% of fragmentation and used diskspace is both going up!

Defraggler
1

Using Defraggler for over half a year now, without any problems.

Yesterday I downloaded and installed Defraggler 2.10.413 and ran it on my laptop (Windows 7, 64 bit).

At start 4% was fragmented, 27% of used diskspace.

After I ran Defraggler (which took a-g-e-s) 22% was fragmented with 37% of used diskspace!

So I read around this forum and changed settings as pointed out here: http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=35459

And then I ran Defraggler again, which took a great part of the night.

Well, after that, fragmentation is 27% and used diskspace is 46%!!!

On top of that the reboot proces is really time consuming since I installed and ran Defraggler...

What is going on?

2

Have you checked: http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=35458

3

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I have tried that one, too.

It dropped the % of fragmentation to a normal amount, so that's sort of solved.

But I still have an almost doubled diskspace usage... How do I get rid of all the files that somehow seem to be added?

4

You can run WinDirStat or TreeSize to determine what's hogging all that space. Report here what you found.

5

Thanks! I ran both.

Weird:

TreeSize reports 257,2 GB with a huge folder System Volume Information. It contains 185 files, together 98,9 GB.

Names like: {710bf832-b3e2-11e1-b5cf-206a8a2014f1}{3808876b-c176-4e48-b7ae-04046e6cc752} to which acces is denied, probably system restore files?

The 98,9 GB seems to count for the extra GBs I see in Defraggler and C disk properties.

WinDirStat reports no obvious things, gives the original diskspace usage (158,4 GB). The folder System Volume Information is reported completely empty!

6

You have 98.9GB of Restore Points. Open CCleaner\Tools\System Restore, and delete as many old points as you like, which will free up space.

7

I'll do that.

Just wondering why now all of a sudden they'd come up, while running newest version of Defraggler!??

8

Don't think Defraggler had anything to do with it. If you run a full (partition) defrag Windows will expand the VSS unless you have Defraggler ticked ☑ to stop VSS.

You can sidestep that hassle by doing a file defrag instead. Tick ☑ Filename RECo7.png and click Defrag Checked.

Now you know how to keep down the size of your VSS using CCleaner\Tools\System Restore.

Have a good day. :)

9

No. No offence to Defraggler.

Just wondered if the new version had some 'extra's' or smth like that.

Turned out it had something to do with another programm I installed recently, after my last defragmentation. It created that huge system restore point!

Thanks for helping out and learning some new tricks!! :D

10

Well, after all it turns out that Defraggler somehow does add files to my hard drive...???

I ticked all the reccomended settings: VSS, exclude restore point file and hybernation file.

At start there is no huge restore point file, System Volume Information folder size is ignorable, according to TreeSize. While running Defraggler, used disk space is sizing up by 20 - 30 Gb. When finished the System Volume Information folder is 20-30Gb.

This happens all the time. And I don't want to end up deleting last restore points every time I've degragmented my hard drive. (Cause I can't remove them any other way.)

Can somebody explain what happens?

11

Have you tried disabling System Restore temporarily before running DF? You could do that for testing purposes.

12

if you do that don't you lose your points anyway

Have you tried disabling System Restore temporarily before running DF? You could do that for testing purposes.

if you do that don't you lose your points anyway

13

Yes, you will lose your restore points, unfortunately.

14

Are you ticking to move large files to the end of the drive?

I ask because of this thread

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/defrag-deletes-system-restore-points/77ba10ad-f4d2-4904-8c75-57b978031514

15

I'm not ticking to move large files to the end of the drive. The problem is not that I lose system restore points, the problem is that is seems to blow up the size of the restore points.

I will give it a go to test what happens if I disable System Restore and have all restore points deleted before I run Defraggler.

16

I tested: Defraggler is running fine when System Restore is disabled, no increase of used disk space.

But I don't want to have System Restore disabled...

Ain't it weird that it interferes with System Restore like this?

17

Did you read and follow the link Noddles posted? That's strange.

18

Yes, I have ticked both options: exclude both restore points and hybernation file.

It doesn't seem to make a difference if I tick them or not.

19

The freeware software TREESIZE can show me everything that Windows Explorer cannot display.

Scan C:\ and have a look at what is found under

"C:\System Volume Information"

You can inspect the size and name of every Restore Point item. and keep the display open

You can then defrag and Treesize display should not be affected.

Then select the TreeSize menu "File" and click on "New Instance" and a second Treesize display appears

Now Scan C:\ and have a look at what is now found under

"C:\System Volume Information"

You should now see the difference between the displays.

I know that under Windows XP I would observe a series of folders with incrementing subscripts such as RP1234, RP1235, etc.

and within each a series of files such as A23456.exe, A23457.dll, A23458.BAT etc.

Each of these Annnnn files has a new name but with its original extension,

and one or more change.log files will identify the original names of these Annnn files.

Windows XP taught me not to trust System Restore so I have never used it under Windows 7 and do not know if it has a different naming convention.

You should be able to identify from the two Treesize displays the new Annnn files, and the largest of them.

From Change.log (or whatever it is called) you can identify the original file that was "protected" by Windows.

Perhaps that is a special file with special mystical properties, and perhaps excluding that from defragging would solve your problem.

I bitterly remember that XP does not trust XP,

and when I accepted its "Disc Cleanup" option it happened to compress a registered *.CPL file (or some-such),

and immediately Windows File Protection demanded that it be fixed because it did not match the manifests it was registered under

(I am saying what I remembered)

and required a System File Check with Installation Discs that were never provided.

I wish you luck.

20

This person is not alone, the same thing started happening to me. Defraggler is completely worthless. It takes hours and hours to do a simple defrag and it doesn't know how to handle system volume information. Then it starts showing the size as many GB with 15 to 25 percent of your harddrive fragmented. Delete them, created a new one, it defrags fine, go back a few hours later and it's back to an enormous size and highly fragmented. Yet, windows defrag shows no such thing and another program that I found also shows no such thing. I can analize with defraggler, show 40 or so MB fragmented, defrag with the other program (in only 23 seconds!) analizing with defraggler now shows 0 at 0 percent. I'm at the point to get rid of defraggler all together. I laugh when you defragment and after about 2 hours it gets down to 1 minute remaining. That 1 minute remaining last for about 15 minutes in total time!!!!!!!!!