A defragmentor worht it?

I have a semi good computer intel duo core 2.6 2 gigs of ram. Before I use to use diskeeper and it did wonders when I had an older computer. Since I have been using the computer I felt it a little slow maybe cuz I have been using it for 6 months. I just defraged and felt a little faster. I used the windows xp version. What i wanted to ask is it really worth getting diskeeper again? Do some of you use other defragemntors. I am just curious of what you guys experienced and think.

 

after 6 months, You'll probably see a good boost if you reformat and reinstall windows.

 

depending on which one some defragers work better and mostly just have more options/automated etc.

for speeding up your system other things come into play, specially after 6 months....

how many proggys came and gone ? clean your registry ? what proggys are running and the settings thereof

check for disk errors

bloatware

etc etc

 

exactly

fresh install @ 6 months to a year is best

backup, backup, backup

lol

 

Nope nope nope nope nope!

Reformatting every X months is a total waste. If you learn how to maintain Windows properly you will never have to reformat unless you seriously F something up or change major hardware. I highly recommend you follow these guides to help you out. And in the short term here are a few tips to get you started.

Guides:
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm
www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html

Tips:
1. Uninstall unnecessary apps from Control Panel
2. Download Autoruns, use the Logon tab and disable useless startup items
3. Run Spybot or other AV software
4. Download CCleaner and run it for both Apps and Registry
5. Download JKDefrag and run it

Reformatting Windows every X months is absolutely pointless if you know how to care for your system properly. I never have to reformat because of "windows rot" or whatever you want to call it and my system is as snappy and happy as the day I set it up.

 

Yes, but if it wasn't properly maintained in the first place, (which is the case here) he will be much better off reformatting, and THEN following proper windows-maintence.

 

Depends, you don't know for sure what he's been doing on his system. I am willing to wager he has a bunch of startup junk and useless reg entries. Maybe even some malware or something. All easily dealt with. Reformatting is a last resort imho.

 

I suggest you also:
1) Run Disk Cleanup utility; delete all but the most recent restore points as well
2) Start > Run > "msconfig" > uncheck unneeded startup programs
3) Only run programs that you need
4) Check your temps using HWMonitor and clean out the notebook for dust using compressed air and a vacuum cleaner. Make sure the system isn't overheating.
5) Scan your system for viruses and spyware; a common cause of slowdowns is malware.

 

Ya i just do the basic things. Do spybot, ccleaner, also sometimes right click on the hard drive and check for errors. I also do the msconfig and make unnecessary things to be in the bottom right icons. I do reformat every six months, but since this computer i have felt the speed i just saw it get a little slow i guess a duo core and 2 gigs of ram on xp is more than enough to keep the computer in speed. I just wanted to know though if the windows xp defragmenting is worth compare to diskcleaner or other programs.

 

just follow the XP tips and tweaks guide in my sig. it is now included as a minor sticky in these forums.
btw fragmentation is not often the major cause of slowdowns, so dont just think a defrag. will make your computer super fast again

 

Apparently XP's defragger isn't as good as 3rd party defraggers; however, rather than paying for what should be a basic aspect of OS functionality, I suggest you look at free alternatives like JKDefrag or Auslogics Defrag. These programs do a much better job at no cost to you.

 

if you have backed up your data, then reformatting can be just as fast, if not faster then attempting to fix windows. plus, the result is guaranteed clean and consistent, whereas fixing windows will provide a varying degree of success.

 

The Windows built-in defragmenter is fine, don't believe all the hypes. People are talking like it's gonna make a day and night difference, which is not gonna happen, seriously.

 

Agreed. I just like JK Defrag as it does a pretty good job of sorting, defragging and compacting data. But in the end inthis day and age... the difference is minimal.

 

There is no need to reinstall/format every X months, unless you have been hit by a really nasty case of teh virus. My current vista install on the NEC has been going fine since SP1 came out. It's as fast now as it was then despite being the daily workhorse. Just simple, regular maintenance and common sense will ensure that Winrot doesn't set in.

As for whether a commercial defragger is worth the advantages it offers over the Vista one, only you can answer the question since it's your money . I found it worthwhile to have Diskeeper 2008 on my laptop. I didn't like the way the vista defragger kept churning away at the disks for hours. Plus I like the additional functionality and features of Diskeeper. (There are always free versions to try, use those to evaluate).

Either way, defrag regularly, and you won't see a performance increase between defrags because the drives are always defragmented. Don't defrag for a month or two, and then if you defrag, the difference will be more noticeable, coming from a fragmented state.

 

I used a Windows XP installation from 2003 to 2006 without any issues, and it responded and benchmarked as consistant on the last day as it did on the first day.

I think I defragged twice in that entire time.

Then again, I didn't constantly write write write delete delete delete write write write stuff. I guess if you spend a long time just copying and deleting things from the hard drive it would require more frequent defragging.

 

jisaac: ya i think i will tweak it up.

I was just asking i don't use no more of those defragmentors. Since i got this computer i felt a huge difference from an old amd processor and 448 mb to a 2 gb intel duo 2.6. I think will keep the reformatting every six weeks i always though it was pretty good to have a new fresh start.

 

I use the windows provided defragger. No problems here.. You can also try degraller by ccleaner. It's free.

http://www.defraggler.com/

When my computer crashed after using partitionmagic, I did a fresh install and I did notice a huge difference in speed and startup time. So the format and reinstall does give you a performance increase for some reason.