Defragmentation Info..

[orirunaway]

Is it true that defragmenting a hard disk would slow down the whole performance of the PC since it is said by others that defragmenting compresses the files thus making it hard to uncompress? I am just verifying my side that this is not true.. am I right?

[ErnieK]

No, defragmenting the HDD will put the files into order on the HDD and (theoretically) make the computer respond a bit quicker. If you have had your comp for a while and never defraged then you will notice the difference, it will also take a while to complete so be patient when doing so. Go here and click on the first link andbdownload the word document for a quick read. It tell you about defraging.
http://www.google.com/search?q=defragmenting+a+hard+disk&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[tommy]

Defragmenting and compressing are two unrelated processes.

Defrag is as Ernie K described.

Compressing files is done by subjecting the file(s) to a program (such as zip) that uses various algorithms to remove redundencies in files (particularly blanks) and make the files much smaller. It is done in such a way that they can be uncompressed (e.g., unzip) to their original content.

[John0904]

Hmm...
When I use the Windows Disk Defragmenter it will compress the less used files. (OS:XP)

But to answer your question... No, performance will not be decreased by the compressed files. If anything, performance will be increased just by the fact the disk is defragmented. ;)

It doesn't any take longer to access a compressed file as it takes a regular file.
But then again, I've never tried to compress the whole drive either. And doubtful that I will. :D

[Paul Komski]

When I use the Windows Disk Defragmenter it will compress the less used files. (OS:XP)
Do you have a reference for this because I haven't come across it anywhere. If the files are compressed it would be intersting to know what form of compressed format is utilised?

Defragmentation collects together files whose component parts are fragmented or scattered in different areas of the drive and as far as I was aware is unrelated to compression and always improves performance.

Compression can increase or decrease performance depending on a lot of factors but notably the compressibility of the files in question; the relationship between the speed of the HDD and the speed of the CPU and how full the drive is are other factors. Compression of course always makes more drive space available.

[John0904]

Do you have a reference for this because I haven't come across it anywhere. If the files are compressed it would be intersting to know what form of compressed format is utilised?
Tried to find the info at Microsoft, but couldn't find anything specific.

http://spamguarder.home.comcast.net/defrag.jpg
If you notice the status bar, it does say it is "Compacting Files".
Compact.exe is a command line that will compress files.

When Disk Cleanup is used, it scans for "old compressed files". I would presume the compressed files were done during the defrag stage.

Since I can't find hard info at Microsoft or Google, I'm just adding that 2+2 equals 4. :)

[Paul Komski]

Theres nothing about compression at "Defragmenting NTFS Volumes" http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkc_fil_oexm.asp

And nothing about defragmenting at the "File Compression" page http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkc_fil_oexm.asp

I think the expression compacting files in the defrag gui is referring to making the files contiguous and not to the use of compact.exe or of any actual file compression per se. Any files compressed using compact.exe should show as blue text in Windows Explorer thereafter until decompressed. I'm perfectly prepared to be wrong on this but I don't (yet) know where there is a definitive answer - other than seeing the change over to blue text.

[John0904]

I think the expression compacting files in the defrag gui is referring to making the files contiguous and not to the use of compact.exe or of any actual file compression per se.
You're right.
I got it stuck in my head a few years ago that the Windows defrag was compressing the lesser used files as needed. And it only reinforced my crazy thoughts with the Disk Cleanup and the cleanup of "old compressed files". :D

Then the poster might have been referring to the drive properties where the drive is compressed to save space? Dunno.

[Paul Komski]

Any such "clean-up" by compressing seldom used files would have some logic; it's just that I couldn't find any such direct reference.