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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (10231)	6/22/2000 4:33:00 PM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 110626

gottfried, re defragging before software installation... here is how i understand the process occurs... the reason i remove all fragmentation from my hard drive is that a new program will look for the first available space on the disk. if the disk is fragmented, the new program fills clusters in a haphazard manner, causing the read/write head to have to jump all over the place when accessing these files. if, otoh, i have a nice defragged disk, all of the new program files are installed end to end in sequence. if you'll permit me a brief (and perhaps crude) visual... picture your hard drive as a carton of eggs. as files & programs (the eggs) are deleted, used and removed, several empty spaces appear randomly in the carton. when i want to add more eggs back into the carton, they automatically begin to occupy the available random spaces. but if i defrag my egg carton first (and who doesn't enjoy doing that?), the random empty spaces are all filled in advance by the existing eggs, leaving room at one end of the carton for the new eggs. it seems logical to me that my install has a better chance of going flawlessly if i prepare the disk this way. as for your reasoning that the "install procedure produces some some fragmentation and so defrag AFTER an install"... , i just don't see it happening that way. on the subject of programs coming with their own uninstallers... if you want my thoughts, i'm going with cleansweep if it did monitor the install, unless the program readme file specifies otherwise. a good example is with recent blackice defender upgrades. bi posted a link to a 'remove' tool that they claimed was the only way to get bi off of a hd. but cleansweep monitors every bi upgrade i do, so i'd make sure to get their tool, but i'd use cleansweep first. jmo, of course. your thoughts, or anyone else's, are always appreciated. :) mark