OT: Defragmenting with DVD files on comp BAD??!?

scottshackrock wrote on 7/8/2004, 9:40 AM
I remember reading somewhere a while back that if you defragment your hard drive when you have one or several DVD file movies copied (.VOB's, VIDEO_TS folders, etc. etc.), that the files become corrupt AFTER the defrag.... Is this true?!? My computer desperately needs a defrag, but I do not want any corrupt files!

Additionally, should I just use XP's SCAN DISK Defragger? OR, is there a free one somewhere on the net that is better? Why would it be better?

THANKS
SCOTT

Comments

clearvu wrote on 7/8/2004, 7:16 PM
I've personally never heard of that. That being the case, I've got lots of VOB files sitting on my drives and have defragged them many times. I have yet to have a problem in doing so.

Just lucky? Perhaps, but I am now curious about the truth of your statement.
scottshackrock wrote on 7/8/2004, 8:56 PM
i just wish i could remember where i read it!

I'll keep searching...
Chienworks wrote on 7/9/2004, 6:47 AM
My own personal opinion, but i highly doubt that your computer "desparately needs a defrag". With current drive speeds defragging is very overrated. Personally i would much rather deal with the few extra microseconds needed each day for data access than risk file corruption.
johnmeyer wrote on 7/9/2004, 9:33 AM
Two answers:

1. I agree with Chienworks that defrag is seldom, if ever, needed (although several forum members have heartily disagreed with this in the past).

2. On a healthy computer, defrag will never cause the problem you describe. You definitely should not worry about corruption or other problems when doing a defrag.

I actually did a defrag on my C: drive a week ago for the first time in a year. WinXP said the drive needed to be defragged. I did a disk performance test both before and after. Surprise, surprise: there was absolutely no measurable performance difference between before and after.
Orcatek wrote on 7/10/2004, 7:41 AM
I have XP running a scheduled defrag every night. Never had a problem with files being corrupted on healthy disks. I stored DVD builds that I burn sometimes weeks or months later without problem

kentwolf wrote on 7/11/2004, 12:05 AM
Defragging is good, however, this has been debated a number of times before.. :)

About the only time that defragging will give you problems/corruption would be if the (electric) power goes out in the middle of the defrag.

Now...no question...*that's* bad and will yield corrupted files.

With respect to DVD files in particular being corrupted due to defrag: DVD files are binary files just like a word document or spreadsheet...just a whole lot bigger. Defragging will not corrupt any type of file in particular.
roger_74 wrote on 7/11/2004, 3:27 AM
Splitting hairs maybe, but a "disk perfomance test" won't be any different after a defrag. A file performance test on the other hand might show a big difference.
clearvu wrote on 7/11/2004, 6:52 AM
Defragging DEFINITELY does increase system responsiveness. When I notice programs and files start to load slowly, I defrag and things go back to normal.

I've recommended defragging to my friends when they complain how their system seems slower and after they defrag, they too admit the benefit of doing so.

So, is defragging worth it? Absolutely!
kentwolf wrote on 7/11/2004, 2:23 PM
>>Splitting hairs...a "disk perfomance test" won't be any different after
>>a defrag. A file performance test on the other hand might show a
>>big difference.

Spltting hairs here too: How can one measure disk performance aside from reading or writing *files*? :)
roger_74 wrote on 7/12/2004, 1:44 AM
Programs like Hd Tach do this. They do it so that the whole disk can be inspected and to avoid fragmentation from becoming an issue when benchmarking.