mac need to defrag?


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jeanie

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May 19, 2005
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query as above.

i know pc need to defrag often for maintenance, but so far, i havent done any of these on my MBP, IMAC , and MP.

do i need to do it?if so, how do i do it?i cant seem to find any defrag function.

please advise.
thanks:)
 

No, you don't need to de-fragment on typical Mac (HFS+) drives.

Mac OS X, since Tiger, will automatically de-fragment files of 20 (MB) megabytes or fewer. This works quite well.

The HFS/HFS+ file system is fragmentation-resistant and has been since 1985.

It's not like the typical PC with DOS, which couldn't go a busy month without needing reorganisation. Those FAT (FAT-16, FAT-32) drives regularly needed help, but even NTFS (the default on Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Vista) does not need de-fragmentation often.
 

No, you don't need to de-fragment on typical Mac (HFS+) drives.

Mac OS X, since Tiger, will automatically de-fragment files of 20 (MB) megabytes or fewer. This works quite well.

The HFS/HFS+ file system is fragmentation-resistant and has been since 1985.

It's not like the typical PC with DOS, which couldn't go a busy month without needing reorganisation. Those FAT (FAT-16, FAT-32) drives regularly needed help, but even NTFS (the default on Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Vista) does not need de-fragmentation often.

But with windows XP onwards....you can easily schedule and forget about it :thumbsup:
 

defrag will probably help a bit but like the article said its probably not worth the trouble. i have used os x since the very first release and i have not found any need to defrag, unlike windows where access times can get painfully slow.
 

forget about defragging... both NTFS and HFS+ are quite efficient with normal desktop usage.

don't go shorten your harddisk lifespan.

defrag is a thing in the DOS (FAT) days lolz...
 

what's defrag?

De-fragmentation reorganises your disk drive's storage so that things are stored contiguously.

In normal usage, you might open a file several times a week and if it becomes too large for the current allocation area and the next is already in use, the next available allocation area will be used. It's like saving money in several banks in different parts of a city. It may work just fine and give you equivalent service, but you have to waste time and resources to gather everything together to use it. That's fragmentation.

Apple's HFS/HFS+ keeps things sorted for access using binary trees, even if things are located all over the place. It's like having ATMs available wherever you are to get your money quickly.
 

'Defrag' is not needed in normal operation of a 'modern' file system - (NTFS, HFS+, etc). It's a hang over from the simple minded 'FAT' systems from MSDOS days.
Some people so believe in it's merits that the market has responded by providing tools to degrag them anyway.

The only time 'fragmentation' might get bad normally is when you routinely operate near 100% disk capacity - as the system no longer has enough free space to allocate space intelligently, and attempting to 'defrag' a disk that full won't result in an optimal layout anyway.
Another case is a disk that contains a number of log files that are continually being appended to. The log files will fragment. This isn't a normal sort of thing to do a desktop PC though. (And a good reason to put your log files on a different volume on a server).

What might help is something that sits there and monitors disk access for a while to built up a statistical map of what files are accessed most often, then physically re-organise the files to lessen the amount of disk head movement required to access the 'popular' files.
 

guys,
what is HFS?

if i have a external HDD of 1TB that is formatted into fat32(so that my pc can read them too), do i need to defrag that often?
 

I was once told by someone working in Apple computer that the mac OS has a somewhat less messy approach in organising files compared to windows. I am not sure if thats true, but i never did defrag my mac hdd. However, i notice that whenver i do major updates online, during the end phase of an update installation, i heard the hdd working rather hard. I suspect it is rearranging some files on its own without having the user to ever bother about jargons like defrag, sector, etc.
 

guys,

if i have a external HDD of 1TB that is formatted into fat32(so that my pc can read them too), do i need to defrag that often?

I can only answer your second half of the query. For external hdd or slave drives, it is not critical to defrag even for windows unless you run applications using those drives (ie install softwares in slaves).

As for mac, you may ignore defragging external hdd unless it is quite full.

As a general rule of thumb, always keep the memory space below 90% full at its max to allow some freedom for it to juggle the hard disk space. It may not be wise to max out a hdd whether master or slave drives as it can slow down a search function or utility program.

Oh, do not install norton to take control of your disk drives. It can slow down the whole system as it tries to be smart. I do not doubt norton has very intuitive programs, but it does slow down the system when you let the application run on the background full time.
 

I can only answer your second half of the query. For external hdd or slave drives, it is not critical to defrag even for windows unless you run applications using those drives (ie install softwares in slaves).

As for mac, you may ignore defragging external hdd unless it is quite full.

As a general rule of thumb, always keep the memory space below 90% full at its max to allow some freedom for it to juggle the hard disk space. It may not be wise to max out a hdd whether master or slave drives as it can slow down a search function or utility program.

Oh, do not install norton to take control of your disk drives. It can slow down the whole system as it tries to be smart. I do not doubt norton has very intuitive programs, but it does slow down the system when you let the application run on the background full time.

thanks for the answers.appreciated.:)
i'm beginning to transit from pc to mac slowly.
because of all my pics.all in all now about 16TB of data.
i'm still trying to sort out space to store them in my macpro.

Norton?i ALWAYS have problems with norton and my PC.seems like there'a alot of 'conflicts'.
and i'm really begiining to be sick and tired of PC system.and i'm even more sick at the thought of going to SLS.really hate that place and it's merchants.

i bought norton antivirus for my mac...and seems like whenever i download the virus definitions, it wouldnt load!it always shows error!in the end, i had to go to norton website to download and install the definitions manually.

sigh...
 

Hey Jeanie

No prob. My pleasure indeed.

If i may suggest, you should rid your norton application in all your mac. Do it one by one (starting with your oldest mac) and see if there are resource conflicts.Then reboot.

One of the best utility program on a mac, other than faithful online updates, is to use the disk utility program. (go to finder, applications, disk utility). At disk utility, click on First Aid tab and perform a Disk Verfy and Repair permissions. Follow the tabs. oh, remember to close up all programs running in the background. Once done, do not do anything and reboot or shut down the mac before next use.

As for anti virus program, it is not needed on a mac. Dont ask me why, but i just followed the apple technician instruction and never install any such virus programs. LOL

I used to love Norton in the early nineties as it make me look good whenever a noob sits by my pc. However, after using it for over a decade, I relaised that Norton is known to be dominating and its applications are very nosy. It wants to know what you do and it tries to take control with its own commands. End up, it sometimes conflict with windows softwares. And even if it does not create much conflicts, it just slows done a computer). Removing norton is a bitch (sorry, i have to use the word) cos it will have many error prompts. I feel it is deliberated efforts so that whoever installs the program, have to keep on using it.

My next suggestion if for you to consider formatting your PC and rid norton. install a simple anti virus program instead - one which does not has much "special utilities." It should run like a breeze. (my personal opinion here, please. haha).

Like what some people say. Mac is simple and stupid. No pun intended here, but it really is so simple to use. It just works.
 

a year ago, i was really hesitating switching to mac.i even started threads on mac, will i finally venture into it.and realised what a good system it is to use compared to pc.

no regrets at all, which is why i ended up with MBP,imac, MP.but with the recent arrival of MP, i'll surely underutilise the imac.i usually surf in my house with my MBP because of it's portability.

will take all your suggestions in mind.
thanks so much.
 

i'm beginning to transit from pc to mac slowly.

bill gate is pouring his money back to benefit the world, support him by installing windows and microsoft office in all your mads. :)
 

guys,
what is HFS?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFS_Plus

A disk must have a catalogue and system of organisation. (A 'File(ing) System).
HFS(+) is what the Mac uses to organise it's disks.

if i have a external HDD of 1TB that is formatted into fat32(so that my pc can read them too), do i need to defrag that often?

Would rather depend on what you were doing with it - but I doubt it. If it's a USB disk the bottleneck will be elsewhere.
 

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