Hi there,
I think what he means is does the Windows defragger move
all your files so that you have one large contiguous
block of free space after all your files. Short answer:
NO.
Free space can get fragmented. When I started working at
my new job, I was given a workstation with Win2K on it.
The previous user had never (and I mean, never) defragged
the hard drive. I analyzed it with PerfectDisk and found
that the largest contiguous block of free space was 75
MB... on a disk that had about 4 gigs free... now that's
pretty harsh free space fragmentation. What it basically
meant was that any file that I tried to write to the disk
that was larger (or close to) 75 MB would definately be
fragmented.
Anyways, the Windows defragger does NOT deal with
defragmenting free space. If you want this done, you'll
need to find a third party defragging program. I use
Raxco's PerfectDisk (it's Microsoft certified too =D).
It's an amazing defragging program since it does exactly
what you were asking about. I used to run the windows
defragger about once a week to keep fragmentation down
below 5%, and with PerfectDisk, I only have to run it
once every... 1-2 months!
Another great thing about defragging with PerfectDisk, it
can do an offline defrag, meaning that it will defagment
even your system files. You know that kind of faint
tapping/clicking noise that you sometimes hear when your
hard drive is going nuts either loading windows or a big
program or searching for files? Windows loads almost
completely silently now... my comp purrs like a kitten.
It's a great buy if you're willing to put down the money.
www.raxco.com
Hope this helps,
Nick
(e-mail address removed)
P.S. PerfectDisk will handle just about any sized hard
drive that you throw at it... even over a terabyte (yes a
terabyte, it's been tested).