For those of you following this space over the last several weeks, you've seen a glimpse of what's new in PerfectDisk 11. For an overview, here's a link to follow to what is new in the PerfectDisk 11 disk defrag program:
PerfectDisk 11 Whats NewOn a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. Coming Tuesday.
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eWeek Labs recently put together a list of the
25 Technologies That Changed the Decade, an interesting list of hardware, software, applications and more "that have changed the way we work, play and live" over the last 10 years. I guess since Windows defrag software has been around more than a decade, and defrag programs in general have been around for much more than that, the simple yet important task to defrag a computer was nowhere to be found (insert smirk here).
But I was interested to see how much defrag programs touched on many of the 25 technologies. While the expected flashy consumer products were on the list, including the iPhone, iPod and other smart phones, several back-end technologies that power our world of technology were also there, and disk defrag software played a role with those technologies. From multicore processors to netbooks to blade servers to virtualization to Windows XP, PerfectDisk is there to help these technologies work better. Whether it's a faster PC startup or the need to speed up PC performance or a server defrag to ensure a mission critical application runs fast and efficiently, auto defrag has played a role.
Regarding the 25th spot, it seemed a bit amusing to see Windows XP listed, since the flashier and well-received Windows 7 seems a more likely candidate. But as the article states, "Windows XP is certainly the most dominant operating system of the decade." I can see some merit in that selection.
You can read the entire article
here and compare it with your Top 25.
While the ultimate goal for a defrag programs is faster PC speed and faster PC performance, a best defrag tool should be able to go beyond that. There is a lot of information about your drive and files that are of interest to many users.
Answers to questions such as:
- how much space is being taken up by certain file types
- what percentage of files on a drive are new and how many are old
- what percentage of files on a drive are recently modified or recently accessed
- what are the largest files on a drive, which are the oldest.
Space Reports -- more comprehensive, improved charts and graphs.
On a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. March 2010.
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While reasonable people can argue the merits of using freeware to defrag a computer or to defrag a file, if that capability exists in the particular defragmentation software, no such arguments exist when it comes to enterprise defragmentation. The choice becomes greatly limited. The freeware utilities, the built-in Windows defragmenter, and even most of the chargeable ones are simply not designed for enterprise defragmentation.
Putting aside for a moment the actual quality, flexibility and customization capabilities of the defrag program to improve PC performance, a large enterprise or even relatively small business has a lot more to worry about to ensure successful enterprise defragmentation. Installation and deployment across the organization to the required PCs and servers. Configuration and management. And reporting. Any good administrator requires full reporting capabilities to have a handle on the status of his or her enterprise. And better yet, be able to be proactive. Which is why PerfectDisk provides an elaborate alerting and warning system for administrators within the PerfectDisk Enterprise Console.
And now comes Remote Free Space Management, a shot in the arm to IT administrators responsible for enterprise defrag. It allows IT administrators to generate detailed reports on disk use, including graphical representations of storage usage. This new functionality provides significant improvements over Windows Storage Server Reports, providing not just data, but actionable reports. For instance, you can run a Duplicate File Report in Storage Server, but it does not allow you to remotely identify and execute duplicate file removals across the enterprise. PerfectDisk does.
Enterprise defragmentation evolved. March 2010.
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Sometimes we get so far down in the weeds of our disk defrag utility that it's easy to lose sight of what can be gained from a top disk defragment program. Today I wanted to touch on the success achieved via PerfectDisk's auto defrag and console management system by Vigilante Security, a Michigan-based alarm system company serving the residential and large industrial markets that uses PerfectDisk for its disk defragmentation and storage optimization needs. Vigilante services over 60,000 subscribers in 43 states.
Vigilante Security maintains 17 servers, 15 laptops and over 50 workstations, with employees working on a range of applications from Microsoft Office to Vigilante Security’s own proprietary alarm monitoring system. There are also dedicated CAD workstations and several PCs dedicated to remote access of Alarm control systems. The company also provides central station monitoring to other alarm dealers throughout the industry. Vigilante performs server defrag as well as desktop and laptop defrags with PerfectDisk.
Ron Ross, president of Vigilante Security, had this to say: “The ROI for PerfectDisk was quickly established, as we’ve saved a huge amount of time using the PerfectDisk Enterprise Console to administer the entire disk management operation from one location. Manual defragmentation with the Windows built-in defragmenter took too much time and also resulted in lost employee productivity while employees waited for defrag completion. PerfectDisk Server and PerfectDisk Professional have eliminated all those wasted resources, and the Enterprise Console allows us to manage the entire process effortlessly.”
Behind all the noise, real benefits.
There have been a number of blogs and articles written in recent months on the topic of best defrag software. I think that just begs the question, what would you want in your best defrag software?
At a minimum, you would want any defrag software to defragment all of your data files. The Windows 7 defragmenter and the free defrag utilities do a decent job in this regard, but the disks still re-fragment quickly. File defragmentation is just half the job, to truly hinder file fragmentation you need a defrag tool that also consolidates the maximum amount of free space. If the file system can find contiguous free space it will write files in one piece.
So, if you start to really look at what constitutes the best defrag software you want something that defragments all your files and consolidates the maximum amount of free space. But is there more to look for in a disk defrag program?
The location of the files can also make a difference. Files that don't change often can be defragged and placed together. The next time the defragger runs these files don't have to be moved. The same goes for frequently changing files, they can be located near the free space so they can grow in the fewest number of pieces. Boot files can be placed next to the Master Boot Record for faster system boot ups, and you can defrag system files, the ones Windows 7 doesn't touch, to get them out of the way so your on line defrag is faster.
Combine all of this with flexible scheduling, automatic defragmentation, a duplicate file finder, virtual system support and ease of use and you have something that really qualifies as the best defragmentation software. This is why PerfectDisk 10 is the choice of thousands. These users know that the best defragmentation software does the whole job.
One of the many things missing from the built-in Windows 7 defrag is the ability to exclude files or folders. PerfectDisk does provide this ability, and depending on your environment, this could range from a “nice-to-have” to critical.
If you have whole drive encryption (WDE) software installed, there may be certain files that should not be defragmented. But you can’t do this with the built-in Windows 7 defrag. In addition, PerfectDisk supports the following top encryption vendors to ensure seamless compatibility:
- PC Guardian
- PGR Whole Disk Encryption
- BestCrypt
- PointSec
- SafeBoot / McAfee Total Endpoint Protection
- SafeNet Protect Drive
- Safeguard Easy
- DESLock+
- WinMagic
And because PerfectDisk allows file and folder exclusion, it can be made to support any encryption solution. With the built-in Windows 7 defrag lack of ability to exclude files and folders, it could end up being directly responsible for the entire loss of an encrypted disk. That's reason enough to consider an alternative disk defrag program.
Winodws 7 defrag — not smart enough.
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It's what we try to do with every release of our software. It's what our entire company -- from development to technical support to customer service to account managers -- sets out to do every morning as we walk through the door. Do better than we did yesterday.
For defrag downloads, today I came across a new PerfectDisk 10 Pro editor's review on the
Windows 7 Download website, which provides "the best free Windows 7 downloads." The review states that with PerfectDisk, "whether you are downloading movie files or manipulating jpegs on your machine, you will find that the speed of your computer stays at its maximum performance level. If you are tired of your programs hanging or your software coming up with countless errors, PerfectDisk 10 Professional can assure you of optimum execution."
The editor continues: "...Raxco Software has outdone itself again with this nifty piece of optimizing software. Installation is simple and navigation is uncomplicated and straightforward. PerfectDisk 10 Pro is a follow-up to its predecessor that was released in 2008 that is proving to be faster and more reliable in its functionality. The fact that it has included compatibility with Windows 7 is already a plus to many since it is obviously up-to-date and at par with other developments in the tech world.
"PerfectDisk 10 Pro also offers a defragmentation system that accommodates mini applications that maximize space management by effectively taking care of temporary and duplicate files in your PC. Perfect Disk 10 Professional is definitely a big improvement from the last release, which was already impressive when it was introduced back then. For those thinking of an optimizing defragmenter for their PC, you can be sure never to go wrong with this Raxco product that will take care of your PC internal optimizing needs."
To defrag Windows 7, there's the Microsoft defrag and the other usual suspects. But as the review points out, a basic disk defrag program doesn't give you all the power, flexibility and thoroughness of PerfectDisk. And when you then add capabilities like disk space management and the ability to boot quicker, you end up with a whole lot more.
You will have outdone yourself. You can see the full review
here.
With VMware's recent release of VMware Workstation 7, support is immediately available for PerfectDisk 10 VMware Workstation customers. 7 introduces many enhancements, including installing and running VMware vSphere 4 and VMware ESXi in a virtual machine.
VMware calls VMware Workstation "the gold standard in desktop virtualization." So it makes sense for those that want disk defragmenter software to work seamlessly with VMware products, they look to the gold standard in virtualization defrag.
PerfectDisk 10 VMware Workstation incorporates and automates the disk space-saving “Shrink” and re-indexing found in VMware Workstation, enhancing their effectiveness. It defragments Windows guests and moves all the free space to the end of the disk, allowing the Shrink utility to maximize the amount of valuable disk space it can recover.
The defragment program for automatic defragmentation, re-indexing and shrinking of VMware Workstation - it's only here.
When looking to Windows defrag software for Windows 7, there are various defrag programs to choose from and decisions you need to make. Do you want to be able to do a boot time defrag in order to defrag metadata? Is free space consolidation important? Do you want to boot quicker? Are you running any disk cleanup tools? Are you going to defrag Exchange databases?
There may be many more questions and requirements. Or your list for choosing between defrag programs might be short and sweet - you want a faster computer. One criteria that many people look for is certification from Microsoft. To some, it's just a "feel good" thing. To others, it's critical. And to some, it means nothing.
To us, it's important. We know there are many people that look to certification from Microsoft. And we know that many businesses have a requirement that they will only run certified applications. So PerfectDisk is certified by Microsoft for Windows 7.
In reviewing a disk defrag program, you might ask yourself why a particular product is not certified by Microsoft. For example, one area that Microsoft focuses on is overly-intrusive installations and snap-ins to the operating system - if a disk defragmentation tool is overly intrusive, Microsoft won't cerify the product. Look, with all the positive feedback Microsoft has garnered from Windows 7, it is not about to put a stamp of approval on an application that takes away from the positive user experience people are receiving from the new OS. Microsoft also made changes to the boot process in Windows 7, and we modified PerfectDisk to address these changes.
So one can choose to tell the world that certification doesn't matter and the fact that a program just works with Windows 7 is good enough.
We choose a different path for our users -- no risk.
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