Defrag Question

In trying to defrag my Windows XP Pro system with 80GB hard drive, it
says only 9% of the drive is free spaceand defrag requires 15% available
space. The message says I can do it anyway, but it's not recommended.
Is there any problem defragging with only 9% free disk space?

Thanks!
Scott

Scott wrote:
In trying to defrag my Windows XP Pro system with 80GB hard drive, it
says only 9% of the drive is free spaceand defrag requires 15% available
space. The message says I can do it anyway, but it's not recommended.
Is there any problem defragging with only 9% free disk space?

Yes. Not only that, you will experience other problems with only 9% free
space. Move data off the drive onto an external or secondary internal
storage hard drive. Uninstall programs you don't need/use. Do some
maintenance. And/or buy a bigger hard drive.

http://aumha.org/a/health.htm - See #4. Take Out the Trash
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ml#Maintenance


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Scott

I aggree with Malke.

In general terms a minimum of 15% free disk space for the MS Disk
Defragmenter to work effectively and 20 to 25% is desirable. You can buy
third party defragmenters that require negligible free disk space to
operate but most require a similar amount to the MS Disk Defragmenter.

Before running the MS Disk Defragmenter it is desirable to run Disk
CleanUp (or a third party utility cCleaner) to empty the Recycle Bin and
remove Temporary Files etc. If you use Outlook Express you should
compact before running Disk CleanUp. Whether you use Disk CleanUp or
cCleaner you also should remove all but the latest System Restore
point -the More Options tab in Disk CleanUp. If you did not do these
tasks before running the MS Disk Defragmenter then this will partly
explain the poor result you achieved.

It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700 mb.
Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time
find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit.
When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.

These measures may provide a short term solution but you need to
havegreater disk capacity.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Scott wrote:
In trying to defrag my Windows XP Pro system with 80GB hard drive, it
says only 9% of the drive is free spaceand defrag requires 15%
available space. The message says I can do it anyway, but it's not
recommended. Is there any problem defragging with only 9% free disk
space?

Thanks!
Scott

Gerry wrote:

Scott

I aggree with Malke.

In general terms a minimum of 15% free disk space for the MS Disk
Defragmenter to work effectively and 20 to 25% is desirable. You can buy
third party defragmenters that require negligible free disk space to
operate but most require a similar amount to the MS Disk Defragmenter.

Before running the MS Disk Defragmenter it is desirable to run Disk
CleanUp (or a third party utility cCleaner) to empty the Recycle Bin and
remove Temporary Files etc. If you use Outlook Express you should
compact before running Disk CleanUp. Whether you use Disk CleanUp or
cCleaner you also should remove all but the latest System Restore
point -the More Options tab in Disk CleanUp. If you did not do these
tasks before running the MS Disk Defragmenter then this will partly
explain the poor result you achieved.

It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700 mb.
Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time
find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit.
When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.

These measures may provide a short term solution but you need to
havegreater disk capacity.

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scott wrote:
In trying to defrag my Windows XP Pro system with 80GB hard drive, it
says only 9% of the drive is free spaceand defrag requires 15%
available space. The message says I can do it anyway, but it's not
recommended. Is there any problem defragging with only 9% free disk
space?

Thanks!
Scott

Garry,

Yes, I'll take the steps your outlined. I do have a hard drive on hand that's 3x
larger, which I will be installing soon.

Scott