MyDefrag is very slow, what speed can I expect?

FAQ Using - MyDefrag is very slow, what speed can I expect?

Defragmentation and optimization can take a long time, you will have to be patient. In the top of the window you will see the current MyDefrag activity and normally the program will be moving files at a furious rate, dozens of files per second. Big files will take more time, obviously.

• If your computer becomes unresponsive while running MyDefrag (especially the MyDefrag display) then try changing the  Slowdown and/or  ProcessPriority settings in your "Settings.MyD" file to make MyDefrag use less resources.
  Note: It is normal for your computer to be unresponsive while the $MFT is being moved. This is caused by something inside Windows itself, not MyDefrag.
• Try turning off your virusscanner. Some virusscanners get exited and scan all the files that MyDefrag is moving, even though MyDefrag does not execute or change the files.
• MyDefrag can use a lot of memory, depending on the number of files on disk. If your computer is low on memory then it will start swapping and this will make MyDefrag extremely slow, possibly even stop altogether with a "memory full" message. Stop as many programs as possible to free up memory.
• Try a reboot. Sometimes the Microsoft defragmentation API can become mysteriously slow and take a minute to move even a small file. I don't know why, but usually a reboot helps.
• Cleanup old stuff from your harddisk. MyDefrag can move files more efficiently if there is plenty of free space available.
• If you run the program again and there has been a small change in a sorted zone, for example a single file that was added or deleted, then all the files "above" that file have to be moved. This is very inefficient as compared to sorting an unsorted zone. On the display it may look like a small white piece is worming it's way up through the zone, if visible at all.
• Screensavers are run by Windows with the "idle" process priority. If you have programs running in the background then they can make the MyDefrag screensaver very slow.

It is impossible to predict how much running time a script will take. It depends on things such as the optimization you have selected, the speed of your harddisk, how big the files are, how much data is on the disk, how the files are currently placed, and more. Assuming a harddisk speed of 40 megabytes per second, then reading 100 gigabytes of data will take 100000 / 40 = 2500 seconds (42 minutes). But MyDefrag has to do a lot more than just read the data, it also has to write the data, and update the MFT/FAT. And it may have to move data out of the way before it can place an item were it want's it to be. MyDefrag will do things as efficiently as possible, with as little data movement as possible, but it will take a long time nonetheless. If you are concerned about speed then use the Daily script. It will produce good results in a minimum amount of time.

Tip: For more information about what the program is doing you can activate one of the Debug settings in your "C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1\Scripts\Settings.MyD" file. MyDefrag will then write lot's of information to the "C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1\MyDefrag.debuglog" file. Please note that writing the debug logfile takes time, so it will make MyDefrag slower.

See also:

 Frequently Asked Questions