Do I need disk defragmenting and registry cleanup?

Hey guys,

So far there's nothing visibly wrong with my XPS M1530 which I've been using for almost a year. Startup time is normal and speed of the CPU is fine.

However, I'm wondering if despite the regular performance of my notebook; I still need to defragment my disk and clean my registry files?

What exactly does disk defragmentation and registry cleanup do?

Is there a risk that they will delete important files accidentally?

Will it speed up my system even faster than it already is?

I'm pretty new to this stuff so I'd appreciate any explanations on the benefits and (if any) disadvantages of doing so.

Thanks!

 

Does defragmenting speed up your machine? Well yes, but for most people, the improved performance is not huge. Defragmenting basically makes sure that the different pieces of each file are stored in the same place on your hard disk. You hard disk is made up of lots of space, and over time, files can be spread out across this space, for example a large 5MB file could cover different parts of your hard disk. As defragmenting moves it all to the same place, it would take a shorter time to access the file. For files that are massively fragmented you might notice a difference, but for the most part probably not. I'd still recommend doing it once a month or so anyway, just to try to maintain a level of performance.

Registry cleaning is different. It could have a large impact, both positive and negative. Positive, in that removing entries that actually don't work anymore could mean your OS and other apps don't spend time trying to do things that it can't do any longer. Like for example loading some startup apps or drivers that have been uninstalled. However, it is much more risky because you could remove items that are still needed.

I'd recommend using something like ccleaner. It's free, never given me any problems, but most importantly it offers to backup the registry before any changes are made. That way, worst case scenario, you can restore it back to how it was before.

For defrag, a free program that does a decent job (considering it is free) is auslogics defrag. It lacks the option to do a boot defrag, but to be fair so do most of the free programs.

Regards

 

Registry cleanup is a sham. If you want you can use CCleaner's registry cleaner, it's relatively safe and it's free. Other than that, DO NOT use a registry cleaner, many will cause damage to your system.

If you're running Vista, there is no need for a defrag as Vista automatically defrags on a regular basis.
If you're on XP, it's a good idea to run a defrag every once in a while - it will speed up hard drive related tasking (opening programs, loading maps in games, etc).

Basically, think of a blank hard drive like this. Each dash is a sector where data can be written to.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, think of files like this. You put on files X, Y, Z, which are all different sizes so each takes up different amounts of space. The files will be written to the first available free space on the disk. Each letter represents a sector filled by that file.

XXXXXXXXXXXXYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ------------

Now, you delete file Y.

XXXXXXXXXXXX-----ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ------------

And then you write file A.

XXXXXXXXXXXXAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAA-----

Except... file A is bigger than file Y was, so only part of it goes where Y was, and the rest goes somewhere else. This may not seem like a big deal, but a hard drive can only read from one place at a time, so if it's jumping around a lot because all of your files are broken up on the drive (which is absolutely normal) this will degrade performance. Running a defrag would change the drive to be more like this:

XXXXXXXXXXXXZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAA-----

Now this is overall simplified but that should hopefully give you an idea of what's going on and why it makes a difference.

 

CC cleaner is awesome b/s the registry clean up, it removes old setup files and things like that.. the first time i ran it on my desktop, it freed up 5 gbs of space

 

CCleaner is simply must on any notebook and desktop.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Appreciate the clarification. I guess I've already been defragmenting without knowing it (as my Vista 32bit has been doing it on schedule as Hep mentioned). Will consider downloading CCleaner soon. But I might make a possible shift from my Norton Internet Security to Norton 360 soon, and from what I've read, 360 includes registry cleaning services as well.

Thanks anyways...

 

Well yes Vista can be set to defrag; but it only does so when your computer is idle. Typically my machine is always doing something in the background, like moving data from one table to another or processing some de-duplication routines; so using Vistas own defragmenter is pointless. Besides, I tend to use PerfectDisk because, although a paid solution, it defrags based on how frequently you access different files, and allows me to setup a boot defrag.

 

A good defragmenting program is Defraggler:
http://www.defraggler.com/
It is free software, I have been using it on my computers for a long time.

I do weekly maintenance on my computers, which includes, in order:
1) Go through Documents/Downloads and 'tidy up' (move/organize/delete files)
2) Update my HOSTS file (the best way to prevent viruses and so on)
3) Run CCleaner, cleans out everything (including the registry cleaner part)
4) Defragment using Defraggler
5) Change my wallpaper (gives the computer a 'clean' look lol)
6) Restart

 

Auslogics Disk Defrag is another good freeware program.
But Vista does a good job of defragging.
Everytime I run Auslogics it finds less than 1% to defrag.
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag

 

You can use Vista defrag it's preatty good.

If you want a DEEP defrag use O&O Defrag (you must by it but the trial version works). O&O Defrag allows you to do Complete/Name defrag which allows you to organize file by name and have it all defrag, which is how NTFS file system works, therefore en up with the most increase in speed.

However, they are downsides:
1- It can take SEVERAL LONG hours... (do it over night)
2- Windows Vista/7 will lose it's boot optimization so it will take more time to boot.. UNTIL a new one will be made and then it should be faster then before. To accelerate this process you can just restart your computer from your log-in account a several times, by waiting several seconds between restarts to have Windows have the time to perform the boot optimization.
I tend to do this only when I feel it is needed.. maybe twice a year on my laptop to keep fast booting when I am in school. On the desktop I do it like once a year. In between, I use normal Vista/7 defrag.

 

Is this really the case?

The way I understood it was that files may be sorted like this in the MFT, but that is it. In terms of where they are sorted in the disk, it really doesn't matter because the MFT is always consulted first to find the file id, which is then used to locate the file, not the file name. In the file system, all that is held is the file id. All other data is held as data in the MFT (i.e. file dates, sizes, names, etc).

 

You are correct... i too was thinking of that. However, I was told by O&O when Windows starts up, many system files will be read in sequence from the WINDOWS directory and system32 directories at start-up, so that makes the boot shorter.

I saw the difference. I have 38sec from Windows boot to the log-in screen in Vista 64-bit (after Vista had the boot optimized). So I guess its right, cause the other format type (COMPLETE/ACCESS, COMPLETE/MODIFY actually did the contrary for me as it was said to be optimized for server application).

 

I only started using Defraggler recently but I swear by CCleaner, its sister software developed by the same guys. I have been using CCleaner for three years now and it keeps my three-year old laptop running like it was bought yesterday... actually, even better than that, considering how much crap came preloaded.

 

CCleaner is a must utility for all systems.

 

imo puran defrag is one of the best ive used and cheap, and super simple.. otherwise perfectdisk for a bit more control but they are both excellent. puran at 19.95 is a awesome program.

i do like ccleaner but its a bit basic imo i use jv16 powertools myself. but ccleaner goes on my customers systems because its far easier to use

 

I run Glary utilities and then JKdefrag, seems to work fine.

 

Disk defrag is useful to preserve filesystem performance and keep the drives/system running smoothly. I have always liked Diskeeper and currently use the 2009 Professional version. Easy to use with auto defrag mode and works great; not free though.

I 've never seen any benefit from registry cleaners, only harm. The best way to keep the registry 'clean' is to not install junk in the first place. Remember, if during 'cleaning/optimization', some important key gets modified/deleted, then your OS may be seriously damaged and be rendered unbootable. Always make a backup of the registry if you absolutely wish to mess with it.

 

I like that Chaz, kinda like house cleanup.

 

I cleaned my registry many times with ccleaner. I notice it can cause errors most of the time, so always have that backup...

 

Backing up the registry before using a registry cleaner is a big waste of time and gives a false sense of security.


In most cases you won't even know the registry cleaner screwed up your computer until much later.

Weeks/months later, as you try to launch a program or are working in an area rarely visited/used, you find something is busted and not working. I doubt anyone would immediately realize program xyz isn't working because they used a registry cleaner weeks/months ago.

And even if you were lucky to connect the dots, and associate your computer's problem to the registry cleaner, reinstalling an ancient registry backup might cause even more problems.

Unless you periodically do clean installs, or don't mind doing a clean install when problems occur, then I would stay away from registry cleaners.

 

I notice a problem almost right away. System restore and/or the backup registry isn't just a false sense of security for me, it works.

 

CCleaner only backup the registry keys that you where about to remove. So restoring it would just restore back what was changed and not the whole registry.

 

Use CCleaner with caution. I think this software is bad (may only on my laptop) that will cause problem when cleaning registry. It's work but require carefully using. In cleaning process of CCleaner, check carefully for registry key that it will delete. It's delete registry key that impact program association that made me to choose program to open on some file types.

 

In reality it's because the program miss registered itself to the registry. Windows has a system to figure out some errors.. it's like HTML.. it has a very flexible system. This system was put in place to ensure that software are compatible between Windows and prevent the appearance of a corrupted registery. However, in your case the developers of the software decided that reading Microsoft documentation was useless as they they consider themselves as they know more than Windows developers, and decide to do things their own way... so CCleaner detects this as an error, and well it is... it's just that the registry system of Windows has a 'guessing' system of sort put in place so it works.

As a software developer, I see this - among other crap - A LOT. This is where you see the difference between a software programmer that did a technique in college, and a programmer that studied in computer science or software engineering at university.