Defrag Metadata

Hybrid drives and do I need a hybrid drive defrag

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

Hybrid drives use the fundamentals of a hard drive, but add additional capability with RAM or an SSD for increased performance. Wikipedia gives the following definition:

A hybrid drive, hybrid hard drive (HHD), or hybrid hard disk drive (H-HDD) is a type of large-buffer computer hard disk drive. It is different from standard hard drives in that it integrates a cache using non-volatile memory or even a small solid-state drive (SSD). Although the cache typically uses non-volatile flash memory, some drives use battery-backed volatile RAM (a hybrid RAM disk). The flash memory buffer can speed up repeated reads to the same location; a RAM buffer speeds both reads and writes, but must be written to backup storage when power is lost.

Benefits of hybrid drives can include decreased power consumption and heat generation, the ability to boot quicker via faster boot times and faster PC startup, decreased noise, improved reliability, and improved performance.

But there are drawbacks too. Such as lower performance for non-cached data and small disk writes. They are more expensive than regular hard drives and don't last as long. There may actually be more noise and power usage in some cases. And importantly, recover-ability of data can be problematic.

Hybrid drive, hybrid drive defrag or SSD defrag

Well, once you've look at all the considerations and do your research, if you do end up with a hybrid, what about defragmentation - do you need a defrag program for your hybrid drive? The short answer is -- yes.

As for the why, it's due to the fact that at the core of a hybrid drive is a good ol' fashion hard disk drive. So just think - if you need to a defrag utility to defrag hard drive, defrag metadata and defrag, you'll need to defrag a hybrid drive -- because a good portion of it is a hard drive. The reading and writing - and therefore the modifying, adding and deleting that causes fragmentation -- ultimately occurs on the hard drive itself. And that had drive is where the NTFS file system resides, along with all its peculiarities and problems.

A lot of activity may occur in a RAM drive (or now, SSD), but when this happens, periodically the data is moved to the hard drive. This periodic flushing of the data occurs within the controller and is determined by the drive manufacturer. But once it ends up on the hard drive, it's prone to fragmentation just like a non-hybrid drive.

Hybrid drive defrag? Yes, and use your best defrag software, as always.

Related Posts:

SSD overview and do I need an SSD defrag -- Part 1
SSD overview and do I need an SSD defrag -- Part 2

Boot time defrag and system files

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

One way PerfectDisk stands out is its ability to defragment all system files (including all NTFS metadata). System files is the designation that PerfectDisk uses to identify important files that the operating system uses at runtime to operate your PC. These include the Windows paging file (pagefile.sys), the hibernation file used to support sleep mode on desktop Windows PCs (hiberfile.sys), and numerous operating system files (primarily found in the %systemroot% — often C:Windows — and %systemroot%System32 — often C:WindowsSystem32 — directories).


Depending on whether or not the drive is a system drive, or some other drive that PerfectDisk can’t lock, offline file defragmentation may or may not run on the drive(s). As long as PerfectDisk can lock a drive for exclusive access at runtime, it will defragment system files immediately. But for a Windows system disk or any other locked drive — one, for example, where a paging file might reside in a whole or in part — attempts to defragment system files at runtime will usually fail.

These files are then defragmented if the drive is not locked. Otherwise, this occurs at boot time with a boot time defrag. PerfectDisk locks the drive for its own exclusive use, so it can then defragment and move files the operating system would otherwise not allow to be altered. So, a boot time defrag is really only mandatory for drives that cannot be locked at run time.



Occasionally when you schedule a boot time defrag pass in PerfectDisk, it doesn’t work. This is because PerfectDisk is unable to lock the drives during boot time, so the system gets booted without the defrag pass getting executed. When this happens, it is almost always because a third-party program has modified the BootExecute registry key so that PDBoot.exe (the name of the PerfectDisk boot time defragmenation executable file) is no longer the first entry in its value string. This entry must occur first in that key for boot time defrag to run correctly. Another possibility is that a third-party software product has opened the drive for write access before PDBoot.exe can mount the drive for exclusive access. If the drive is open for write access, PerfectDisk will not run a boot time/offline defrag in order to avoid potential damage to or corruption of system files.

All system files…to complete the drive.

I'll take Defrag PC for 2,500 -- are you in?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by Joe Abusamra

Defrag PC for 2,500. Windows 7 defrag for three thousand. No, it's not another round of Jeopardy -- it's the PerfectDisk Pro Users Community, and it's here for you.

A year ago, a few hundred "early adopters" made up this community. Over the past year, we've seen a big increase, with the community now home to over 2,500 PerfectDisk users, both corporate and home and growing daily. They share information and suggestions. They ask questions, and answer them. They applaud the good, and gripe about the not-so-good. They make their feelings known to each other and to everyone here at PerfectDisk and Raxco Software.

A more fun and more engaging way to defrag metadata. Are you in? PerfectDisk Pro Users -- www.perfectdiskprousers.com.

And for more fun, and surprises and prizes too -- become a fan of PerfectDisk on Facebook and follow along.

Defrag of system files

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

One way PerfectDisk stands out is its ability to defragment all system files (including all NTFS metadata). System files are the designation that PerfectDisk uses to identify important files that the operating system uses at runtime to operate your PC. These include the Windows paging file (pagefile.sys), the hibernation file used to support sleep mode on desktop Windows PCs (hiberfile.sys).

Depending on whether or not the drive is a system drive, or some other drive that PerfectDisk can’t lock, offline file defragmentation may or may not run on the drive(s). As long as PerfectDisk can lock a drive for exclusive access at runtime, it will defragment system files immediately. But for a Windows system disk or any other locked drive — one, for example, where a paging file might reside in a whole or in part — attempts to defragment system files at runtime will usually fail.

These files are then defragmented if the drive is not locked. Otherwise, this occurs at boot time. PerfectDisk locks the drive for its own exclusive use, so it can then defragment and move files the operating system would otherwise not allow to be altered. So, a boot time defrag is really only mandatory for drives that cannot be locked at run time.

Occassionally when you schedule a boot time defrag pass in PerfectDisk, it doesn’t work. This is because PerfectDisk is unable to lock the drives during boot time, so the system gets booted without the defrag pass getting executed. When this happens, it is almost always because a third-party program has modified the BootExecute registry key so that PDBoot.exe (the name of the PerfectDisk boot time defragmentation executable file) is no longer the first entry in its value string. This entry must occur first in that key for boot time defrag to run correctly. Another possibility is that a third-party software product has opened the drive for write access before PDBoot.exe can mount the drive for exclusive access. If the drive is open for write access, PerfectDisk will not run a boot time/offline defrag in order to avoid potential damage to or corruption of system files.

All system files…to complete the drive and boot quicker.

Technobuddy Column -- The must-have computer programs

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

You get what you pay for. And sometimes paying nothing is good enough, sometimes it's not. If you're looking for defrag downloads, you can find some free stuff. That might be okay for you...but maybe not.

Writing in his Naples News Technobuddy column, Bill Husted writes often about free software programs that do a great job. Indeed, he writes that "one of the things I enjoy most with this column is recommending free programs that do a great job. From an early age I’ve been a great believer in the “if it’s free, it’s for me,” school of thought."



However, Husted goes on to write that "there are programs I do buy. That’s what we’ll talk about today, those rare programs so good that I’m willing to pay for them." As for the Windows built-in defragger, Husted says "it works OK. Perfect Disk 10 is better — so much better that I am willing to pay $40 for Perfect Disk 10 Professional." And the bottom line for Husted -- "my computer runs faster because of it."

Most Windows defrag software, including the free stuff, won't defrag metadata completely. Won't defrag system files completely. Won't optimize your drives, won't do a good job of consolidating free space...won't do much more than basic defrag of files. A disk defragmentation tool can do a whole lot more, and benefit users a whole lot more.

The must-have computer programs -- read the entire article here.

Get more, do more.

Windows 7 defrag certification -- only here

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Joe Abusamra

When looking to Windows defrag software for Windows 7, there are various defrag programs to choose from and decisions you need to make. Do you want to be able to do a boot time defrag in order to defrag metadata? Is free space consolidation important? Do you want to boot quicker? Are you running any disk cleanup tools? Are you going to defrag Exchange databases?

There may be many more questions and requirements. Or your list for choosing between defrag programs might be short and sweet - you want a faster computer. One criteria that many people look for is certification from Microsoft. To some, it's just a "feel good" thing. To others, it's critical. And to some, it means nothing.

To us, it's important. We know there are many people that look to certification from Microsoft. And we know that many businesses have a requirement that they will only run certified applications. So PerfectDisk is certified by Microsoft for Windows 7.

In reviewing a disk defrag program, you might ask yourself why a particular product is not certified by Microsoft. For example, one area that Microsoft focuses on is overly-intrusive installations and snap-ins to the operating system - if a disk defragmentation tool is overly intrusive, Microsoft won't cerify the product. Look, with all the positive feedback Microsoft has garnered from Windows 7, it is not about to put a stamp of approval on an application that takes away from the positive user experience people are receiving from the new OS. Microsoft also made changes to the boot process in Windows 7, and we modified PerfectDisk to address these changes.

So one can choose to tell the world that certification doesn't matter and the fact that a program just works with Windows 7 is good enough.

We choose a different path for our users -- no risk.