W2k defragging

[Rex A. Butcher]

Hi there,

I have been using W2k for some time but am new to NTFS filing system.

Have done a clean install to a 60gb hd and not yet put on all the drivers, etc. Intend to put about four partitions using Partition Magic next. But had a look at the hd using the W2k defragger and see that a large section is blocked out as yellow (NTFS?) and the os files are in the middle of the hd and very fragmented.

What is this big NTFS block at the front of the hd? On a clean install, why are the os files so fragmented and why are they right in the middle of the drive?

Just trying to get an understanding of how NTFS works as FAT32 does not appear to be so fragmented on a clean install.

Many thanks,

Rex

[ProfessorU]

You're probably seeing the swap file because that is the largest immobile file on most windows installations. Different files are best suited to the beginning, middle, or end of a drive. The operating system determines this. The filesystem should have very little impact on how fragmented your drive is, but using NTFS will allow win2k to be fully-functional as well as make future migration easier.

[Rex A. Butcher]

ProfessorU,

Many thanks. Sort of understand. However, the same display for the same defrag program on W2k (FAT32) shows the Swap Fille after the os files.

I'm one of those sad individuals who likes to understand how stuff works.

Rex

[ProfessorU]

I'm not sure what the root of the difference is, but if you want to play around with it, disable virtual memory, defrag the drive, and re-enable virtual memory again. Sometimes this helps with performance issues and usually the file will occupy different space on the drive.