[comp.os.msdos.misc] Disk Compactor Wanted

spinrad@rigel.ucsb.edu (02/12/91)

I need a very, extremely, RELIABLE disk compactor utility.  I recently got
a new 386 system with an IDE controller and my old Norton Utilities speed
disk doesn't work anymore.  I'm also running Dos 4.0 with a 60+ MByte 
partition.

I would like to find a public domain disk compactor, but I'm willing
to pay $$ if that's the only way I can get a program that I can safely
bet my hardrive on!

Please respond either via email or to this news group.  If there is a
lot of interest, I'll summerize my results here.

Many reliable thanks,

Sandy
--
			    Sandy Spinrad
		   Internet: spinrad@cornu.ucsb.edu
 		 UUNET: uunet!hub.ucsb.edu!spinrad@cornu

mamos@uafhp.uark.edu (Mark _E_ Amos) (02/13/91)

spinrad@rigel.ucsb.edu writes:

>I need a very, extremely, RELIABLE disk compactor utility.  I recently got
>a new 386 system with an IDE controller and my old Norton Utilities speed
>disk doesn't work anymore.  I'm also running Dos 4.0 with a 60+ MByte 
>partition.

I have an IDE (80Meg) drive that I use DOS4.01 with one big partition, and I 
own and use Norton Utilities 5.0 with great satisfaction.  There is the 
Speed Disk (completely updated) and Calibrate, which is a disk test/enhancer
that will test your sectors in varying degrees of intensity without loss of
data.  I have not had or heard of any adverse effects of using Norton Utils 5.0
on IDE drives.

As for PD/Shareware, I have had a coupla bad experiences with defragmenters
that were not commercial (i.e. PCTools, Norton) software, so I cannot recommend
any, but rather recommend you approach them with CAUTION.

Of course, make backups frequently and before using such software, commercial
or not.


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    Mark _E_ Amos         University of Arkansas Computer Science Engineering
mamos@uafhp.uark.edu				          mea1@engr.uark.edu
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"Man's mind, when stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original
 dimension."				              -Oliver Wendell Holmes
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