In addition to the three methods for Zone filing, O&O Defrag continues to offer its six methods for defragmenting your computer.
- STEALTH
- SPACE
- SOLID
- COMPLETE/Access
- COMPLETE/Modified
- COMPLETE/Name
All methods can be used on all drives, including volume sets, stripe sets with and without parity, etc., and are equipped for best possible data security. This is achieved by their working together with the defragmentation routines integrated into Windows, and guarantees that data will not be lost if your computer or network crashes, or if there is a power cut.
Defragmentation methods
Performance new and old methods of O&O Defrag
| Methods optimized for Zone filing | Standard methods | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimize | Optimize/ Quick |
Optimize/ Complete |
Solid | Space | Stealth | Complete-Methods | |
| Defragmentation of files | + + | + + | + + | + + | + + | + | + + |
| Defragmenting the free space | + + | + + | + | + + | + + | ||
| Prevention of further fragmentation | + + | + | + + | + + | + | + | |
| Results of high-level fragmentation* | + + | + | + + | + + | + | ||
| Suitability for very large files (> 4 GB) |
+ | + | + | + | + | ||
| Suitability for many files (> 1 M) |
+ | + + | + | + | + + | ||
| Run time of first defragmentation** | + | + | + | + + | |||
| Run time of recurring defragmentation | + + | + + | + + | + | + + | ||
| Required RAM | + | + + | + + | + | + + | ||
| CPU Load | + | + + | + + | + | + + | ||
| + | Very Applicable (with runtime: quick) |
| + + | Extremely Applicable (with runtime: very quick) |
* Our understanding of high-level fragmentation is a poorly maintained drive containing a large number of heavily fragmented files with little free space available.
** The run time of the first defragmentation lasts longer than with the previous version as a result of data being divided into zones.
STEALTH Method
The STEALTH method differs from other methods in that it is much faster and uses much less main memory for the defragmentation.
Algorithm
The STEALTH method is based on our unique STEALTH technology and allows an unprecedented level of defragmentation on computers having a large number of files, little free space or available main memory.
This method defragments all fragmented files and tries to consolidate them in order to optimize available free disk space. Speed and resource usage are the main considerations here, and the method is therefore not quite as thorough as the SPACE and COMPLETE methods.
Recommended Application
The STEALTH method is especially useful for defragmentation on a regular basis.
- Initial defragmentation of your system
- Computers with few available resources, as the method does not greatly increase the CPU usage and does not require much free hard disk space
- Servers with very large hard disks (e.g. more than 4 terabytes)
- Computers with a very large number of files (more than 3,000,000 files)
SPACE Method
The SPACE methods offer you a great solution for heavy fragmentation. It also allows you to consolidate your data so that the amount of contiguous free space is as large as possible and further fragmentation is prevented.
Algorithm
All fragmented files will be defragmented, and then placed into the free slots in which they fit. This maximizes contiguous free space. This method is very quick and efficient and it does reorganize your volume, but not as thoroughly as the COMPLETE methods.
Recommended Application
The SPACE method is ideal for the first defragmentation run on a system that has never been defragmented, as it requires far less free space than the COMPLETE methods. SPACE can also be used for regular defragmentation runs.
- Initial defragmentation of your system
- Computers with few available resources, as the method does not greatly increase the CPU usage and does not require much free hard disk space
- Servers with large hard disks (e.g. more than 1 terabyte)
- Computers with a large number of files (more than 100,000 files)
SOLID Method
Windows – and in the case of SSDs, the controller of the SSD – distributes files into individual file fragments when saved, in each case in the next free and “suitable” memory sections, called Pages. In the remainder of this blog entry, I explain why this behavior slows down not only a classic hard drive but also SSDs and ultimately leads to an unnecessarily early failure of the storage medium. And I’ll explain why defragmenting an SSD is not a no-go, as is still popularly claimed, but on the contrary: the average life of an SSD is extended by defragmentation using the new SOLID method from O&O Defrag 22.
With SOLID, the fragments are first put back together and then a second pass is started which only closes the gaps between. Of course, the easiest and fastest way is always to sort the fragments together and then to reduce the number of fragments. The accesses are then faster and the memory cells used are reduced. But if there are many gaps between the data, they will be filled up with new data in the future which will then be compulsorily fragmented too, as there is not enough space for the entire file. Our goal, however, is to remove the current fragmentation AND to reduce it in the future, so that as few memory cells as possible are loaded and the following defragment runs are even less intrusive than the first one.
So that the system uses the space gained and the free cells after defragmentation optimally, the TRIM command of the SSD is also triggered. The result is an immediate improvement in performance and future conservation of resources.
COMPLETE/Access Method
The COMPLETE/Access method defragments your files and reorganizes your file structure. Although this method is slower than the STEALTH and SPACE methods, it guarantees maximum system performance when your files are being read.
Algorithm
Files are sorted according to when they were last accessed. The files that have been accessed the least will be placed at the beginning of the partition and those accessed most frequently are put near the end. Seldom-used files are defragmented and will not need to be moved in future. Frequently-used files are placed at the end of the drive. This strategy means that future defragmentation runs will require the least amount of time, as fewer files need to be checked and defragmented.
Recommended Application
If you want to use the COMPLETE/Modified method for your regular defragmentation runs, you should bear in mind that you only use this method on your drive. Combining various methods (COMPLETE, STEALTH, and SPACE) can result in defragmentation taking much longer, as the file system would need to be reorganized each time.
- Maximizes the read access performance on servers
- For regularly defragmenting your volumes
- On computers that have sufficient resources available when the defragmentation takes place – CPU usage is likely to increase significantly (it is strongly recommended that you use the O&O ActivityMonitor). A larger amount of free disk space is necessary with this method.
- All kinds of servers and workstations
COMPLETE/Modified Method
The COMPLETE/Modified method defragments your files and also reorganizes your file structure. Although this method is slower than the STEALTH and SPACE methods, it guarantees maximum system performance when your files are being read.
The COMPLETE method is particularly suitable for databases and file servers. It is important to bear in mind that this method requires quite a lot of main memory due to file reorganization. If this is likely to be a serious problem for your system, we recommend you use the STEALTH or SPACE methods.
Algorithm
Files are sorted according to the date on which they were last changed. The files which have not been changed recently are placed at the beginning of the partition and those recently changed are placed at the end. This option is a good one for file or database servers containing files that have never been changed (e.g. system files), but where others, on account of their size or content, are frequently modified. (e.g., database files)
This strategy means that future defragmentation will require the least amount of time, as only a few files need to be checked and defragmented.
Recommended Application
If you want to use the COMPLETE/Modified method for your regular defragmentation runs, you should bear in mind that you only use this method on your drive. Combining various methods (COMPLETE, STEALTH, and SPACE) can result in defragmentation taking much longer, as the file system would need to be reorganized each time.
- Maximizes the performance for write access on servers
- For regularly defragmenting your volumes
- On computers that have sufficient resources available when the defragmentation takes place – CPU usage is likely to increase significantly (it is strongly recommended that you use the O&O ActivityMonitor). A larger amount of free disk space is necessary with this method.
COMPLETE/Name Method
The COMPLETE/Name method defragments your files and also reorganizes your file structure. Although this method is slower than the STEALTH and SPACE methods, it guarantees maximum system performance when your files are being read.
The COMPLETE/Name method is particularly suitable for system drives. It is important to bear in mind that this method requires quite a lot of main memory due to file reorganization. If this is likely to be a serious problem for your system, we recommend you use the STEALTH or SPACE methods.
Algorithm
Files are sorted alphabetically from the beginning to the end of the partition and this leads to quick access to files in a directory. When Windows starts up, many system files will be read in sequence from the WINDOWS and the WINDOWSsystem32 directories (DLLs, system drives, etc.) and the start-up time will therefore be shorter.
This method is particularly recommended for computers on which the files rarely change. This reduces the reorganization time that is needed for every defragmentation.
Recommended Application
Please bear in mind that if you use the COMPLETE/Name method for your regular defragmentation runs, it should be the only one used on the drive. Combining various methods (COMPLETE, STEALTH, and SPACE) can result in defragmentation taking much longer, as the file system would need to be reorganized each time.
- Maximizes the performance for the read access to workstations
- For regularly defragmenting your volumes
- On computers that have sufficient resources available when the defragmentation takes place – CPU usage is likely to increase significantly (it is strongly recommended that you use the O&O ActivityMonitor). A larger amount of free disk space is necessary with this method.
- All kinds of servers and workstations