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OSX has its own built-in defrag program?
- Thread starter Tedsterb
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No, but you don't need to defrag OS X as much as you do Windows. If you search the forums with MRoogle, you'll find several threads on this.
Back in the days of Tiger, every software update had a built in disc optimization routine. IMHO same as disc defrag.
I'm sure Leopard has the same thing, just done differently.
I'm sure Leopard has the same thing, just done differently.
Mac OS X will automatically defragment files that are fragmented enough and, if I recall correctly, is 20MB or under. There is no separate program to run, this functionality is built directly into the kernel.
I agree, though my "solution" is to restore from a Time Machine backup so I have enough contiguous drive space for a windows partition.
why is my mac super slow then and i hear the hard drive churning, esp in firefox? I have 35 gb left of free space.
It never used to do this. With windows, I'd defrag and I'd be speedy again.
I've run a virus scan and also cleared my caches with cleanmymac.
No difference, and I have 3 gb of ram. Is my hard drive failing? Like if I just scroll on a web page, I'll get that beach ball. It is very odd, but I don't know the fix short of a complete reinstall.
It never used to do this. With windows, I'd defrag and I'd be speedy again.
I've run a virus scan and also cleared my caches with cleanmymac.
No difference, and I have 3 gb of ram. Is my hard drive failing? Like if I just scroll on a web page, I'll get that beach ball. It is very odd, but I don't know the fix short of a complete reinstall.
Seriously you need to boot off your Snow Leopard installation cd and repair permissions. I've had the beach ball as a major problem where everything I did I would get the beach ball. After I fixed this the first time, the computer was ultra fast for a descent amount of time. These problems came back last night, so I booted off the cd and repaired permissions and now the computer is back to being ultra fast. The only other problem I see is that you need more disk space. 30gb isn't that much. Eitherm delete some stuff, or get a bigger drive.
Actually, every FS fragments it just depends on how much and what kind of impact it has.
As a professor who specializes in kernel design and file systems, I could give you very low-level reasons why this occurs but I'm not that motivated and I don't know how many people would understand it.
To be brutally honest, HFS really sucks as a file system. When you compare it to some of the file systems available for Linux, HFS is very outdated.
Linus Torvalds had commented on how much he liked OS X but hated the file system because of its limited performance and scalability. You can Google for Linus's comments as well as others on HFS.
I purchased iDefrag from the folks at Coriolis and have been very pleased with the results. Also, the Coriolis staff have been excellent to work with. I also purchased iPartition from them as well. I do a great deal of development work on my MBP (lots of VMs) and my performance always takes a hit after a few months work.
I find if I run iDefrag over night I can measure the speed difference the next day. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of defragging their system.
Great Story:
I was at a conference where Linus Torvalds was speaking and somebody asked him about his public comment regarding how badly HFS sucks. He joked that his mailbox was filled with angry Mac users who demanded he retract his statement, offered proof that he was lying, and general fan-boy like threats. He said it was like arguing with people who think we didn't go to the moon...you know that kind of mentality from people who have no idea how file systems work.
Every time I see people make comments like the OP I think about this story and chuckle.
Cheers,
-P
Actually, every FS fragments it just depends on how much and what kind of impact it has.
As a professor who specializes in kernel design and file systems, I could give you very low-level reasons why this occurs but I'm not that motivated and I don't know how many people would understand it.
To be brutally honest, HFS really sucks as a file system. When you compare it to some of the file systems available for Linux, HFS is very outdated.
Linus Torvalds had commented on how much he liked OS X but hated the file system because of its limited performance and scalability. You can Google for Linus's comments as well as others on HFS.
I purchased iDefrag from the folks at Coriolis and have been very pleased with the results. Also, the Coriolis staff have been excellent to work with. I also purchased iPartition from them as well. I do a great deal of development work on my MBP (lots of VMs) and my performance always takes a hit after a few months work.
I find if I run iDefrag over night I can measure the speed difference the next day. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of defragging their system.
Great Story:
I was at a conference where Linus Torvalds was speaking and somebody asked him about his public comment regarding how badly HFS sucks. He joked that his mailbox was filled with angry Mac users who demanded he retract his statement, offered proof that he was lying, and general fan-boy like threats. He said it was like arguing with people who think we didn't go to the moon...you know that kind of mentality from people who have no idea how file systems work.
Every time I see people make comments like the OP I think about this story and chuckle.
Cheers,
-P
Ha! Cool, I thought as much. Nice to see a clarification from someone in the know.
Out of interest, how does HTFS compare?
Do you mean NTFS? NTFS is horrible, because it's not built in. However, since Windows Vista forward, Window will defrag the hard drive automatically, so you don't have to remember to do it.
Could try to make a new account, see if that solves the problems your having?.. second to that try the other alternative (see below)
You might also consider installing the OS on an external and seeing that renders better performance, in which case its sommat to do with your current install
Haha, yeah NTFS. I wrote it a couple of times and thought it didn't look right. Hybrid HFS/NTFS :S.