I've been lurking on these boards for years now and have always been able to find the answers I need.
How important is it to do a regular defrag and scan disk?
The computer guy at my Mom's work told them they didn't need to do it, ever. He said if the computers are completely shut down and turned off every night, it resets everything?
I think they are running either Win 98 or Win ME.
Thanks
Barb
Scan disk and defrag
if the computers are completely shut down and turned off every night, it resets everything
Not true at all.
On win 98 based systems, one should always run scan disk prior to defrag, and depending upon how musch theuse the computer gets, to do this at least bi monthly.
When I ran win 98, I did a lot of graphics editing, web browsing, email, web design, scanning and CD burning. I ran a scan disk & defrag every two weks sometimes. This helped keep my sustem morw efficient and helped to maintain it's average speed.
In win2k & XP, the defrag program has the option of checking the disk first and then it informs you if a defrag is needed or not.
No one has any right to force data on you
and command you to believe it or else.
If it is not true for you, it isn't true.
LRH
and command you to believe it or else.
If it is not true for you, it isn't true.
LRH
That's what I thought. I've always done mine about once a month.
I was very surprised to hear that this guy said that. He is the one that repairs and keeps their systems running.
Shutting down just clears out the memory right?
Next question. Could not doing it damage anything or is it more for performance?
Barb
I was very surprised to hear that this guy said that. He is the one that repairs and keeps their systems running.
Shutting down just clears out the memory right?
Next question. Could not doing it damage anything or is it more for performance?
Barb
-
mwkirchner
- Senior Member
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- Location: Smyrna, Delaware Car: 1998 Honda Accord EX Occupation: Honda Service Coordinator
Think of it this way ...
You have a desk that you keep a bunch of papers in. The papers are in order so you can go directly to a page that you want to see. You open a drawer and grab a handfull of the papers and throw them in the air. Now ... try to find that page. You will find it ... but how long will it take you? If you had not tossed them in the air ... you would find it very fast.
Same basic thing in a computer. Defragging puts stuff in order so the computer can get the information it needs relatively fast. The more it get fragmented (messed up) the slower it gets the information it needs. Over a period of time your computer will slow down because of this. You may not notice a big slow down ... like when you tossed the papers in the air ... but it actually does slow down due to the fact it has to look all over to get the information.
I personally use scan disk and defrag at least once a week. Some people feel this is too much ... but I like to keep things running good. I have always done that and always will.
Hope this helps you a little.
You have a desk that you keep a bunch of papers in. The papers are in order so you can go directly to a page that you want to see. You open a drawer and grab a handfull of the papers and throw them in the air. Now ... try to find that page. You will find it ... but how long will it take you? If you had not tossed them in the air ... you would find it very fast.
Same basic thing in a computer. Defragging puts stuff in order so the computer can get the information it needs relatively fast. The more it get fragmented (messed up) the slower it gets the information it needs. Over a period of time your computer will slow down because of this. You may not notice a big slow down ... like when you tossed the papers in the air ... but it actually does slow down due to the fact it has to look all over to get the information.
I personally use scan disk and defrag at least once a week. Some people feel this is too much ... but I like to keep things running good. I have always done that and always will.
Hope this helps you a little.
Antec Nine Hundred case, 4GB A-Data DDR2 800 RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz, ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP MB, XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 video card, ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD, Aerocool FP-01 Multifunction panel w/card reader, Zerodba 620W PSU, LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD with LightScribe SATA, Samsung CDDVDW SH-S203B SATA, Acer P241W 24" w/s monitor, Canon CanoScan LiDE 35 scanner, Klipsch ProMedia 2.1.
Fragmentation -
Fragmentation is a disk condition where the files on the disk are scattered about. Instead of the files a program need to access being all together, some may be in the middle of the disk, some on the edges. It happens due to the way windows uses the hard disk in your computer for both virtual memory and temporary file storage
What does defrag do?
When you "defrag" your hard drive, you run a disk defragmenter program to optimize the placement of files on your hard drive.
Here's what happens. As you use your computer, it writes to the first available spot on the hard drive. Over time, files tend to get rearranged on your hard disk, or fragmented.
If your disk is fragmented, when it tried to load a program, it may have to grab one file from the middle of the hard drive, one towards the outside, then back to the inside. The net result is that your computer runs slower.
A badly fragmented hard drive will result in a noticably slower performing operating syste,/computer.
Defrag thiugh, actually increases the life of your hard drive because when pieces of a file (0's $ 1's) are scattered about the drive, the arm on the drive has to move around more in order to find and read them.
Fragmentation is a disk condition where the files on the disk are scattered about. Instead of the files a program need to access being all together, some may be in the middle of the disk, some on the edges. It happens due to the way windows uses the hard disk in your computer for both virtual memory and temporary file storage
What does defrag do?
When you "defrag" your hard drive, you run a disk defragmenter program to optimize the placement of files on your hard drive.
Here's what happens. As you use your computer, it writes to the first available spot on the hard drive. Over time, files tend to get rearranged on your hard disk, or fragmented.
If your disk is fragmented, when it tried to load a program, it may have to grab one file from the middle of the hard drive, one towards the outside, then back to the inside. The net result is that your computer runs slower.
A badly fragmented hard drive will result in a noticably slower performing operating syste,/computer.
Defrag thiugh, actually increases the life of your hard drive because when pieces of a file (0's $ 1's) are scattered about the drive, the arm on the drive has to move around more in order to find and read them.
No one has any right to force data on you
and command you to believe it or else.
If it is not true for you, it isn't true.
LRH
and command you to believe it or else.
If it is not true for you, it isn't true.
LRH
Whenever you find your computer running a little weird, a good ol' scan disk can work like a charm sometimes.
You do not need to defrag a pc running WinXP or 2000 as often as Win98 or WinME, because of the NTFS file system. But still, at least once or twice a month will keep performance up, even if the defrag program says it doesn't need it.
If you do digital video editing on your pc, it doesn't hurt to defrag more often, especially before video playback.
You do not need to defrag a pc running WinXP or 2000 as often as Win98 or WinME, because of the NTFS file system. But still, at least once or twice a month will keep performance up, even if the defrag program says it doesn't need it.
If you do digital video editing on your pc, it doesn't hurt to defrag more often, especially before video playback.