Defraggler and Standby/Sleep Mode...

Defraggler
1

Hey guys.

First I'd like to start by saying that I'm a longtime fan of Piriform software. I imagine that you receive frequent compliments for your software, which you should. I would like to add to that collection of compliments, by saying that you guys write some of the best software on Windows. Not just some of the best freeware, some of the best software*. Most for-profit Windows software doesn't remotely hold a candle to how well your software runs nor, obviously, how affordable it is.

Piriform: You are no small part of the greater effort to bring the power and utility of personal computing to the mainstream in a secure, reliable way. Thank you for all that you do. I recently found $20.00 in my inactive PayPal account. I donated $10.00 of it to Wikipedia, because I feel that what they do isn't just useful or important to the internet, it's useful and important to all of humanity. Well, I wasn't sure who to donate the other $10.00 to, but I think I've figured it out. It's not much, but it's what I've got.

Anyways!

I've recently made it my quest to get my computers to:

  1. Maintain themselves, e.g. update the OS and anti-malware automatically, run anti-malware scans automatically, defragment the disk drives automatically, and clean out temporary files automtically. These are routine tasks that must be accomplished on a semi-regular basis to keep a computer running swift and enjoyably.
  2. Save power. It doesn't make any sense for me to leave my computer on for ANY extended length of time when I'm not using it -- it raises my power bill, it doesn't actually do anything, and it saves natural resources.

My computers are set to sleep after 20 minutes of inactivity. Nonetheless, I want them to wake themselves up to perform their own maintenance tasks -- which isn't hard to do with the Windows Task Scheduler. Here's the tricky part, though: Sometimes the task doesn't complete before the computer goes to sleep. Hard drives are big these days, and as a result, it takes a long time for my anti-malware scan and my defragmentation pass to complete. Usually, the computer goes to sleep before it finishes -- which introduces a whole can of worms into my quest.

I've looked into other free disk defragmentation programs, such as MyDefrag. The developers allege that MyDefrag prevents the computer from sleeping when it runs its scheduled defrag, which is exactly what I need. Unfortunately, the user interface of MyDefrag is, while functional, a far cry from the combined ease and informative nature of Defraggler's interface. Does Defraggler behave in a similar manner, preventing the computer from sleeping during a defrag operation? If not, then does df.exe automatically quit when it has completed a command line defrag operation (for example, "df.exe C:\")?

All I really want to do is have my computer automatically defragment its disks once a week in the middle of the night, and have it go to sleep when it's done. Ideas?

Thanks!

PS: As much praise as I give, I must also dole out criticism. I do not wish to insult or offend with my criticism, I merely offer my criticism because if I don't, I deny you the opportunity of addressing it. You (Piriform) have earned much more praise than criticism... but I do have one minor qualm with your software: That damnable Yahoo! Toolbar. With you being a freeware development company, I can understand the need for alternative sources of income... but it distributing your software with the Yahoo! Toolbar is paradoxical. Your software cleans computers of junk and makes them run well.

The Yahoo! Toolbar is an example of that junk. It offers very little functionality (if any) that any free, modern, and up-to-date browser doesn't already do -- in fact it takes functionality. It confuses users by making them think that they should use the Yahoo-provided and Yahoo-only search field on the toolbar, rather than the customizable, any-search field provided. It reduces the number of vertical pixels that the user has to view web content, and with the popularity of displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio, vertical pixels are getting harder and harder to come by.

Again, I get why you guys do it. I can't find fault because I understand the need for income, and the Yahoo! Toolbar is an easy route of income that doesn't harm your clients' computers. It just doesn't help them, either, which is why I'd like to see it go (but I understand if, by CCleaner 2.28, I still have to uncheck the "Install the Yahoo! Toolbar!" box during the update process).

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<_< Hi. This is an interesting topic. Unfortunately I do not have an answer about Defraggler, but a few thoughts which may help the discussion along. Though I have seen the odd "Shut down when complete" tick box, maybe only in the scheduler.

In XP and earlier sleep is purely determined from an activity level:-

  • Primary activity - user input, mouse or keyboard etc. - restarts any timers
  • Background activity - CPU usage may determine trigger point, i.e. less than 10% means inactive.
  • Individual program may request sleep, power off etc. and seem to be obeyed even if another task is running.
  • No allowance for multiple tasks - that is shut down/sleep when ALL tasks are complete.
  • Overall results poor and may require extensive user tuning to get acceptable results.

Vista significantly improved this but there were flaws - it would even shut down while I was typing into a Word document!! (O.K. I had set the sleep option to its most aggressive). At the rate of upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista is it worth worrying about?

Windows 7 is much improved and seems to have better stay awake until task is completed even if the CPU usage is low. It even refuses to shut down if busy (or recording) from my TV remote (but does obey a direct keyboard request) which I find marvellous - as I do not know how busy it is from inside Media Centre. However watching TV or a recording in Media Centre NOT set to full screen does not count as a stay awake task and will shut down!! - sensible really.

I would therefore suggest any effort to improve Defraggler in this respect be targeted at Windows 7, and I say this even though 6 of my 8 PC's are still running XP!.

Secondly because Defraggler runs well as a background task the PC does not need to be left running and so will be much Greener if shut-down when not in use for user interaction (or other essential timed tasks such as PVR use). I have Defraggler currently running in the background and it is not affecting my normal use, it is less obtrusive than most anti-virus software. :P:rolleyes:

Anyway that's my six penerth

StokersSon

3
The Yahoo! Toolbar is an example of that junk.

For each Piriform product, choose the final download on the Builds page, which is the Slim version, toolbar-free.

For example, Defraggler Builds...

4
For each Piriform product, choose the final download on the Builds page, which is the Slim version, toolbar-free.

For example, Defraggler Builds...

That's all fine and dandy, but I'm more concerned about my users -- specifically, the people whom I fix computers for. They don't know any better, but they do know to update their software. I've told them that updates fix software bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and sometimes improve the program's feature set.

Unfortunately, I can't do that with Piriform's software -- I usually disable the "Automatically check for updates for <insert Piriform software product here>" because if I don't, the user will probably download the newest version of CCleaner, click "Next," "Next," "Next," and "Finish" and then suddenly end up with a nefarious, vertical-pixel-eating, useless toolbar in their browsers. It'd be nice if update installations to Piriform products could "remember" the original installation settings, or if there were simply a built-in, automatic software updater in each Piriform application.

Just my ramblings, though... and a shameless bump to this post which I think could use a little more feedback from the user/developer community. I'm really quite interested in how Defraggler handles sleeping in different operating systems.