Problems with defragmentation

I could not defrag my computer. It indicated that I need to delete unneeded files on the hard drive. How do I go about doing this?
Thank you for your assistance.

 

After a defrag this is what was not deleted.

Volume (C
Volume size = 37.27 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 35.78 GB
Free space = 1.49 GB
Percent free space = 4 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 21 %
File fragmentation = 34 %
Free space fragmentation = 8 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 112,888
Average file size = 512 KB
Total fragmented files = 743
Total excess fragments = 155,470
Average fragments per file = 2.37

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1.50 GB
Total fragments = 493

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 13,735
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 170 MB
MFT record count = 128,079
Percent MFT in use = 73 %
Total MFT fragments = 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
823 35 MB \Documents and Settings\norm\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\20.0.1132.57\chrome.dll
927 39 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware\Scans\mpcache-6BCDFBE2DC51FA69AAB0DF82E2FB98DBF2B23488.bin.VE0
888 42 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware\Definition Updates\Backup\mpavbase.vdm
711 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP871\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
695 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP872\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
697 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP873\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
710 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP874\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
711 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP875\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
691 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP851\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
716 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP876\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
700 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP852\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
711 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP853\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
696 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP865\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
696 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP866\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
709 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP839\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
707 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP864\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
710 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP850\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
710 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP868\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
703 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP848\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
710 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP869\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
712 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP870\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
828 53 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP847\A0122365.exe
861 54 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP869\A0124178.exe
1,247 55 MB \WINDOWS\system32\MRT.exe
1,449 68 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware\Scans\mpcache-6BCDFBE2DC51FA69AAB0DF82E2FB98DBF2B23488.bin.67
1,992 94 MB \Documents and Settings\norm\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\20.0.1132.57\Installer\chrome.7z
19,820 625 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\backup\smoch1968
2,756 630 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\organize\smoch1968
41,559 1.90 GB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\backup\sierra1953
19,214 1.90 GB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\organize\sierra1953

 

With as little unused/free space left on your hard drive, I'm surprised that defrag ran at all.

To gain additional free space on your hard drive, I would disable system restore temporarily ( would give you some free space to work with ) , delete any unused programs installed on the computer, run CCleaner to clear any temp files,and then defrag again.

After this reenable system restore.

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you. How do I know which programs are essential?

 

I'd reduce the space allocated to System Restore to 4-5%, just to give some leeway should you delete something vital during the cleanup.

What should you uninstall - what programs don't you use?

 

The answer to the question would be whatever that is installed on your computer, other than Windows, such as applications/programs that are installed but not used.

Seems that you have a lot of .log files that can be deleted, and are you using AOL?

Sorry Satrow , didn't see your post until I already had.

 

Do I go under program files in my computer to delete programs I am not using?

 

Use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to uninstall them.



No worries Novice, it'll probably be my turn to hit the Submit Reply button late next ^^

 

It is never necessary to disable System Restore to free up disk space. SR will yield disk space - to the point of disabling itself, if space becomes too critical. See how System Restore works here. Note where it says,

As satrow noted, use Add and Remove Programs in Control Panel, then uninstall any program you installed that you don't use. If unsure, don't uninstall it.

It would appear you only have a 40Gb disk drive. I don't see where freeing up any amount of disk space will do you any good, but for a day or two. Unfortunately, because of badguys, it has become necessary to load up our systems with resource hogging security programs. Plus, system updates continue to make our OSes take up more room. This is why drives that used to be plenty big are no longer - even on systems that have had no additional programs installed.

You only permanent solution is to buy more disk space - either replacing your current drive, or adding a second drive, then moving some of your applications, the Page File, and perhaps your Documents folder to the new drive.

I agree CCleaner (one of my favorite utilities) might help, but if not already installed on your system, it makes no sense to download yet another program that will certainly eat up more of your precious space. So if you don't have it installed already, use Windows XP Disk Cleanup. Select "More Options". Note one option is to remove service pack backup files. If you have been running with the latest service pack successfully for some time, it is safe to remove the service pack backup files - and they can take up a lot of space.

 

It is also best to have 10% of your hard drive space free and available in order to do a defrag.

 

No doubt. I also recommend ALWAYS running defrag from Safe Mode to ensure the maximum number of files can be moved.

 

I did remove a lot off the programs and after rebooting I still had the same issues. I guess it is time for a new computer. Any suggestions? Thank you for your assistance.

Volume (C
Volume size = 37.27 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 34.12 GB
Free space = 3.15 GB
Percent free space = 8 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 18 %
File fragmentation = 31 %
Free space fragmentation = 5 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 109,482
Average file size = 494 KB
Total fragmented files = 392
Total excess fragments = 112,017
Average fragments per file = 2.02

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 1.50 GB
Total fragments = 493

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 13,657
Fragmented folders = 1
Excess folder fragments = 0

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 170 MB
MFT record count = 124,044
Percent MFT in use = 71 %
Total MFT fragments = 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
297 11 MB \WINDOWS\Installer\712a64.msp
268 12 MB \WINDOWS\Installer\$PatchCache$\Managed\00002109110000000000000000F01FEC\12.0.6612\OUTLOOK.EXE
295 12 MB \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE
272 19 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP874\snapshot\Repository\FS\OBJECTS.DATA
301 19 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP875\snapshot\Repository\FS\OBJECTS.DATA
292 19 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP876\snapshot\Repository\FS\OBJECTS.DATA
414 26 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP884\A0126089.dll
823 35 MB \Documents and Settings\norm\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\20.0.1132.57\chrome.dll
541 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP878\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
564 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP879\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
572 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP882\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
558 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP877\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
710 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP874\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
711 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP875\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
567 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP880\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
716 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP876\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
582 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP881\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
586 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP883\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
621 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP884\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
638 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP885\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
565 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP886\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
576 44 MB \System Volume Information\_restore{7DFC4DBE-CE44-4E8E-B423-52A2C921A14E}\RP887\snapshot\_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
651 50 MB \Program Files\Java\jre7\lib\rt.jar
1,247 55 MB \WINDOWS\system32\MRT.exe
1,992 94 MB \Documents and Settings\norm\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\20.0.1132.57\Installer\chrome.7z
341 409 MB \WINDOWS\Installer\4f4e89.msp
19,820 625 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\backup\smoch1968
2,982 635 MB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\organize\smoch1968
41,559 1.90 GB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\backup\sierra1953
19,300 1.90 GB \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0a\organize\sierra1953

 

Still did not have the 10% free space required.
Suggest you move some if the larger folders or files to a thumbdrive then delete from C drive to get more space.

 

You don't need a new computer. As mentioned several times now, you need a bigger, or another hard drive.

3.15Gb is 8% of the disk. 10% (~4Gb) is not going to help with a disk this small. Windows likes lots of room to play in. And by lots, 30Gb of free disk space seems about right, in my experience.

 

What would you suggest if I go to purchase a hard drive? How big, brands, etc.?
Is installation difficult?

 

It is easy for those who have done it few times. If hesitant, you might let a shop do it for you. Many on a discount if you buy the drive there.

While BestBuy's GeekSquad has its sullied side, this is a task they do daily and are fully setup to do.

Also, it seems likely your computer is getting along in years. It is difficult to say when it is time to stop throwing money at it, and buy a new machine. I would guess you are at or near that point.

 

I'm not one to cause issues/problems in the forums, but had to make this last post in this thread.

As Digeratti pointed out, system restore will release space and/or disable itself when available disk space goes below 50 MB.

 

So, do I release this space manually?

 

I suggest you go back and read the suggestions offered. You need to uninstall programs you don't use and clean out the clutter with Windows Disk Cleanup, or CCleaner (if already installed).

Other than that, you have no other choice but to buy a bigger drive to add to your computer, or to replace your current drive.

 

Never have seen what type of PC.
If desktop, could always install a second hard drive and transfer everything but the OS to it.

 

PC XP Pro SP3 desktop