Defrager

enigma1944 · 29 Aug 2020

W10 Version 20H2 Build 19042

With W10 is defragging necessary and if so, could you provide me with a fast and dependable one. Thanks

Bree · 29 Aug 2020

enigma1944 said:

W10 Version 20H2 Build 19042
With W10 is defragging necessary and if so, could you provide me with a fast and dependable one. Thanks

It's not so much to do with which version of Windows you have, it's more relevant whether it's installed on an SSD or an HDD.

For an SSD fragmentation is not really an issue as access times are not affected. What an SSD does need is a Trim once in a while. For an HDD fragmentation can still be an issue (though perhaps less so than previous versions of Windows).

In Windows 10 by default a routine maintenance task will defragment an HDD in the background. The same routine maintenance will trim an SSD as required.

Either way, there's not really much advantage in using a 3rd-part 'defragger'. The built in Windows functions are sufficient. In fact, you shouldn't defrag an SSD as the unnecessary extra writes will wear it out faster.

Try3 · 29 Aug 2020

I agree with Bree.

Optimize and Defragment Drives - TenForumsTutorials
Change Schedule Settings for Optimize Drives - TenForumsTutorials

But note that, if you have set an SSD to be 'optimised' weekly by the Defragmenter [C:\Windows\System32\dfrgui.exe], then it actually trims & defrags monthly.

This info is in defrag - Microsoft Docs under the sub-heading 'Scheduled task'
- SSD defrag is also discussed in The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD - Scott Hanselman
-The situation is further complicated by the fact that, since Windows Vista & 7, Windows defragmentation has not bothered moving around blocks of 64MB or greater. So your files can remain fragmented to that extent. MS experimented and decided that its old practice of fully defragmenting files gained no benefit once lumps of 64MB were consolidated. Disk Defragmentation – Background and Engineering the Windows 7 Improvements - Microsoft Docs
- You might also enjoy reading Trim and SSD Performance - Why is it Important - Crucial
- If you ever need to check that Trim is enabled, use Enable or Disable TRIM Support for Solid State Drives - TenForumsTutorials

The defrag & trim records are kept in Event viewer, Application log, Sources - Defrag, Defrag-Core and, as lxo7 post in TenForums illustrates, they can be accessed through PowerShell as well.

- I have never managed to catch a record of anything other than trimming taking place but others have seen SSD defrag happening [shown in that lxo7 post]

Denis