. What does everyone recommend for frequency on running these?

[pyrate83]

I really am looking for any suggestions on this topic. I would surely appreciate everyone's opinions since all of the replies to my other topics have been so good!

Thanks.

[freak_in_cage_10k]

basically scandisk depends on how many times your pc crashes etc,i tend to do it once a month or so, but my pc never crashes, you are more likely to get errors in your hd if your programs crash/windows crashes

with regards to disk defrag, that depends on how often you change the contents of your hd. if you are constantly installing & uninstalling games etc then it needs to be done more often. if you go into disk defrag and tell it to "analyse" then it will tell you whether it thinks you should defrag it! before you do defrag it be sure to uninstall any games u dont play anymore/delete unwanted video files as it will save time

[Karate Media]

First to give you advice you didn't ask for: Please try to give everyone more than two hours to answer your post. Try two days instead. Literally. I know it's called dvdrhelp4pyrate83.com, but try to be patient.

As for your actual question: The party line (as I have read and heard over and over again) is scan and defrag at least every 30 days.

Sometimes, though, the party line claims that newer hard drives and procs are so efficient that there is less noticeable benefit from defragging.

The party line's like that.

That said, XP's file management is suppossed to be soooo good that it almost eliminates the need to run the scandisk. Yeah, right. Run it at least every thirty days, or whenever you crash. And not just a full-on system crash -- if just a program locks up, it might leave behind corrupted files. I probably run it every 2-3 weeks.

Run defrag before installations, and after uninstalls and any time you do some massive cleanup. I have a lot of video and audio files that come and go frequently on my system, so i probably defrag every 2-3 weeks.

If you're looking for a magic number, there isn't one. If running a defrag and scandisk every 30 days is working for you, keep to it. Do it at least every 30 days. And remember to clean out your IE cache and temp files, etc. Make it a regular habit: Cleanup ->Scandisk ->Defrag, in that order.

And change your oil every 3 months or 3000 miles, whichever comes first. Keep all of your machines running smoothly.

[zodiac]

i've search this topic before and the rule is for a basic comptuer user its 30 days,if you do video stuff its more like 1 to 2 weeks.
myself i should do it every few days to 1 week.i do alot of ripping and deleteing many gigs a day.

[pyrate83]

All of this helps but when I do the scandisk should I select both options on XP? One only works once u reboot and the other can be done w/out reboot but doesn't scan the hard disk. Which one is better to do?

[freak_in_cage_10k]

go into my computers, right click on c drive, go to tools, go to error checking. this will error check (eg scandisk) when you restart your pc, so retsrat the pc

when it is done, go into the c drives tools the same way and do a disk defrag (which doesn;t require a restart)

as Karate Media suggested, do it in that order having first deleted any unwated temp internet files etc

[q1aqza]

before you do defrag it be sure to uninstall any games u dont play anymore/delete unwanted video files as it will save time

Just like to add to this good advice - it's also a good idea to empty your recycle bin before defrag

[freak_in_cage_10k]

q1aqza- cheers dude, the recycle thing is also a gd idea

[THE_SAINT33]

you could get norton system doctor and it will tell you when you need to defrag along with lots of other usefull stuff.

[ChrisX]

On WinXP and Win2000 using NTFS HD you very rarely need to defrag it, perhaps once in 6 months. This depends on how much the work the hard drive has done.

I usually check the NTFS hard drive once in a couple months. A FAT32 drive needs to defrag more often, perhaps once a couple months or so.

Do the Scandisk check first, by right clicking the hard drive> click properties>click Tools and click the button on "Error-checking". If ok, go on to check on whether to defrag or not.

To find out whether to defrag or not: You have to go to start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools> Disk Defragmenter then click button " Analysis" to check whether defragment is necessary.

The computer checks it for you and says something like this: "This volume does not need defragmenting" If this comes, then you don't need defragging.

A Win98 computer needs more defragging and I usually defrag the drive once month. I normally do this manually overnight on the last Saturday of the month. Make sure the LAN, the Internet and the anti-virus program is off and I scandisk the hard drive first for errors.

If ok, I go ahead to defrag the drive. Depending the old computer’s CPU, this may take an hour.

[tenders]

i defrag mine and check the HD for errors every couple of days,just to keep everything running smooth.

i use Norton System Works,which includes alot of very useful utilities

[pyrate83]

What kinds of useful tools does the Norton System Works include?

[tenders]

What kinds of useful tools does the Norton System Works include?

you can check it out here: http://www.symantec.com/sabu/sysworks/basic/

[Ducatti20]

Pyrate, Norton sys works will even automatically check your drive, defrag and scandisk. That way you don't even have to worry about it.