Windows XP forum: Win XP Defrag OR Norton Speed Disk?

depends on how you have yer system set up.. do you have your operating system on its own partition.. ntfs
I keep my operating system on its own five gig partition this isolates it completely and keeps thrd party programs from getting mixed in cuz i install the programs onto a seperate partition... I use the xp defragg on c drive (operating system) and its very fast... think of the operating system like an office. if the office is smaller .. files will be easier to fetch and put back..at arms length..

Don't the applications have to be installed on the same partition that the operating system is on? If you partition the drive and install the operating system on one partition, how do you load the applications on the other partition?

Under XP it is possible to make a hard disk partition appear as a folder on another disk. So you can have "Program Files" folder actually be another disk partition. There is also software to create hard links to make a folder on one drive refer to another location altogether. An example of such software is Link Magic http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm

It's very simple, for most software these days. When the installer indicates the default location, note that there is usually a ''browse'' button alongside it. Use the browse button to move to a different ''programs'' folder on a different partition. Personally, I have Windows and all utilities, anti-virus, etc. in the C partition, all applications in the D partition, and relocated the My Documents folder (data) to the E partition. Why? It simplifies both defragging and backing up. The E partition is the one that most needs frequent backing up and defragging, and the C partition the least.

Regarding putting your program files on a seperate partition. If your doing it so your program files don't mess up your OS files it really doesn't make any difference. The problems programs usually create are in the registry and regardless what partition you install the program files to many will still install a lot of files into the OS registry. It probably helps with defragging but it doesn't prevent programs from damaging your OS.

No, in fact you can have seperate partitions, or even drives for OS, Programs, & stored data. In fact I have my system set up so that all progams store their data on a seperate drive from everything else. That way if the OS or programs start giving me trouble or the drive crashes all my data is safe & I can just re-install the program. I also have this drive on a raid, so that it is consistantly backed up.

Some programs must be in sync with the registry. If your OS and Apps are in separate partitions, you have to be careful how you back up and restore each.
In addition, parts of some (poorly written) apps may assume the default C drive even though the install offers you the choice of drives and therefore don't work very well unless installed in C.

and a reminder for me to see. I have been using Norton's for defrag with my Win98se, WinME, and WinXP desktops, except several months ago I used the Windows defrag. I didn't pay much attention, but need to run again with both to see how long it takes. I have over 400,000 files on my WinXP 100GB drive so it takes a while. Norton's claims to be faster. As far as which does the best on actual defrag...is up for grabs.

The XP Defrag is now made by the same company that makes Diskeeper, (Executive Software). If you look at the two interfaces they are the same.

H

Executive Software DOES INDEED make both the WinXP (&Win2k) defragger and Diskeeper.

Windows incorporates many 3rd party utilities into it's OS. It strips out many features and gives you a lite version to accomplish simple tasks, where the 3rd companies give you more advanced features.

Some OS lite utilities and there corresponding adavnced parent apps.

XP Defrag = Diskeeper
NTbackup = Veritas Backup Exec
SQL Reporting Service = Crystal Reports

The diskeeper in windows is an older version.
I believe it was diskeeper 4.0 the new one is
diskeeper 9.0 and of course there are two versions of it, standard and pro.

Executive Software has made Window's Defrag program for several years. Microsoft just bought a very scaled down version. Diskeeper 9.0 will defrag so fast you cannot believe it happened. Go to www.executivesoftware.com and choose to download the free version for consumers. You will be amazed.

That's true. WindowsXP incorporates Diskeeper for defragment of files, but its not the full version. If you want to get the full benefits of Diskeeper buy the software.

-rg

To make people want to buy the full version.