Harddrive defrag query

I have recently defragmented my harddrive with win defrag xp pro sp2 after reviewing the graph there are still some quite significant white gaps left in the main bulk BLUE files.My first question can these be removed by fixes or software if so any recomendations.

My second question concerning the graph is understanding where the files sit on the cylinder of the harddrive.The green files are i assume windows files and sit to the left on the graph does this mean they are closest to the read head and where on the harddrive does the head rest the inside or the outside of the disk

All this is under the assumption a harddrive works similar to a record player in the way the info is stored.

Thanks in advance for any comments feel free to insult.

MSI neo 2 plat nf3
a643500 90nm
1gig corsair xms twin x 3200
sparkle 6800gt
36gig wd raptor
60 gig seagate
audigy LS

 

It is quite common for the white gaps, as the defragger merely attempts to move each file so that it is all beside itself. It does not attempt to actually move everything so that there is just one big unused area.

As for the graph, it does not actually relate directly to where the data is stored physically on the HD. It's just a rough idea of how jumbled the files are. The green files are green simply because they are being used by windows and cannot be moved while being used. Windows isn't holding them there because it wants them in that spot, it's just where they were put when windows was installed, It just so happens since most people install to a nice clean HD the files will usually appear near the beging.

You could of course move these green files by defragging from within another OS.

 

Thanks for the reply coco.If the graph doesnt show exactly where the info is on the platter is there program that can detect where all the files are and move them closer to the read head,or will this have no significant effect on overall boot times and read/write times.

 

Defragging barely has any effect at all these days. Moving the files around when they are already defragged will not help speed things up in the least. The heads move anyways, they arn't stationary. So it's not like you can move files closer to them. At any given time the head will be above them.

It's also worth noting that moving files around a lot just wears out the drive faster. Which is why most defrag programs recommend not to defrag until it's gotten to a certain point, doing it more often just wears out the drive more then needed. This is also the reason they typically only defrag the files and don't move them around more then they have to. It would only serve to wear the drive down.

 

Thanks alot Coco,the main reason for the thread was slow boot times I usually try to figure things out myself but im just racking my brain tryin to figure out why my raptor will only load win xp pro sp2 in 30 secs,its basically a fresh install with all updates being done before via net before any 3rd party drivers are loaded.Iv disabled all non critical services,,logo screen,disabled all controllers not being used in device manager,ide controllers in bios,msconfig selective startup,defrag and bootvis.I see people with a similar setup to mine getting around 10-20 secs,I think i'd have to crank the dammed harddrive myself to make it load that fast.The post screen takes about 8 secs just to detect the dvd drive,after that bootvis reports its all the harddrive for the next 20 secs.Again thanks for any replys and tips and I apologise to people who are sick of seeing threads on "how can I make my computer boot faster".

 

In bios are possibly a few settings that may speed up your boot, settings relating to post up, floppy seek, logos, poweron self test, Etc.
Also make sure your Raptor is the first on the boot order.

 

Thanks asus, I,v already disabled floppy seek and msi plat logo not touched power on self test I'll give it a try tomorrow TX.

 

P.S disconnected ide drive and only using sata 01 In bios selected HD as first boot device

 

There isnt any power on self test option Iv noticed on boot it detects the ide dvd drive first then the sata iv plugged the dvd into ide 01 do you think it might be giving the dvd preferential treatment.

 

As for "power on self test" not all mobo's or bios have the same features/fuctions, but all are somewhat similar, or may have feature doing similar fuction.

As for "dvd preferential treatment" ??? I'm not really a bios expert nor do I know what type bios your runing.

All the pc's I own or any that I work on/repair one of the first thing's I do is review all bios settings & alter settings to accomadate that particular setup.
This is one of the best guides avaible, it covers most bios settings, it's worth a look see:
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=7&var1=18

 

What i mean by by preferential treatment is upon boot the dvd drive is detected first then a split second later the sata drive.
In standard cmos menu the the dvd drive is listed as ide primary master and the sata drive as ide 3rd master.i made a mistake on my last post the dvd is plugged into ide 0 as oppose to 01.The sata drive is in sata 1.I have little experience with sata drives and of that i have never tried to optimize the bios to improve performance as long as it worked its fine but this is my computer and its got to smoke my friends.out of interest my board is an msi neo 2 platinum nforce 3 with bios revision 1.4.thanks for the link ill check it out then carry on googling different combinations of words to try and get a guide on how to set one of these things up.
P.S The msi manual sucks.

 

I just downloaded what I think is your manual, it dont look so bad.
In Bios:
Enable Quick boot
Then choose your SATA as the first boot device.
And as you have, Disable floppy seek & Disable Logo
Before you exit bios dont forget to save & exit

Another area most fail to make the correct settings are settings related to Graphics, CPU & memory speed & timings.
If you have particular question, or setting not covered in the bios guide, just post it I'll try to assist.
Sometimes if not sure about setting just note what the default setting is then experiment you can always change it back, (careful with CPU / Memory speeds & Voltages, dont want to toast anything) or if you get totally fubared simply reset the CMOS that will return all bios settings to thier default.

 

I cant believe you downloaded the manual thanx I hope you havent got anything better to do.Iv just downloaded it too.12 meg LOL there are 2 4inch by 6 inch pages in the paper bundled manual and they just go on about the overclocking menu.Im pretty experienced at bios menus cmos reset is like a reliable old friend who always comes to my rescue when i think iv fryed a rig.Iv checked other forums and have seen quite a few posts about slow ide detection with this board and ustable sata controller performance and lockups i had these when i first built it but disabling onboard sound cured it i think it was overheating beleive it or not but thats another story.ill check out the link soon its 7.30 in the morning in uk godda go.Also i'll try and dig out my webcam and film the boot i dont know if i could post a clip or wether it will be good enough quality to see anything but its something to do.Thanks for your help iv seen some of the other threads and people need your help alot more than me some of them are suicidal im just bored.Thanks back in about 10 hours.

 

Web cams to crap and videocam's analog.Iv followed the online manual and set up everthing to improve performance.still the same.
I'v also just found out that sata ports 1+2 are not part of the nf3 chipset they are msi's own so im gonna plug the hd into sata 3.I just dont like the idea of threading the sata cable through the gfx card power cable along the side of the card and between the cpu.It says if you fold one of these cables through 90 degrees it will loose info when transfering info.funny it came folded in a little packet.
If this doesnt work im gonna abandon this thread and do alot more research which i should have done in the first place see if these load times are true for a start.
thanx for your time guys.
i'll probably start a new slow raptor thread soon
THANX