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.

It’s not a secret that hard disks are the slowest part of a computer. That’s  because they have moving parts, unlike RAM and CPU.  Fragmentation can significantly slow down a hard drive, since it forces the reading head to move more. As a result your computer becomes slower and you even might start experiencing freeze-ups and system crashes. That’s why it’s very important to keep the disks defragmented.

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free tool to fight disk fragmentation. It doesn’t need to analyze the disk first, which makes it one of the fastest disk defragmenting tools available today. The program has a clear interface and is very easy to use.

Fragmentation is caused by creating and deleting files and folders, installing new software, and downloading files from the Internet. Computers do not necessarily save an entire file or folder in a single space on a disk; they’re saved in the first available space. After a large portion of a disk has been used, most of the subsequent files and folders are saved in pieces across the volume.

Disk Defrag Options

Apart from basic disk defragmentation, Disk Defrag has an option to defrag single file or folder, lets you schedule defragmentation, and offers command line support.

Command line options allow users to defragment multiple disks, specify how much CPU should be used for defragmentation, and generate detailed HTML logs.  A comprehensive list of error codes is provided, so that system administrators can use the program in their automation scripts.

Home users may find that they are more comfortable with the feature-rich built-in scheduler available in the program settings. The scheduler lets you specify when automatic defragmentation should be performed, which disks to defragment, and if a detailed report should be created.

Auslogics Disk Defrag received awards from reputable websites like CNet, Majorgeeks, and Tucows, and lots of positive user reviews. It is available as a separate free tool or as part of Auslogics BoostSpeed – an award-winning computer optimization suite.