hartzell@beagle (George Hartzell) (02/27/88)
Does anyone out there have any opinions about programs that
unfragment one's hard-disk? Better yet, does anyone out there know
of any pd. versions. I would prefer to be able to get a copy from one
of the archive servers to decrease the chance of trojans, but can be
flexible.
g.
--
George Hartzell (303) 492-4535
MCD Biology, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309
hartzell@Boulder.Colorado.EDU ..!{hao,nbires}!boulder!hartzell
(bitnet hosts try: hartzell%boulder.colorado.edu@jvnca.csc.org)Geoffrey_Welsh@watmath.waterloo.edu (02/27/88)
I've used "DOG" by G. Allen Morris III (shareware). It allows you to create a configuration file that tells Disk OrGanizer what you want to put where. The latest version I have is 1.01a. The downside to that is that it takes forever to analyze the disk before it starts and it is pretty slow. I've also use Norton Speed Disk; it's faster but does not allow custom configuration of the disk. As I watch Norton SD work (it shows you what it's doing), it seems to me that, considering the fact that it's operating on a 640K PC with a slow drive, it wastes a lot of time shuffling clusters. [oops, speaking of memory, DOG requires almost ALL of DOS' 640K memory to be free!]. When Norton wishes to 'clear out' a space at the beginning of the disk, it shuffles the clusters to the next available free space (even if that free space is further down the area it is trying to clear!). WHen it eventually gets to clearing that space, it simply reshuffles the same cluster down. I'm no expert on de-fragging (or on C&O), but surely it'd save much reshuffling of the same clusters if Mr. Norton put shuffled clusters in the LAST free space before the end of the disk? Altogether, I have yet to see a disk optimizer (shareware like DOG or commercial like Norton) that works quickly enough for me (I run a Fido mail site on a 4.77 MHz XT with a 31-meg XT-speed drive...) I have yet to see vOpt; I've heard much good about it but haven't seen it anywhere (and don't look forward to the price, either). Geoff ( watmath!fido!221.171!izot ) --- ConfMail V3.31 * Origin: The Waterloo Window: WOC's out there? (1:221/171)
doug@gethen.UUCP (Doug Asherman) (02/29/88)
In article <4543@sigi.Colorado.EDU> hartzell@beagle (George Hartzell) writes: >Does anyone out there have any opinions about programs that >unfragment one's hard-disk? Better yet, does anyone out there know >of any pd. versions. I would prefer to be able to get a copy from one >of the archive servers to decrease the chance of trojans, but can be >flexible. Probably the best disk-unfragger comes with Mace Utilities. I've un- fragmented a 20MB hard disk about 6 times with it, and haven't lost any files or suffered any other damage that I can tell. Not only that, there some other useful utilities that come in the same package. As for PD versions, I hear tell that Disk Organizer is good, though I can't tell you from experience.
pcm@iwarpo.intel.com (Phil C. Miller) (02/29/88)
In article <4543@sigi.Colorado.EDU> hartzell@beagle (George Hartzell) writes: >Does anyone out there have any opinions about programs that >unfragment one's hard-disk? >George Hartzell (303) 492-4535 I wholeheartedly recommend PC-Tools Deluxe. It has a versatile COMPRESS program which is not only effective, but quite entertaining to watch :-). The program(s) were produced by Central Point Software of Portland, OR. I've no connection with the company, but they sure make good PC software. This package is a real goldmine for miscellaneous software tools. There is a hard disk management program (PCTOOLS) with an integrated word processor. The reason I bought the package was for its fast backup utility. There is also a 'safe' format program which prevents you from trashing your hard disk. All in all, this is a real bargain program. I got my copy at Egghead SW for about $70. Phil Miller
catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu (Tony Catone) (03/03/88)
In article <4543@sigi.Colorado.EDU> hartzell@beagle (George Hartzell) writes: >Does anyone out there have any opinions about programs that >unfragment one's hard-disk? Better yet, does anyone out there know >of any pd. versions. I would prefer to be able to get a copy from one >of the archive servers to decrease the chance of trojans, but can be >flexible. A PD program called Reformat is available via ftp from Simtel20. It was originally submitted to the Info-IBMPC digest sometime ago. I believe there may be different versions for IBM-PC's and true compatables and other generic MS-DOS machines, though I have only used the IBM specific version. Source code is in Turbo Pascal, with quite a bit of inline assembler code. You do need to deinstall copy protected software before running, as Reformat is not smart enough to leave their sectors alone (some other programs are that smart; since I hate copy protected software and only rarely deal with it, this has not been a problem for me). - Tony catone@dsl.cis.upenn.edu catone@wharton.upenn.edu
khl@usl (Calvin K. H. Leung) (03/09/88)
In article <4543@sigi.Colorado.EDU> hartzell@beagle (George Hartzell) writes: >Does anyone out there have any opinions about programs that >unfragment one's hard-disk? Better yet, does anyone out there know >of any pd. versions. I would prefer to be able to get a copy from one >of the archive servers to decrease the chance of trojans, but can be >flexible. SST is the one I am using. It is PD and can be obtained from many bulletin boards. -- Calvin K. H. Leung USL P.O. Box 41821 Lafayette, LA 70504 khl@usl.usl.edu.csnet (318)231-4539