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How to Defrag?


dsc106
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Interesting. What is technically different about the HFS+ format that makes it not need to be defraged?

 

The way in HFS+ file structure is designed is such that it basically defrags on the fly everytime for most files, by not reusing the space from deleted files and also due to the application "package" system that OS X uses, which contains almost all of the files for a needed application in its own cluster on the partition table, eliminating the need to read on different sectors; therfore so fragmentation is kept to an ultra minimum. Fragmentation does happen though...its not that perfect, however it is much, much better than NTFS's way of operation.

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the file system automatically defrags files under 20 megabytes -- and its better at keeping things from getting fragmeted but it still happens - if you want you can get idefrag and CD maker which will make a live CD of the program -- the only defrag u can do with idefrag while actually on your computer wont do much.. so make the live CD... (mac has a little problem with defraging a startup drive while running on the startup drive....)

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Only time I've found it necessary to defrag was when partitioning a drive. For some reason, if your hard drive is more than about 1% fragged then you can't resize partitions. Boot Camp just whines about files that can't be moved (??) and iPartition won't let you drag the little slider to resize the partition.

 

In those cases, defragging fixed the problem. I haven't noticed much of a speed increase, but it did allow me to (finally) triple-boot Linux, Mac, and Windows.

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Only time I've found it necessary to defrag was when partitioning a drive. For some reason, if your hard drive is more than about 1% fragged then you can't resize partitions. Boot Camp just whines about files that can't be moved (??) and iPartition won't let you drag the little slider to resize the partition.

 

In those cases, defragging fixed the problem. I haven't noticed much of a speed increase, but it did allow me to (finally) triple-boot Linux, Mac, and Windows.

 

Can you change and re-size partitions once there are files on them & OS X is installed?

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is this the same reason all the linux/bsd/unix file systems never need defragging?

 

if so a better question to ask here is why the hell does microsoft go with NTFS if every other file system appear to be better?

 

 

The way in HFS+ file structure is designed is such that it basically defrags on the fly everytime for most files, by not reusing the space from deleted files and also due to the application "package" system that OS X uses, which contains almost all of the files for a needed application in its own cluster on the partition table, eliminating the need to read on different sectors; therfore so fragmentation is kept to an ultra minimum. Fragmentation does happen though...its not that perfect, however it is much, much better than NTFS's way of operation.
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is this the same reason all the linux/bsd/unix file systems never need defragging?

 

Yes, exactly.

 

if so a better question to ask here is why the hell does microsoft go with NTFS if every other file system appear to be better?

 

Well, because Microsoft developed NTFS, so it would kind of be embarassing to ditch their own filesystem design and move onto another one by someone else, especially after what, 13 years of usage? Now the real question would be why doesn't Microsoft make NTFS more improved and have features like HFS+ in OS X or even better ZFS. The answer is that they did plan on doing something similar...called WinFS, which was supposed to be incorporated into Vista, however that never happend either.

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"..called WinFS, which was supposed to be incorporated into Vista, however that never happend either."

 

 

now that is really funny.

so you are saying that countless linux guys have made file systems in their spare time that work and microsoft couldn't pull that off with their own staff?

 

between their registery structure and file system i'm amazed they do as well as the do. if they were more like like *unix they would really kick ass and there would be no need for any other OS.

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