How can I schedule the Disk
Defragmenter to run automatically in Windows XP/2003?
When
you make frequent writes and
deletions from your hard disk your disks will
become fragmented with time. Fragmentation of
the disks will result in lower I/O performance.
In order to prevent loss of performance over
time, it is best to perform routine
defragmentations of your hard disks.
Manual defragmentation of you
disks is possible (see below), but since it
tends to take a lot of time, it is best to
schedule it to automatically run while you are
asleep or away from your computer.
BTW, disk maintenance is also
covered in the
Schedule Disk Cleanup to Run Automatically in
Windows XP/2003 article.
Windows XP/2003 has 2 built-in
tools to assist in performing the necessary
defragmentations of the disks.
Dfrg.msc - The GUI-based Disk Defragmenter
MMC is based on the full retail version of
Executive Software Diskeeper. This version
of Disk Defragmenter MMC that is included
with Windows XP has the following
limitations:
It can defragment only
local volumes.
It can defragment only
one volume at a time.
It cannot defragment one
volume while it is scanning another.
It cannot be scheduled.
If you need to schedule disk
defragmentation, use the Defrag.exe
command line tool.
It can run only one MMC
snap-in at a time.
Defrag.exe - A Command Line tool. This means
you can use the XP/2003 scheduler to
automate the defragmenting of your
partitions.
Note: The volume must have at least 15% free
space for Defrag to completely and adequately
defragment it. Defrag uses this space as a
sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has
less than 15% free space, Defrag only partially
defragments it.
Note: You must be a member of the local
Administrators group in order to defragment your
partitions, however you can run the commands
with the RUNAS command:
Method 1 - Using Schedule Tasks
Open Control Panel, double-click Scheduled
Tasks
Double-click Add Scheduled Task
On the Scheduled Task Wizard dialog, click
Next.
Click Browse and navigate to
windows\system32 folder. Select
defrag.exe and click Open.
In the Scheduled Task Wizard dialog, type a name for the scheduled task (for example
type Disk Defrag).
Under Perform this task, select how often you wish Disk Defragmenter to run. Click Next.
Set the time at which you wish the Disk
Defragmenter scheduled task to run. This
should be a time when your computer is
turned on but not under heavy use (i.e. at
night time).
Select the frequency at which you want the Disk Defragmenter task to run (Every Day,
Weekdays, or Every <N> days, where <N> is
the number of days between scheduled runs).
Click Next.
Enter a user name under which the Disk
Defragmenter scheduled task will run. This
user must be an administrator on the local
machine (see note above). Enter the password
for that user and confirm it. Click Next.
Check Open advanced properties for this task
when I click Finish, and click Finish.
In the Run text box, you can see the full
path and command for defrag.exe.
Add the drive letter for the drive you wish
to defragment to the command in the Run text
box. If you want to defragment drive C:,
your Run command should look like this:
Click OK
In the Set Account Information dialog, enter
and confirm the password for the user listed
in Run as and click OK.
Task Scheduler will automatically run Disk
Defragmenter with the settings you selected
at the time you selected.
Only
one instance of Disk Defragmenter can be running
at any given time. If you have multiple
partitions you'll need to add a separate
scheduled task for each one, and make sure you
give each task a different starting time,
allowing for the previous one to finish.
Method 2 - Using the AT command
You
can also use the AT command from the Command
Prompt.
Go to Start > Run, then type CMD and press
Enter.
In the Command Prompt window type
You
can view the available scheduled tasks by typing
AT and pressing Enter.
Bingo.
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