How to defragment HD of MacBook Pro running on OS X 10.6?

[Mayarose]

How to defragment HD of MacBook Pro running on OS X 10.6?

Is there any free/shareware to do this?

I am novice and any practical advise is much appreciated!

Maya.

 

[jaw04005]

Buy iDefrag or erase and reinstall Mac OS X. There's no Apple utility for it. However, you shouldnt have to defragment unless you're moving around large video files, etc as OS X automatically defrags files to a point.

 

[Cboss]

There is no need to defrag it. It will automatically do it on it's own.

 

[Fishrrman]

"There is no need to defrag it. It will automatically do it on it's own."

Totally MISLEADING information.

The OS defrags _some_ files where possible. Others are left untouched.

And if you want to "compact" the disk -- that is, reclaim large contiguous areas of space -- a defrag/optimization app is the ONLY way to do so. There are legitimate reasons as to why someone would do this, particularly in the areas of audio or video production.

To the OP:
If you want a good defrag/optimization app, get "iDefrag". I believe (not sure) that the latest version is actually able to defrag/optimize withOUT having to boot from an external source (normally, this is a basic requirement to defrag/optimize, that is, "boot from your backup" and go to work on the original).

It's inexpensive and proven software.

 

[GGJstudios]

About disk optimization with Mac OS X:

Do I need to optimize?

You probably won't need to optimize at all if you use Mac OS X. Here's why:

• Hard disk capacity is generally much greater now than a few years ago. With more free space available, the file system doesn't need to fill up every "nook and cranny." Mac OS Extended formatting (HFS Plus) avoids reusing space from deleted files as much as possible, to avoid prematurely filling small areas of recently-freed space.
• Mac OS X 10.2 and later includes delayed allocation for Mac OS X Extended-formatted volumes. This allows a number of small allocations to be combined into a single large allocation in one area of the disk.
• Fragmentation was often caused by continually appending data to existing files, especially with resource forks. With faster hard drives and better caching, as well as the new application packaging format, many applications simply rewrite the entire file each time. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther can also automatically defragment such slow-growing files. This process is sometimes known as "Hot-File-Adaptive-Clustering."
• Aggressive read-ahead and write-behind caching means that minor fragmentation has less effect on perceived system performance.

For these reasons, there is little benefit to defragmenting.

If your disks are almost full, and you often modify or create large files (such as editing video, but see the Tip below if you use iMovie and Mac OS X 10.3), there's a chance the disks could be fragmented. In this case, you might benefit from defragmentation, which can be performed with some third-party disk utilities.

 

[Gregg2]

How to defragment HD of MacBook Pro running on OS X 10.6?

Is there any free/shareware to do this?

No. Any optimization app is for sale only. TechTool Pro can do it, along with dozens of other things. iDefrag is probably your best choice as far as cost.