Best defragging software?

There are plenty of defrag apps out there, such as Windows Defrag, Defraggler, JKDefrag/MyDefrag and Diskeeper... but I've never seen any detailed comparison of them to see if there is indeed a performance benefit from using one over the other.

My own view has been that they are all quite similar and make very little difference to the performance of a PC. I'm sure that some of them will do a more thorough job than others, but it may take several hours extra for very little extra benefit.

At the moment I use the default Windows defrag software and am yet to be convinced about moving to another application, but I would be interested in the thoughts of others.

I favor Diskeepr 2010 Pro Premier because of its monitoring features. It runs in the background when your machine is idle, automatically defragging your files making manual defragmentation mostly unnecessary. In this version there is a feature called IntelliWrite which is touted to prevent fragmentation before it happens.

Defragmenting was an important part of keeping XP running tolerably. I always found Windows' defrag to be sufficient. It's just defragmentation, after all. How many different ways can you do it?

With Windows 7, though, I see no use whatsoever for third party defragmenting tools. Even with all the moving big files around that I do, defrag always says, after testing the drive, that running a defragmentation is not needed. And I do trust it.

I use Auslogic's disk defrag and registry defrag. When I made the switch to 7 there was an upgrade for the software which I downloaded. Then compared Auslogic with 7's built in defrag by running both. What I found out is that the built in said defragmentation is not needed then I would run Auslogic's and it would tell about the same percent of fragmentation (+ or - 1%) and I click defrag and it would. I would do this on a 2 week intervals and same results each time.

+1. I use this too. Excellent utility indeed. It essentially boils down to this: once you install it, you never have to think about defragging again since everything is automatic and in the background

Here's a recent review for it.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Data-Storag...inimum-356694/

I have used Raxco PerfectDisk for years. In my opinion, it's the best one there is.

Defrag and Optimize PCs
Get the maximum performance from your Windows desktops, laptops and notebooks. PerfectDisk 10 Professional is the most comprehensive disk defragmentation and optimization utility available. Its innovative features keep your PCs running like new. This award-winning solution speeds up web browsing, video/photo editing and music downloads. It's fast, easy and keeps your disk in top shape automatically. PerfectDisk 10 Pro is Microsoft Certified for Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Optimized Boot Files
Experience faster system boot times with our proprietary boot file optimization. Improve boot time by 20% or more.

Full Automatic Defrag
Defrag when your system has idle resources and maintain efficiency. Runs when it needs to without continuously using resources.

Selected Files Defrag
In a hurry or have a few heavily fragmented files? Only defrag the files that you select.

Total Free Space Consolidation
Speed up disk writes and slow refragmentation with PerfectDisk's patented SMARTPlacement optimization strategy and exclusive Space Restoration Technology.

Reclaim Free Space
Find and delete duplicate, obsolete, temporary or junk files. Graphically see where disk space might be wasted.

Flexible Scheduling
PerfectDisk runs when you want it to - daily, weekly or in screen-saver mode.

Benefits

• Improves disk read and write speed
• Improves boot times
• Speeds up application launch times
• Recaptures wasted disk space
• Reduces application errors and hangs
• Prolongs the life of desktops, laptops and netbooks

Now Certified for Windows 7:
PerfectDisk 10 has achieved Windows 7 certification from Microsoft. Microsoft’s certification programs are designed to ensure that third-party software applications operating on Windows 7 meet specific requirements for compatibility and reliability on Windows 7. No other disk defragmenter has achieved this certification from Microsoft.

Improved performance
Saving you time and resources, PerfectDisk's engine now runs up to 30% faster.

Exclusive to PerfectDisk – Smart automatic StealthPatrol
Working during computer idle times, StealthPatrol now intelligently self-adjusts to conserve valuable system resources.

Exclusive to PerfectDisk – Complete space management reports
PerfectDisk offers a host of new reports that enable you to quickly analyze space distribution of file and folders.

Faster Free Space Consolidation
PefectDisk's industry-leading free space consolidation features now work faster than ever before.

Enhanced AutoPilot Scheduling
A wide range of scheduling options gives you complete control and flexibility over your defrag schedule.

Enhanced user interface
Easier to use than ever before, PerfectDisk's user-friendly interface includes tabbed navigation, setup wizards and graphics of your drive's fragmented files.

PerfectDisk or Diskeeper.

I was using Defraggler, published by the author of CCleaner and Recuva. It made XP Pro run better, but with Windows 7, it's not the same. Windows 7 defrag tool says 0% fragmentation, while Defraggler reports 14%. Run that one and Windows reports 12%. I'm sticking with Windows 7 built in tools as much as I can. As much as 7 costs, the tools should be good.

I've been using MyDefrag for a few months now and it works just fine for me. It has a easy to use interface and you can select all or specific drives and do different type of defragging. I find the daily works just fine for me but did try out the consolidate which helped me recover around 8Gigs of space on my main drive

Not necessarily so! Windows defrag tool has always been a piece of junk.

It's an extremely slimmed down version of Diskeeper.

If you don't want to spend money on a good defrag program then use MyDefrag. It's free and seems quite fast. I have tested it in the past and works well. It just didn't have near the features of PerfectDisk.

Disk defrag programs use different parameters to judge fragmentation. That's why you're getting the different results.