Why Windows 8 and 8.1 defragment your SSD; how to avoid!

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  1. Posts : 633
    Win 10 Pro x64 1607 (Build 14393.953)
       #1

    Why Windows 8 and 8.1 defragment your SSD; how to avoid!


    Could not find it on this forum yet, so just FYI as it also may afflict Windows 10.

    I came across this article while reading about maintenance on Windows 8.x.

    Why Windows 8 and 8.1 defragment your SSD and how you can avoid this!

    You’ve probably heard that modern OS Windows don’t defragment solid state drives. Yet there is a (bug) limitation in Windows 8+ that causes the OS to run this unnecessary for SSDs operation from time to time. Let’s take a closer look at how it happens.
    why-windows-8-defragments-your-ssd-and-how-you-can-avoid-this

    It's an article with some codes to run in PowerShell to show you excactly what Windows 8.x is running under the hood, and wow how was I wrongly informed that Windows 8.x BY DEFAULT did not - in any way - touch your SSDs with defragging command.

    Have a read, Cheers...
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  2. Posts : 519
       #2

    You might find this interesting also. Flip a coin for which one you would care to follow.
    Even more interesting. Scroll down and read Vadim's response and arguments with the author.

    The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD? - Scott Hanselman



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  3. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #3

    Defrag on 8/8.1 does not defrag SSDs, it sends commands to trim to optimise it so its perfectly safe to use. I use it without any problems.

    Also a warning about using 3rd party defraggers. You must check to see whether they detect SSDs and act accordingly, not all of them do pick them up.
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  4. Posts : 519
       #4

    swarfega said:
    Defrag on 8/8.1 does not defrag SSDs, it sends commands to trim to optimise it so its perfectly safe to use. I use it without any problems.
    .
    Did you read either of those links? That is your opinion, but the jury still seems to be out on that one!
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  5. Posts : 1,557
    W10 32 bit, XUbuntu 18.xx 64 bit
       #5

    davehc said:
    swarfega said:
    Defrag on 8/8.1 does not defrag SSDs, it sends commands to trim to optimise it so its perfectly safe to use. I use it without any problems.
    .
    Did you read either of those links? That is your opinion, but the jury still seems to be out on that one!


    I am not sure that comment quoted below is quite accurate, I think you can safely disable it. Now the article might be referring if you have a mix of hard drives or use a usb hard drive. You can also unplug the usb hard drive. I can't see just disabling defrag would disable other tasks.



    Do not:
    • Disable anything in Task Scheduler (unless instructed so), because this blocks either HDD defrag or other maintenance tasks.
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  6. Posts : 4,201
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest RP
       #6

    The way I read the information Dave linked to ...

    There is only one process that handles all required SSD and Spinner Defragmentation related operations,
    This process is fully aware of the presence and special requirements of an SSD so will not perform the specialised Operations needed more that the absolute minimum needed.

    Disabling this process in the scheduler may cause more issues long term that letting it run as designed.
    This is a possible issue as with most drive issues it will always depend on actual usage pattens. :)
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  7. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #7

    davehc said:
    swarfega said:
    Defrag on 8/8.1 does not defrag SSDs, it sends commands to trim to optimise it so its perfectly safe to use. I use it without any problems.
    .
    Did you read either of those links? That is your opinion, but the jury still seems to be out on that one!
    I didnt need to read those links, I read an official Microsoft blog written during the development of Windows 8 so I imagine they know what they're talking about.

    Just in case you need a reminder, here's a statement: https://social.technet.microsoft.com...ssds-a-default
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  8. Posts : 803
    10 Pro Preview x64
       #8

    swarfega said:
    I didnt need to read those links, I read an official Microsoft blog written during the development of Windows 8 so I imagine they know what they're talking about.

    Just in case you need a reminder, here's a statement: https://social.technet.microsoft.com...ssds-a-default
    And did you actually read it? According to your link (and both the others above) defrag (not just TRIM) is run once a month on SSDs if you have system protection turned on.
    Last edited by adamf; 08 Dec 2014 at 03:38.
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  9. Posts : 1,557
    W10 32 bit, XUbuntu 18.xx 64 bit
       #9

    adamf said:
    swarfega said:
    I didnt need to read those links, I read an official Microsoft blog written during the development of Windows 8 so I imagine they know what they're talking about.

    Just in case you need a reminder, here's a statement: https://social.technet.microsoft.com...ssds-a-default
    And did you actually read it? According to your link (and both the others above) defrag (not just TRIM) is run once a month on SSDs if you have system protection turned on.


    I wasn't going to get into this but here is a quote. This should clear things up.

    We do not do a traditional defrag (moving files to optimizer there location for space and performance) on SSDs. Thank you for your question and I hope this clarifies the need to run the Storage Optimizer on a regular basis.

    • Proposed as answer by dgeddes [MSFT]Microsoft employee Thursday, March 08, 2012 8:14 PM
    • Marked as answer by Nicholas LiModerator Sunday, March 18, 2012 2:36 PM

    Note, this is from a Microsoft Employee. The employee also said for windows 7 users defrag is turned off for SSDs.
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  10. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #10

    Thats basically what I pointed out in my post. Thanks for clarifying.
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