Smart Defrag Greatly Enlarges MFT Zone

[Chuck7]

I like Smart Defrag & the way that it optimizes file placement for quicker performance . . .

 

But it also made my "MFT Zone" about SIX TIMES larger than it was before !! . . .

 

Also, Smart Defrag Separated my "MFT" from the "MFT ZONE" -- Placing the ZONE after all other files.

 

QUESTION:: Did Smart Defrag make my "MFT ZONE" HUGE as a performance STRATEGY ... Or was this a Malfunction? If the Latter, how can I restore the MFT Zone to its default size?

 

Thank you for your assistance!

 

Chuck C.

[solbjerg]

Hi Chuck7

Have you tried to run a chkdsk ?

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

I like Smart Defrag & the way that it optimizes file placement for quicker performance . . .

 

But it also made my "MFT Zone" about SIX TIMES larger than it was before !! . . .

 

Also, Smart Defrag Separated my "MFT" from the "MFT ZONE" -- Placing the ZONE after all other files.

 

QUESTION:: Did Smart Defrag make my "MFT ZONE" HUGE as a performance STRATEGY ... Or was this a Malfunction? If the Latter, how can I restore the MFT Zone to its default size?

 

Thank you for your assistance!

 

Chuck C.

[enoskype]

Hi solbjerg,

 

I have asked a similar question in THIS post, and post #47 in Think about Defragmentation!!! thread in Lounge section, and did not get any answers yet!!!

 

Cheers.

[Chuck7]

Hi solbjerg,

 

I have asked a similar question in THIS post, and post #47 in Think about Defragmentation!!! thread in Lounge section, and did not get any answers yet!!!

 

 

Hi Enoskype,

 

Just an update after some testing::

I restored the default MFT Zone's size & adjacency; Running SmartDefrag's Deep or Quick defrags will then immediately rewrite files to that Zone just as if it were empty space. Note also that an internet search reveals that other people experience this same Zone-Overwrite behavior of SmartDefrag.

 

I find it Odd, Unfortunate, & Arrogant that IObit does not see fit to provide even a single sentence to the effect, "SmartDefrag overwrites your MFT's expansion area; no worries, be happy! :-?"; instead, the poor user has to fret & do 2 hours' research to figure out what's going on. For shame.

 

Anyways, my guess is that the nonadjacent, gargantuan MFT Zone at least provides room for unfragmented MFT expansion & is generally harmless. To undo it requires a professional defragger (or other disk utility) such as PerfectDisk.

With this one ugly exception, I find SmartDefrag to be a great product; For example, I cannot understand why PerfectDisk does not likewise place frequently used files at disk-edge, nor why PerfectDisk requires such a stupidly long time to Analyze Disk. However, PerfectDisk does defrag your system files, including setting the size & adjacency of the MFT Zone.

 

Take care,

Chuck C.

[enoskype]

Hi Chuck7,

 

Thanks for the information.

Just, can you give us a hint about the size of the MFT zone SD creates with respect to total size of the disk?

It shouldn't be larger than 12.5 % of the total size of the disk.

 

I hope you have read the whole thread and see the images in the first post of that thread I mention in my last post.

 

In one of the posts there, I have given my thoughts about the placement of the files on edge of the disk also.

 

Cheers.

[Chuck7]

Hi Chuck7,

 

Thanks for the information.

Just, can you give us a hint about the size of the MFT zone SD creates with respect to total size of the disk?

It shouldn't be larger than 12.5 % of the total size of the disk.

 

I hope you have read the whole thread and see the images in the first post of that thread I mention in my last post.

 

In one of the posts there, I have given my thoughts about the placement of the files on edge of the disk also.

 

Cheers.

 

Enoskype:

 

Sure! Altho my answer includes a bit of conjecture!

You are correct that XP allocates 12.5% of the disk space for MFT Zone--Adjacent to the Master File Table. (This is corrected in Windows 7 to be a couple hundred Megs.)

However, for XP, there are disk utilities (eg: PerfectDisk) that can SIZE the MFT Zone & ENSURE those clusters are adjacent to the Master File Table. Since 12.5% of a modern DRIVE is HUGE(!), Perfect Disk appears to choose about 400 MegaBytes; In contrast, 12.5% of a 100G disk is 12.5 Gigabytes !!

But, as you have noted, the more important defect is that SmartDefrag moves the MFT Zone FAR AWAY from the File Table, which means that if the MFT Zone is used, the drive head will need to jump across the drive to read the data--which is really stupid when you remember that it could simply designate a couple hundred Megs as MFT Zone & attach it to the MFT (as does PerfectDisk).

 

Chuck C.

[solbjerg]

Hi Chuck

Just to clarify for other users:

The reading head is placed on a "swinging arm" that can move between the inner part of the disk (spindle) and just outside the outer rim of the disk. (around 3 cm)

The disk(s) rotates with a speed of 5,500-10,000 revolutions per minute - generally (around 7,000 is often seen)

This means that data can be picked up/placed with the capacity between 1 Gbit per second and 3 Gbit/s (approximately between 125 MBytes/s (131,072,000 characters per second) and 375 Mbytes per second)

Cheers

solbjerg

 

Enoskype:

 

Sure! Altho my answer includes a bit of conjecture!

You are correct that XP allocates 12.5% of the disk space for MFT Zone--Adjacent to the Master File Table. (This is corrected in Windows 7 to be a couple hundred Megs.)

However, for XP, there are disk utilities (eg: PerfectDisk) that can SIZE the MFT Zone & ENSURE those clusters are adjacent to the Master File Table. Since 12.5% of a modern DRIVE is HUGE(!), Perfect Disk appears to choose about 400 MegaBytes; In contrast, 12.5% of a 100G disk is 12.5 Gigabytes !!

But, as you have noted, the more important defect is that SmartDefrag moves the MFT Zone FAR AWAY from the File Table, which means that if the MFT Zone is used, the drive head will need to jump across the drive to read the data--which is really stupid when you remember that it could simply designate a couple hundred Megs as MFT Zone & attach it to the MFT (as does PerfectDisk).

 

Chuck C.