Why are so many of my files highlighted in blue? please help.

[9thwonder]

i'm not very knowledgeable with defragementing programs so bear with me. I just recently downloaded smart defrag and since the first time i used it i noticed that so many of my word documents, music and video files are highlighted in a bright blue, which is very annoying. what is the reason for this? is there anyway to change them back to black? Have the files been altered in some way?

 

i also have an external hard drive and for some reason it re-backed up all the files i had in it, so now they are in blue too. Are my files ok? should i be worried?

 

Please help.

[samr]

Hi 9thwonder,

I believe that default colors show "frequently used" files as blue. You can click on the blue square beside "frequently used" in the legend below the display to change the color of these files. But do keep in mind not to set it to the same color as other file types!

samr.

[detailer]

Just to add to Samr-in the default color scheme blue is good(frequently used)black means locked or immovable-black turning to blue indicates SD has done it's job.You can change the color of every file type just as Samr described.I use a combo that's a little easier on the eye,because I'm one of those freaks that likes to watch the defrag process.

[enoskype]

An idea!!!

 

Hello guys!

 

Is there a chance that the blue color, 9thwonder is mentioning, is the color of the names of the files?

 

I am not sure, but how can the specific files' colors be differentiated in defragmenter then?

 

If the answer to first sentence is yes, then blue ones are compressed old files by Windows automatic compression after 60 days, or when Windows cleaning is performed, as "Compress old files" is the default choice there, as far as I remember.

(Of course, the radio button of "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" must be chosen in "Folder Options".

 

I am still not sure though.:smile:

 

Cheers.

[detailer]

Don't Follow

 

"color of the names of the files"-Enoskype,sorry I don't understand your meaning.I'm sure you're onto something(as usual)-can you clarify?

[9thwonder]

Thank you to Samr and Detailer for the insight, but i'm afraid you misunderstood me. i think Enoskype has the right idea.

 

I was speaking of the actual files (.mp3, .avi, .doc, .jpeg) stored in the folders such as "my music", "my videos", my documents", etc. My computer is mostly filled with pics, video, and music files, and now many of these files names are blue. After my first use of smartdefrag it left so many files highlighted in blue and now i cant seem to change them back to black. some folders have half of the files in blue and the other half in black. In the past, i would normally use the windows defragmentor and this problem has never occurred.

 

I would appreciate it if Enoskype, or anyone else, could elaborate on what's going on and what i should to change them back.

 

Let me know if i'm still being unclear.

[samr]

Hi 9th wonder,

Are you talking about the TEXT of the file names? If so, I think enoskype is right on the money. Go to tools- folder options- view, then uncheck "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color", then click apply. This should do it.

samr.

[9thwonder]

Hi 9th wonder,

Are you talking about the TEXT of the file names? If so, I think enoskype is right on the money. Go to tools- folder options- view, then uncheck "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color", then click apply. This should do it.

samr.

 

yes, the text of files. ok, but would i have to do this for every single folder. for example, itunes organizes the music in various folders and subfolders.

 

and are you saying that this is folder option is normally unchecked and smartdefrag triggers it to be checked? (i dont like the idea of altering a systems settings)

 

and why would some files text, in a single folder, be turned blue and others not?

 

im sorry for asking so many questions, i just want to understand what happened, how smartdefrag works and what it's doing.

[enoskype]

Hi 9thwonder,

 

I don't think it is the Smart Defrag. I believe it is Windows.

 

The compressed files occupy less space in the disk but it takes longer for the head to read .(Fractionally and relatively)

To understand it, please right click on a blue colored file and open the properties of it. Note the size. Click Advanced button at the bottom. You will see that, under the Compress or Encrypt attributes, "compress contents to save disk space" checkbox is checked.

If you uncheck it and click OK button, the file will be uncompressed and the color will be black, and te size occupation will be more.

 

I hope it is clear up to here.

 

You can do the same thing for folders.

 

Answer to your question of "why some are blue?" is that the usage of the files dates are different. Which ever file is not touched by the user for the last 60 days will be put in the compressed to be files list in Windows' Disk Cleanup function.

 

You can change that behaviour in Disk Cleanup utility.

 

If you change the option in Folder Options of Windows Explorer, then there will not be blue colored files, but there will be compressed files in black color, which you can only know the difference by checing the properties of the file.

 

Windows Explorer=>Tools=>Folder Options=>View=>Advanced Settings=>"Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color"

 

Cheers.

[9thwonder]

Thank you very much to all of you.