Suggestions for Smart Defrag v2

[RoloX2]

I'd like to suggest the ability to run multiple schedules.

 

I would like to create:

 

- a daily schedule for defrag

- a weekly schedule for fast optimise

- a monthly schedule for fully optimise

 

 

(NOTE: auto-defrag doesn't work because my CPU is always at 100% utilisation from distributed computing.)

 

This could be in the form of "Add another schedule" and "Remove schedule" buttons in the current UI, allowing many instances (ideal) or it could be one schedule per type of defragmentation (three total) or something completely different...

[enoskype]

Good sugestions RoloX2 however, multiple scheduling suggestions have been made before. I don't know why IObit didn't consider putting them in the most recent release.

 

Coming back to your utilization of 100% of the CPU during distributed computing, have you tried auto defrag with the below options checked at the shown values below?

 

- Pause Auto Defrag when resource usage exceeds 100%

-Start Auto Defrag when system idle exceeds 1 minute

 

Please give feedback.

 

Cheers.

[RoloX2]

I tried it with 1 min and the pause option disabled. I just tried your suggestion, no change.

 

I also looked into creating tasks in Task Scheduler for multiple schedules but the Action part of SD's scheduled task just runs the program with the /SCHEDULE switch, which I assume refers to the configuration in the UI.

 

I can't seem to find where that configuration is stored; I looked in the registry and \ProgramData and the install directory to no avail. My idea is to use Task Scheduler & scripting to swap configs and run the schedule.

[enoskype]

Have you looked into config.ini @:

C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\IObit\Smart Defrag 2

?

 

Cheers.

[RoloX2]

There it is! I'm ashamed I missed it. :cry:

 

Thank you.

 

DefragType={0-2} is the option to edit it appears. I need to figure out how to change just that option so I don't lose the metrics stored in that file.

[enoskype]

FYI, I would exclude:

C:\Windows\bootstat.dat

from any defragmentation by any defragmenter.

 

Add to config.ini :

[ExcludeList]

0=C:\Windows\bootstat.dat

 

Cheers.

[RoloX2]

I wrote a script that edits the ini file to change DefragType value, then run SD with /SCHEDULE, then puts DefragType back to 0; however, SD never runs with the new DefragType.

Edit: Attached script. Additionally, I tried running SD with the /STARTUP switch but that didn't force it to re-read Config.ini.

 

Is there a way (i.e. command-line switch) to get SD to re-read the Config.ini file?

 

VB Script:

Const Defrag = 0
Const FastOptimize = 1
Const FullyOptimize = 2
Const ForReading = 1
Const ForWriting = 2

Function sRegRead(sRegistryKey, sDefault)
   Dim oShell, Value
   On Error Resume Next
   Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
   Value = oShell.RegRead(sRegistryKey)
   If err.number <> 0 Then
       sRegRead = sDefault
   Else
       sRegRead = Value
   End If
   Set oShell = Nothing
End Function

Set oShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set oFolder = oShell.NameSpace(&H1a&)
Set oFolderItem = oFolder.Self
sConfigFile = oFolderItem.Path & "\IObit\Smart Defrag 2\Config.ini"
Set oFolder = oShell.NameSpace(&H26&)
Set oFolderItem = oFolder.Self
sSmartDefragEXE = chr(34) & oFolderItem.Path & " (x86)\Smart Defrag\SmartDefrag.exe" & chr(34)
Set oShell = Nothing

iArg = WScript.Arguments.Count
If iArg < 1 then
iMethod = Defrag
Else
iMethod = int(WScript.Arguments.Item(0))
If iMethod < Defrag or iMethod > FullyOptimize then
	iMethod = Defrag
End If
End If

Set oFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set oTextFile = oFSO.OpenTextFile(sConfigFile, ForReading)
Do Until oTextFile.AtEndOfStream
   sNextLine = oTextFile.Readline
   iLineFinder = InStr(sNextLine, "DefragType")
   If iLineFinder <> 0 Then
       sNextLine = "DefragType=" & iMethod
   End If
   sNewFile = sNewFile & sNextLine & vbCrLf
Loop
oTextFile.Close
Set oTextFile = oFSO.OpenTextFile(sConfigFile, ForWriting)
oTextFile.Write sNewFile
oTextFile.Close

Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
oShell.run sSmartDefragEXE & " /SCHEDULE", 7, True
Set oShell = Nothing

sNewFile = Empty
Set oTextFile = oFSO.OpenTextFile(sConfigFile, ForReading)
Do Until oTextFile.AtEndOfStream
   sNextLine = oTextFile.Readline
   iLineFinder = InStr(sNextLine, "DefragType")
   If iLineFinder <> 0 Then
       sNextLine = "DefragType=" & Defrag
   End If
   sNewFile = sNewFile & sNextLine & vbCrLf
Loop
oTextFile.Close
Set oTextFile = oFSO.OpenTextFile(sConfigFile, ForWriting)
oTextFile.Write sNewFile
oTextFile.Close
Set oFSO = Nothing

[RoloX2]

[bug] Progress display not aligned

 

The Fragments: and Remaining Time: values aren't in their proper location. This occurs in normal and maximised windows.

[enoskype]

Hi RoloX2,

 

Never seen that on any of the many installations that I have done, so it is not normal indeed.

 

Can we see the whole GUI of SD. (In better pixles please.)

 

Is it the same if you play with the transperancy and with other skin?

 

Cheers.

[orish]

"Smart" Optimization

 

1. Firstly - please change the captcha method on your forum, I've tried 4-5 times on registration and each of the search forms before I found one I could read ("Z" looks like "2" or vice versa, "4" could be "p" I think, "5" and "S" are the same, and many letters are invisible, etc.)

 

2. A suggestion for deep optimization - please add a decent chunk of empty space after large, frequently-used files (e.g. Outlook PST) - the whole point of a deep optimization I presume is to place the more frequently used files at the front of the disk - but if the next files are contiguous with a few large files then additions to (or expansions of) the file will end up near the end of the disk, which is certainly not optimal. The head will have to span the entire disk to access regularly-used data.

 

But if, say, 20% of the size of each file were left free immediately after its location on the disk then it could easily expand into it and still stay relatively defragmented. (I suppose this might be a bit similar to the UNIX file system, which makes defragmentation mostly unnecessary.)

 

Disks are huge now, so there's no reason to pack all the data into one corner of the disk. Allow each file to have room to grow.

 

There should also be an option to disable this for certain (configurable?) fixed-length files, such as movies and music files. I suppose these will end up near the end of the disk anyway - do you optimize according to the most frequent change date or the last access date? It makes sense to move large movie & music files to the end of the disk (without expansion space) and "working" files to the beginning of the disk (with empty spaces to grow into).

[solbjerg]

Hi orish

1. the whole point of captcha's is to try to make it hard for spam-bots to register - if viewed in a larger font or a higher zoom it may be easier for you to read the signs hopefully.

On the other hand many spam-bots have found a way to beat the captcha's, so maybe they are not necessary - at least in the current form - anymore.

2. Optimization is not the same as defragment

By the way if you count the number of small squares in the defragment window and divide that number into the capacity of your harddisk you will see how much space is allotted to each square.

Optimization is mostly concerned about saving resources. (sorry - I was thinking of the optimization in ASC)

The optimal placement of files on the disk builds on the fact that the higher speed at the outer rim of the disk and the fact that about the outermost 1/3 diameter of the disk holds about 50% of the disk's capacity.

The disks normally rotate with a speed of about at least 120 revolutions per second.

Therefore it should in theory be best to place the most used files close to the outer rim to have the fastest access to them - but we are talking very very small fractions of seconds here.

The colour of the small squares does tell you if a file is free of fragments, but it doesn't tell you how much room the data in that specific square holds - it could be a small fractions of what that specific square is able to hold.

If you want to know where every bit of data is every millionth of a second and have a report that tells you that I am afraid that the program would get extremely bloated. :-)

p.s. in my opinion it is not good to defrag large videoes - I always keep them on another drive that I do not defragment

(at the moment I do not have any videoes other than a couple of small home made ones)

On the other hand if you choose the setting that do not defrag files over a chosen size they won't get defragged, but will then show up as black squares in the defrag window. ;-)

 

Please read enoskype's thread "Thinking about defragmentation" (link in my signature)

 

Cheers

solbjerg

 

1. Firstly - please change the captcha method on your forum, I've tried 4-5 times on registration and each of the search forms before I found one I could read ("Z" looks like "2" or vice versa, "4" could be "p" I think, "5" and "S" are the same, and many letters are invisible, etc.)

 

2. A suggestion for deep optimization - please add a decent chunk of empty space after large, frequently-used files (e.g. Outlook PST) - the whole point of a deep optimization I presume is to place the more frequently used files at the front of the disk - but if the next files are contiguous with a few large files then additions to (or expansions of) the file will end up near the end of the disk, which is certainly not optimal. The head will have to span the entire disk to access regularly-used data.

 

But if, say, 20% of the size of each file were left free immediately after its location on the disk then it could easily expand into it and still stay relatively defragmented. (I suppose this might be a bit similar to the UNIX file system, which makes defragmentation mostly unnecessary.)

 

Disks are huge now, so there's no reason to pack all the data into one corner of the disk. Allow each file to have room to grow.

 

There should also be an option to disable this for certain (configurable?) fixed-length files, such as movies and music files. I suppose these will end up near the end of the disk anyway - do you optimize according to the most frequent change date or the last access date? It makes sense to move large movie & music files to the end of the disk (without expansion space) and "working" files to the beginning of the disk (with empty spaces to grow into).

[RoloX2]

Hi RoloX2,

 

Never seen that on any of the many installations that I have done, so it is not normal indeed.

 

Can we see the whole GUI of SD. (In better pixles please.)

 

Is it the same if you play with the transperancy and with other skin?

 

Cheers.

 

I'd gladly post a complete pic if it would actually display incorrectly again. It could have been a one-time fluke (theory: that PC runs distributed computing on the GPU--keeping it pegged--and that could have affected the resize/maximise redraw).

 

I'll pay attention to it and post if it happens again.

 

but if the next files are contiguous with a few large files then additions to (or expansions of) the file will end up near the end of the disk, which is certainly not optimal. The head will have to span the entire disk to access regularly-used data.

 

But if, say, 20% of the size of each file were left free immediately after its location on the disk then it could easily expand into it and still stay relatively defragmented.

 

Disks are huge now, so there's no reason to pack all the data into one corner of the disk. Allow each file to have room to grow.

This won't have the effect you anticipate: NTFS will write changes to the nearest available space wherever the head happens to be and its unlikely (almost guaranteed) that it will not be right at the end of the file being modified (assuming the file is being appended and not completely rewritten or modified in the beginning/middle, in which case the entire file would have to effectively be copied and the old one deleted to defragment on-the-fly--a terrible idea). This is by design for write performance.

 

This is where idle-time defrag comes in handy: after NTFS makes a mess, shortly thereafter, the files will be made contiguous again.

[Melvin_Deal]

Ah!

 

But this is where you have to write the software to accomodate old hardware and make it seamlessly usable to the users of new hardware as well as old. (at least 10-12 years old... the HD's are out there and in use).

 

Of course you could just advise everybody to upgrade.:shock:

 

Sincerely,

 

-Mel

Live long and prosper!

[FAM10]

Icon in the task bar

 

Hi,

It would be great to solve the problem of the icon in the task bar. Its presence depends on the type of energy feeding the laptop.

The behaviour is the following:

 

The icon disappears when disconnect the current only after power on the laptop when the SD icon is present in the task bar. After that, If I open SD from the desktop icon and after unplug the current, the icon remains in the task bar. This was checked in more than one system and the results were identical. Note that there are two situations: one of them does not affect the icon.

 

This issue is posted in http://forums.iobit.com/showthread.php?t=14001 without resolution and without support response.

 

For people that works with your laptops plugging and unpluggin it of current, the issue is an inconvenient.

 

I hope to hear comments. Tank you very much.

[Toppack]

For people that work with laptops plugging and unpluggin it, the issue is inconvenient

 

I think to fix that, SD would need to be running constantly, using resources,

to monitor if the external power is connected or not. :shock:

I don't think you would really Want it Doing That ?

[help_noob]

reduce the space needed to defrag a single file.

 

Minimize the space needed to defrag a file.:idea:

[enoskype]

You have to compress a single fragmented file to reduce the size to fit in a smaller space as defragmented. :lol:

[Einstein47]

Make UI Transparency Optional

 

As a user STILL on XP Pro - the Transparency of the User Interface causes XP to freeze and not update at some times. Is there any way to create an option to ignore the Transparency slider value? I think it would prevent a lot of issues for XP users. And there still are a lot of us out there.

[solbjerg]

Hi Einstein

What is your transparency setting?

config.ini file located usually in:

C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\IObit\Smart Defrag 2

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

As a user STILL on XP Pro - the Transparency of the User Interface causes XP to freeze and not update at some times. Is there any way to create an option to ignore the Transparency slider value? I think it would prevent a lot of issues for XP users. And there still are a lot of us out there.

[Einstein47]

In my Config.ini it is:

 

Transparency=255

 

However, when I bring up the interface, the window will display as completely solid - but it doesn't change what is displayed on XP Pro for me from time to time. For instance, when I mouse over the buttons, they don't hi-light. I haven't ever had any issues on Win7. I know that Windows XP code for knowing how to update the display is very out-of-date and many applications just can't get around it's flaws.

 

At least I know of a work-around to make SD work for me.

[solbjerg]

hi Einstein

My transparity setting also say 255

I have XP sp.3 and have no problem scrolling or otherwise.

A totally clean install is all I can come up with, sorry.

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

In my Config.ini it is:

 

Transparency=255

 

However, when I bring up the interface, the window will display as completely solid - but it doesn't change what is displayed on XP Pro for me from time to time. For instance, when I mouse over the buttons, then don't hi-light. I haven't ever had any issues on Win7. I know that Windows XP code for knowing how to update the display is very out-of-date and many applications just can't get around it's flaws.

 

At least I know of a work-around to make SD work for me.

[hartvix]

Smart Defrag doesn't detect when an external disk is connected

 

Maybe I'm missing some trivial point here, but it seems SmartDefrag won't update the list of volumes/partitions when an external disk is connected. By default, SmartDefrag will start with Windows, and run in the background, so it will usually already be running when I connect the disk(s). To force SmartDefrag to notice the "new" disk, I have to go to the system box, right click SmartDefrag and choose Exit, then restart the program from the start menu. This isn't hard to do, but a bit more cumbersome than it should be.

Ideally, SD should automatically detect that a new disk is being connected. But a simple button/menu option to refresh the volume list would do just fine. This should be pretty easy to fix, shouldn't it?

[Toppack]

Well, another program sub-routine would have to running Constantly,

polling the I/O-ports, to check for added devices.

On slow computers, I think there would be a noticeable Slow-down. :-(

 

(the Less you have running in the Background, 'the Better') :wink:

That's why I Never load any Extra programs at Windows Start-up

and only load the ones we Need, at the time.

[hartvix]

Manually refreshing volume list

 

I totally agree about keeping the amount of processes running constantly to a minimum, so an automatic detection isn't really necessary. But I'd still like to have a manual "Refresh/rescan volumes" somewhere in the GUI.

I've been using SmartDefrag for a while now, and I mostly like the program, which seems to be doing a good job without wasting a lot of resources.

[Cicely]

Maybe I'm missing some trivial point here, but it seems SmartDefrag won't update the list of volumes/partitions when an external disk is connected. By default, SmartDefrag will start with Windows, and run in the background, so it will usually already be running when I connect the disk(s). To force SmartDefrag to notice the "new" disk, I have to go to the system box, right click SmartDefrag and choose Exit, then restart the program from the start menu. This isn't hard to do, but a bit more cumbersome than it should be.

Ideally, SD should automatically detect that a new disk is being connected. But a simple button/menu option to refresh the volume list would do just fine. This should be pretty easy to fix, shouldn't it?

 

Hi hartvix,

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

Actually, SmartDefrag can detect removable hard disk automatically when you connect it to your PC. To look into the issue, please take the steps below:

 

1. Please download the demo from http://wikisend.com/download/456996/SmartDefrag.exe

 

2. Close and exit Smart Defrag.

 

3. Right click the icon of Smart Defrag on your desktop and choose the "Open file location" to open the Smart Defrag installation directory. Put what you downloaded in step 1 in the installation directory to replace the original one.

 

4. Please connect your removal hard disk to see whether it can detect it automatically.

 

5. Open the Smart Defrag installation directory again and send us the report.log to look into the issue.

 

Thanks in advance. :-D