Re: Disk Scanning & Defragmentation

There's a balance to be struck. Of course a heavily fragmented disk
will endure more wear, but overuse of defrag will do the same.

And of course fewer disks wear out due to excessive defragging. It's
more the opposite. The vast majority of them are of the first type --
not enough defragging, rather than too much. But that doesn't make my
statement ridiculous. It's a true statement.

In reality there are so many other variables involved in these scenarios
that generalizations can be made but that's about all. I seriously
doubt the two camps here actually cover the reality of disk failure.
One would be hard pressed to even get empirical evidence of either case.
In my experience the reasons for disk failures have ranged from worn
out bearings to dust (broken seals) to a platter's head failure to head
misalignments due to rough handling, to ... you name it. Then that
takes you into areas such as whether it's best to leave the disk
spinning or shut it down during periods of non-use, etc. etc. etc..
I've never seen one that indicated the problem was attributed to
excessive head movement of any kind where the head just wasn't able to
move; something you can easily hear in nearly 100% of the drives ever
made.

Not trying to do an ego boost for myself here; just trying to indicate
that it's sort of a moot point about defrag or not from a mechanical
viewpoint. As long as the hermetic seal remains in tact, there should
be little to wear out except for grease moving out of its intended place
and not getting used, which IME has always been what crashes disks early
in their lives. Somewhere I have a white paper on this from some lab
but I can't find it now of course!

Cheers,

Twayne



"Unknown" <unknown@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EqBtk.19431$jI5.568@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That is an absolutely ridiculous statement. Granted, disks wear out.
However, as a product, they have a life expectancy.
If a disk fails chances are it won't be because of defragging. Did
it ever occur to you that there could be MORE wear if it is NOT
defragged? "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message
news:uTcPTxJCJHA.1184@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The joke doesn't apply. Unnecessary defragging will simply wear the
disk out faster for no good reason.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com

"HeyBub" <heybub@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OcpUStJCJHA.2476@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Penorama wrote:
I've been told during Windows 98 days that it's good to run
Scandisk and Defragmentation regularly to keep the computer spick
and span. Does it still apply to these days of Windows XP and
Vista? As a matter of fact I carry out these maintenance measures
every
week, but would like to know their relevance in the present day
software environment.


[Joke shortened]

Doctor is leaning over a fallen actor on the stage of a Yiddish
theater around the turn of the last century.

From the back of the balcony, a Yiddisha-mama voice cries out:
"Give him an enema!"

The doctor stands and shouts back: "Madam, the actor is dead!"

Same voice from the balcony, a bit more sheepishly: "So, it can't
hurt."



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