We are happy to present you the new Auslogics Disk Defrag 3^beta! We call it “new” because Disk Defrag 3^beta is not just a defragmenter but a fully featured disk optimizer. We’ve supplied it with advanced techniques of disk optimization that only paid analogs have. With Disk Defrag 3^beta you can replace regular data files from the MFT Reserved Zone, consolidate free space and optimize system files placement. Let’s have a closer look at how these optimization techniques may affect your PC performance.

System files smart placement

Commonly used by Windows, system files may be scattered all over the disk and intermixed with data files. Disk Defrag 3^beta arranges system files by defragmenting and moving them to the faster part of the disk.  This minimizes the time needed for HDD to access system files and improves overall computer performance.

Free space consolidation

It is not a secret that a simple defragmentation leaves the free space on the disk highly fragmented. It means that there are many free space «holes» all over the disk. Windows fills in those free spaces with newly created or extended files. The more fragmented the free space is, the more fragmented new files will be.

Disk Defrag 3^beta merges all those free space «holes» into a large contiguous block during optimization process. This allows the file system to create new files without fragmentation. As a result, free space consolidation dramatically reduces further disk fragmentation.

Keeping the MFT Reserved Zone Clear

Any NTFS drive is divided into two main zones: MFT and the rest of the disk. MFT (Master File Table) is a place where information about every file and directory is stored. In order to keep MFT records contiguous, Windows reserves about 12.5% of the disk volume for them. This reserved disk space is called “MFT Reserved Zone”.

Normally, NTFS prevents writing data other than MFT records to the MFT Reserved Zone. However, when the rest of the disk space is getting low, the MFT Reserved Zone will be used for storing regular files. This may lead to MFT fragmentation.

Since MFT fragmentation degrades hard drive performance by increasing the number of reads required for some files, it is important to keep the MFT Reserved Zone clear of regular files. Disk Defrag 3^beta moves regular data files from the MFT Reserved Zone into the rest of the disk space. This allows NTFS to allocate contiguous space for the MFT and thus to prevent its fragmentation.

Other improvements include a significantly increased defragmentation speed and a redesigned user interface. Navigating through Disk Defrag 3^beta is now even more simple and intuitive.  For instance, we’ve added a handy auto-defrag icon to easily customize and control an automatic defragmentation mode.  Another useful feature I’d like to mention is an ability of Disk Defrag 3^beta to list all the fragmented files after performing disk analysis. You can select one or several of them to see their clusters’ location on the disk.

And we have more good news for our users – with all the improvements we’ve made, Disk Defrag 3^beta still remains absolutely FREE!

You can download the new Disk Defrag 3^beta here.

Recently I’ve noticed a lot of people on the Internet asking what’s the difference between defragmenting your hard drive and defragmenting the Registry, and why one should defrag the Registry anyway. So here goes!

The Difference

When you defrag your hard disk, defragging software finds fragments of a file, that are scattered all over your hard disk. Then it moves the fragments and groups them together, so that the file is all in one place. So, basically, defragmentation puts the files back together.

Badly fragmented disk really slow down your computer, so you should defrag once a week if you download a lot of files and install a lot of software, or at least once a month.

Defragmenting, or rather compacting the Registry, is a very similar process. The difference is that this time files don’t get defragmented – it’s only your Registry.

How the Registry Gets Fragmented

Programs on your computer access the Registry thousands of times per second. That means that the Registry, just like disk drives, gets bloated and fragmented with time. And of course that affects your PC performance and makes your computer slower. That’s why it’s important to keep the Registry clean and as compact as possible.

Most of the time Registry entries that are not required anymore get deleted (for example, when you uninstall software). But sometimes bits and pieces are left behind and clutter the Registry. All this bloating eventually damages and fragments the Registry. The solution is to get rid of all the junk – just run BoostSpeed Registry Cleaner.

But now you have a different problem – with all unused entries deleted you have free space scattered all over the Registry. And that slows down your computer as well, imply because Windows needs more time to access whichever entries it needs. The solve this problem simply use Auslogics Registry Defrag after you clean the Registry.

Remember that the Registry is a vital component of any Windows system and it is important to perform regular Registry maintenance to ensure your computer stays stable and fast.