Which defragmentation method is the best?

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Which defragmentation method is the best?

by Olaf Kehrer - December 9, 2011
We get asked this question a lot by our customers. The answer is unfortunately not so simple. If there

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were only one best method, then we would only offer this one and get rid of all the others! In truth,
each method has its own specific application to which it is best suited.
That is why I would like to introduce you briefly to the methods and in which scenarios they work
best. O&O Defrag offers in total eight methods in the current version 15:
1. STEALTH

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2. SPACE

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3. COMPLETE/Name
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4. COMPLETE/Modified

rescue for any scenario

5. COMPLETE/Access
6. OPTIMIZE

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7. OPTIMIZE/Quick

Ideal for SMBs

8. OPTIMIZE/Complete
The first five methods are the standard ones in O&O Defrag. The OPTIMIZE methods are visible only

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when the Zone Filing in O&O Defrag is enabled.

How defragmentation works fundamentally

Defragmentation is the contiguous storing of file fragments so that they are stored physically one
after the other on the hard disk (or other media). This allows the read heads from the hard disk to
read the file in one pass without having to be moved to other disk locations. It is exactly this moving
(repositioning) of the hard disk head that creates the time loss when reading files that have been
scattered by storing the file fragments separately (fragmentation). The goal of defragmentation
software is therefore to store all files on the hard drive contiguously, so that unnecessary movement

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of the read heads is avoided.

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O&O DiskRecovery
Fragmented files are not located together on a data volume. That is
why they cannot be read in one go.

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Migration Kit for Windows

Defragmented files are located one after the other on a data

volume and can therefore be loaded much quicker.

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September 2014

Strategies
Several strategies exist for this joining together of file fragments, all of which generally have an
influence on later reading speed, and also on the duration of a defragmentation and the subsequent

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consumption of resources. Each method in O&O Defrag represents its own strategy, and this is
reflected in the names given.

May 2014

STEALTH

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The STEALTH method is by far the fastest of all methods. It adds the file fragments together and
makes for a quick clean up your hard disk. It requires very little time and very little resources, meaning

March 2014

21/09/2014 19:41

Which defragmentation method is the best? | O&O Software

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it almost works under the radar of the user. It is particularly suitable if you want to quickly

February 2014

defragment a computer, but have only a little time and resources at your disposal.
SPACE

January 2014

The SPACE method is basically very similar to the STEALTH method but in addition it provides for a

December 2013

reduction in so-called free-space fragmentation. This means that gaps between files are closed in
order to prevent a rapid, re-fragmentation of files. For this to happen, files have to be re-sorted, which

November 2013

takes more time and resources. The result however is a much cleaner appearance in the cluster
display than that which STEALTH generates, and also a greater gain in performance, since it removes

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the risk of a re-fragmentation.

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COMPLETE
For the COMPLETE methods, we go one step further: we not only defragment, but we reorganize the

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entire file structure. Here, all files are re-sorted in a specific sequence. Which sequence you choose

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depends on the intended use of the computer. The COMPLETE method comes in three forms, each of
which refers to the sort order:

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For COMPLETE/Name files are sorted by the directory structure. This means that files with similar
names in a directory are laid very close together. This is useful for file servers, which often need to

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access many files from a directory. These are then found and read much faster.

February 2013

For COMPLETE/Modified files are sorted after the date of last modification. The oldest files are written
at the beginning of the disk. These are usually the files from the operating system and applications

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installed later on. User files end up at the end. This means that when the computer starts the
operating system finds all its own files in a certain region and is able to load these much faster as a

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result. Newly added files will also be filed closer to the end, so that subsequent defragmentation runs

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take less time, since most (old) files rarely change and therefore are no longer able to fragment.
COMPLETE/Access functions similarly, only the files in this case are arranged according to the date of

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last access, so that oft-used files find their way to the end of the storage area.

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All COMPLETE methods produce the best possible result for the acceleration of the respective
systems, but also take the most time in implementing the defragmentation, and use up the most

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resources. They are therefore recommended for an initial defragmentation, especially for heavily
loaded servers. A subsequent combination with the SPACE method has, in our many years of

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observations, proved to be the best combination of methods.

February 2012

OPTIMIZE
The OPTIMIZE methods are special cases. They only come into use when the Zone Filing of O&O

January 2012

Defrag is activated. Here, the hard disk partition will be divided into two or three areas where certain
files are stored. These files are then processed within the zone itself. This means that each zone

December 2011

represents in itself an enclosed area. That is why the standard methods cannot be applied to those

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files, as the standard methods do not take into account these zones.
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Basically, you can make the following comparisons with the Standard Methods:
OPTIMIZE corresponds to the SPACE method

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OPTIMIZE/Quick corresponds to STEALTH

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OPTIMIZE/Complete corresponds to the previously described combination of SPACE and

COMPLETE

June 2011

Conclusion

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Each method has its own specific advantages for the respective applications. As a rule of thumb you
can pretty much work on the basis that the SPACE method is always a good choice. You can however
also leave the decision as to which method to use to O&O Defrag itself by enabling the Automatic
Optimization. This is set as default after the installation and automatically monitors your hard drives.
It then engages automatically when your computer is suffering from excessive fragmentation and
eliminates this. It does so using a combination of the above-named methods.
Olaf Kehrer,
Co-founder and Managing Director of O&O Software

Olaf Kehrer

21/09/2014 19:41

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Olaf Kehrer is Managing Director of O&O Software GmbH and is responsible for
product development. His focus is centered on developing new concepts for the
system tools sector as well as in expanding and adapting existing product lines.
Olaf Kehrer was one of the founders of O&O Software GmbH in 1997 and has
played a primary role in developing O&O products. Even today, he stands at the
very center of their further development and remains dedicated to the goal of creating the best
possible products for O&O customers. He has also published white papers on the subject of
Data Data Everywhere. These papers analyzed the handling of obsolete and discarded hard
disks and their undeleted data. Olaf Kehrer studied at the Technical University Berlin and has a
diploma in Computer Science.

Patrick Dacre
on the speed check, at the end there is an option to download the defrag. this is a gut thing
however, since the application that downloads automatically is the 32 bit version, why not make
that the default on the defrag product screen and then set up a 64 bit version elsewhere. btw, the
version 16 has optimize but pull down menu only shows complete unless zone settings are
activated. hope that the product manager for defrag makes themselves more accessible.
http://www.oo-software.com/ Olaf Kehrer
Thanks for your feedback! Actually, O&O SpeedCheck should download the
correct version (32 or 64bit) of O&O Defrag. We will double-check that. And
regarding the different methods in version 16: you are right. Depending on the
scheme chosen (classic vs. zone), you will be presented a different set of methods.
This is due to the fact that each set only makes sense in the context of the
corresponding scheme. E.g. a SPACE defragmentation would not honor the zone
settings, thus leading to mixing up the file layout. Hope this clarifies it a bit.
Regards, Olaf

21/09/2014 19:41