Disk de fragmenter

[MrBen5]

Hey, does anyone know if i can still use my laptop as normal if i am running my disk defragmenter? I havent run it for ages and tried running it last night, but it took too long.
Also, whats the difference between that and the disk clean up?

Also, is there anything else i should be running on my laptop?

cheers

[mauser2003]

disk defragmenters only slightly slows down any decent modern spec'd laptop, you should be able to work fine but remember if you work on the laptop the defragmentor will keep revisiting changes you are making to your RAM/Hard drive, so for best and quick defragmenting........leave it alone for some time (depending on amount of defragmenting and HD size)

[breezybadger]

I agree, leave your Laptop alone while it's defragging, and to speed it up even more, run it in Safe Mode, that way any background programs that usually interfere (Anti-virus, e-mail, IM, P2P etc.) will not be running. It shouldn't take more than 1/2 an hour depending on how you use your laptop...

[MrBen5]

Your joking , half an hour?
it was running for 2 hours and didnt even get to 33% done
I got bored and cancelled it.
Do i have to leave it connected to the internet whilst defragmenting, or can i just plug it anywhere?
Also, how often should i be running this stuff?

[breezybadger]

Originally Posted by MrBen5

Your joking , half an hour?
it was running for 2 hours and didnt even get to 33% done
I got bored and cancelled it.
Do i have to leave it connected to the internet whilst defragmenting, or can i just plug it anywhere?
Also, how often should i be running this stuff?

Basically, make sure the laptop isn't doing anything otherwise it will take forever due to it restarting over and over again, and preferably disconnect it from the internet as it'll still be doing background stuff. As I say, run it in safe mode, leave it alone and it'll be done before you know it...

Preferably, you should run it about once a month, but personally I haven't run it in ages!!!

[smoggy]

No you don't need to be connected to the internet
Defragging can take a long time, it depends on how much your drive is fragmented. You also need plenty of free hard disk space to allow it to move files around (less space = longer time).
Some defraggers are quicker than others , also you can have some that run in the background when there is no activity going on.

[pastera]

If you are using the Windows defragger, you need atleast 15-20% free space and any other task you run will make it hang or restart. Its also likely to take long if you have never defragged before. if you want to work or use the net while the defrag is happening, you need to install one of the fully automatic defragmenters which run in the background without obstructing other tasks. Some defrag even with as less as 5% free space. You can try googling for demo versions. A defragger puts back fragmented files together contiguously improving file access time and speed eventually.

[MrBen5]

ok cheers, i will try it later when i am not using it