I been using Mac OS X since Jan. 2003, and I'm not sure if this OS needs to be defragged like windows, cuz I been longtime windows user, and was wondering if OS X needs defragging to keep HD running great, if it does- how do i go about doing it?
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OS X defrag....
- Thread starter PCGamer11
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OSX does not need to be defragged. The HFS+ (Journaled) file system takes care of that. I read somewhere that if a file is 20% or more fragmented when it is opened, the OS automatically defrags it.
Defrag utility for Mac
My Mac running os x has required a defrag utility program about once every year or two. The best one to get is Disc Warrior for OS X. It really brought my Mom's iMac back from the dead.
My Mac running os x has required a defrag utility program about once every year or two. The best one to get is Disc Warrior for OS X. It really brought my Mom's iMac back from the dead.
Re: Defrag utility for Mac
Well, this is a Panther forum, so as 7on just mentioned, HFS+Journaled, which is the default Panther filesystem, has an automatic defragging feature. I guess there may be some usage profiles where the file sizes bypass this Panther feature and defragging would still be necessary, but I would think it would be the exception rather than the rule.
Re: Re: Defrag utility for Mac
Panther only defrags files that you open, as you said. This means that it doesn't defrag *all* the other files. Granted these files shouldn't get too fragmented, is important to point that out IMHO. Also Panther does not optimize file location on disk for speed...
Panther only defrags files that you open, as you said. This means that it doesn't defrag *all* the other files. Granted these files shouldn't get too fragmented, is important to point that out IMHO. Also Panther does not optimize file location on disk for speed...
Because of the way HFS+ stores the catalog which points to the files, it's less important to go through a defragmentation process. Now that Panther takes care of the opened files 20MB and smaller, that should take care of the majority of cases without the need for a defragmentation utility.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Defrag utility for Mac
If the file is fragmented prior to Panther and doesn't fit the criteria for defragmentation, it will remain fragmented. Of course, it's supposed to be that the file was not fragmented prior to Panther, so it's fine not being touched.
If the file is fragmented prior to Panther and doesn't fit the criteria for defragmentation, it will remain fragmented. Of course, it's supposed to be that the file was not fragmented prior to Panther, so it's fine not being touched.
Re: Re: Re: Defrag utility for Mac
This is very true. An app like Norton Speed Disk does do this however and Speed Disk is probably one of the safe Norton apps to use, since it doesn't change any of the data, only its place on the drive.
DiskWarrior isnt a disk optimizer per se. It only optimizes the directory, which is where the system looks to figure out where a file is on the disk.
This is very true. An app like Norton Speed Disk does do this however and Speed Disk is probably one of the safe Norton apps to use, since it doesn't change any of the data, only its place on the drive.
DiskWarrior isnt a disk optimizer per se. It only optimizes the directory, which is where the system looks to figure out where a file is on the disk.