PerfectDisk 10 User Guide

Transcription

Table of Contents
Welcome to PerfectDisk 10! ......................................................................................................................... 1
What’s New in PerfectDisk 10? ..................................................................................................................... 3
Listing What’s New and Different ............................................................................................................. 3
Purchasing PerfectDisk ................................................................................................................................. 5
Purchasing PerfectDisk 10......................................................................................................................... 5
How Many PerfectDisk 10 Licenses Do I Need?........................................................................................ 6
Contact Raxco Software ............................................................................................................................ 6
Help on Help ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Help on Help ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Help’s Primary Job Is to Do Just That ........................................................................................................ 9
Installing PerfectDisk................................................................................................................................... 11
Installing PerfectDisk 10 .......................................................................................................................... 11
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Professional or Home Versions ....................................................................... 11
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Professional or Home Versions ................................................................... 11
Location to Save Files .......................................................................................................................... 11
InstallShield Wizard Welcome ............................................................................................................ 12
PerfectDisk License Agreement .......................................................................................................... 13
Destination Folder............................................................................................................................... 14
Ready to Install the Program .............................................................................................................. 15
Installing PerfectDisk 10 ...................................................................................................................... 16
InstallShield Wizard Completed .......................................................................................................... 17
Check for Updates ............................................................................................................................... 17
Installing PerfectDisk for Windows Home Server ................................................................................... 18
Installing PerfectDisk for Windows Server.............................................................................................. 21
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Installing PerfectDisk 10 for VMWare ..................................................................................................... 27
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition ................................................................................ 33
Uninstalling PerfectDisk 10 ..................................................................................................................... 40
Uninstalling PerfectDisk 10 from your Windows Home Server .............................................................. 41
Re-installing or Upgrading PerfectDisk ................................................................................................... 43
Repairing PerfectDisk .............................................................................................................................. 44
Entering License Key post-installation .................................................................................................... 45
PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Wizard Screens ................................................................................................... 47
PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Wizard Screens ............................................................................................... 47
Welcome Screen One (trial vs. licensed version) .................................................................................... 47
Welcome Screen Two: Configure PerfectDisk and external storage ...................................................... 48
Welcome Screen Three: Schedule .......................................................................................................... 49
Welcome Screen Four: Selected Features and Benefits ......................................................................... 50
PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation ................................................................................................................ 51
PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation ............................................................................................................ 51
Differentiating OS-level from application-level fragmentation .............................................................. 52
Understanding the Defragmentation Tab ............................................................................................... 52
Defragmentation fundamentals ............................................................................................................. 53
Best PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation Practices ..................................................................................... 55
A Defragmentation Primer ...................................................................................................................... 56
A Defragmentation Primer .................................................................................................................. 56
Why Defragment Files? ....................................................................................................................... 56
Why Consolidate Free Space? ............................................................................................................. 57
Online and Offline Defragmentation .................................................................................................. 58
PerfectDisk’s Defragmentation Algorithms ............................................................................................ 58
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Table of Contents
PerfectDisk’s Defragmentation Algorithms ........................................................................................ 58
PerfectDisk SMARTPlacement ............................................................................................................ 59
Consolidate Free Space ....................................................................................................................... 59
Defrag Only ......................................................................................................................................... 59
File-by-File (“Selected Files”) Defragmentation.................................................................................. 60
Choosing a Defragmentation Method .................................................................................................... 60
Managing and Monitoring Defragmentation in PerfectDisk .................................................................. 61
Managing and Monitoring Defragmentation in PerfectDisk 10 ......................................................... 61
The Defragmentation Drive Pane ....................................................................................................... 61
Using the Drive Pane in PerfectDisk.................................................................................................... 63
Defragmentation Statistics Tab........................................................................................................... 63
Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 64
File ....................................................................................................................................................... 66
Most Fragmented Files ....................................................................................................................... 66
Excluded Files ...................................................................................................................................... 67
File Types............................................................................................................................................. 67
Performance Chart .............................................................................................................................. 68
Free Space Chart ................................................................................................................................. 68
Analyzing Disk Drives .............................................................................................................................. 69
Analyzing Disk Drives .......................................................................................................................... 69
Reading a Disk Map ............................................................................................................................. 71
Defragmenting Selected Files ................................................................................................................. 72
Working with System Files ...................................................................................................................... 74
Working with System Files .................................................................................................................. 74
Defragmenting System Files on a System (OS) Disk............................................................................ 75
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Defragmenting System Files on Locked Disk ...................................................................................... 76
Boot Time Defragmentation ............................................................................................................... 77
When Boot Time Defragmentation Fails ............................................................................................ 78
Best Practices for Boot Time/Offline Defragmentation ...................................................................... 82
Defragmenting Drives on a Windows Home Server ............................................................................... 82
Drive Properties Controls ............................................................................................................................ 85
Drive Properties Controls ........................................................................................................................ 85
Online Defragmentation Settings ........................................................................................................... 85
Offline Defragmentation ......................................................................................................................... 87
Excluded Files .......................................................................................................................................... 88
Drive Info................................................................................................................................................. 90
PerfectDisk Settings .................................................................................................................................... 91
PerfectDisk Settings ................................................................................................................................ 91
General .................................................................................................................................................... 92
Log Settings ............................................................................................................................................. 93
Auto Update ............................................................................................................................................ 94
Power Options ........................................................................................................................................ 96
AutoPilot Schedule .................................................................................................................................. 97
Removable Storage ................................................................................................................................. 98
System Resource Priority ........................................................................................................................ 99
File Types............................................................................................................................................... 101
Duplicate Search Settings ..................................................................................................................... 102
PerfectDisk Log View................................................................................................................................. 105
PerfectDisk Log View ............................................................................................................................. 105
Log View Window ................................................................................................................................. 105
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Table of Contents
Log View Best Practices......................................................................................................................... 107
Scheduling Defragmentation .................................................................................................................... 109
Scheduling Defragmentation ................................................................................................................ 109
What is PerfectDisk Scheduling?........................................................................................................... 109
PerfectDisk Schedule Types .................................................................................................................. 109
PerfectDisk AutoPilot Schedule Options ............................................................................................... 111
Creating a Schedule .............................................................................................................................. 112
Creating a Schedule .......................................................................................................................... 112
Creating a One-Time Schedule.......................................................................................................... 113
Creating a Daily Schedule.................................................................................................................. 118
Creating a Weekly Schedule ............................................................................................................. 123
Creating a Screen Saver Schedule ..................................................................................................... 129
Creating a StealthPatrol Schedule .................................................................................................... 133
Creating an Exchange One Time schedule ........................................................................................ 137
Creating an Exchange Weekly Schedule ........................................................................................... 140
Creating a VMware One Time schedule ........................................................................................... 142
Creating a VMware Weekly schedule ............................................................................................... 143
Creating a Schedule from a Template............................................................................................... 145
Saving a Schedule Template ................................................................................................................. 147
Running a Schedule ............................................................................................................................... 149
Scheduling Defragmentation on a Remote Computer ......................................................................... 150
Editing a Schedule ................................................................................................................................. 151
Renaming a Schedule ............................................................................................................................ 154
Disabling a Schedule ............................................................................................................................. 155
Enabling a Schedule .............................................................................................................................. 156
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Deleting a Schedule............................................................................................................................... 157
Configuring a Schedule to Run Under Special Conditions .................................................................... 158
Configuring a Schedule to Run Under Special Conditions ................................................................ 158
Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Turned Off .............................................. 158
Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Hibernating ............................................. 160
How does StealthPatrol know when my computer is idle? .................................................................. 161
How do I monitor resource usage to customize StealthPatrol idle thresholds for a specific
environment?........................................................................................................................................ 162
Using Space Management ........................................................................................................................ 167
Using Space Management .................................................................................................................... 167
The Space Management tab ................................................................................................................. 167
Using Recycler ....................................................................................................................................... 169
Using Recycler ................................................................................................................................... 169
Navigating the Recycler .................................................................................................................... 170
Starting Recycler ............................................................................................................................... 171
Stopping Recycler.............................................................................................................................. 173
Viewing Recycler results and statistics ............................................................................................. 173
Using Duplicates Finder ........................................................................................................................ 175
Using Duplicates Finder .................................................................................................................... 175
Navigating the Duplicates Finder ...................................................................................................... 176
Starting Duplicates Finder ................................................................................................................. 180
Stopping Duplicates Finder ............................................................................................................... 182
Viewing Duplicates Finder results ..................................................................................................... 182
Deleting duplicates cautiously .......................................................................................................... 184
Using Space Explorer............................................................................................................................. 184
Using Space Explorer......................................................................................................................... 184
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Table of Contents
Navigating the Space Explorer .......................................................................................................... 185
Starting Space Explorer ..................................................................................................................... 187
Stopping Space Explorer ................................................................................................................... 187
Expanding a Folder from the Graph in Space Explorer ..................................................................... 188
Exploring a Folder in Windows Explorer from the Radial Column Graph ......................................... 189
Opening and deleting files in Space Explorer ................................................................................... 191
Using Space Reports.............................................................................................................................. 192
Using Space Reports.......................................................................................................................... 192
Navigating the Space Reports ........................................................................................................... 193
Starting Space Reports ...................................................................................................................... 196
Stopping Space Reports .................................................................................................................... 197
Viewing Space Reports results .......................................................................................................... 198
Working with PerfectDisk 10 on Servers .................................................................................................. 201
Working with PerfectDisk 10 on Servers .............................................................................................. 201
Configuring PerfectDisk 10 on Server ................................................................................................... 201
Best Practices for PerfectDisk on Server Scheduling ............................................................................ 202
Special Server Scenarios ....................................................................................................................... 204
Special Server Scenarios ................................................................................................................... 204
Backup Servers .................................................................................................................................. 205
File Servers ........................................................................................................................................ 205
Media Servers ................................................................................................................................... 205
Print Servers ...................................................................................................................................... 205
SQL Servers ....................................................................................................................................... 206
Web Servers ...................................................................................................................................... 206
Overview: Using PerfectDisk 10 with Active Directory ............................................................................. 207
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Overview: Using PerfectDisk 10 with Active Directory ......................................................................... 207
Related Topics: ...................................................................................................................................... 207
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory ................................................................................... 207
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory ............................................................................... 207
Related Topics: .................................................................................................................................. 208
Benefits of Managing PerfectDisk with Active Directory ...................................................................... 208
Benefits of Managing PerfectDisk with Active Directory .................................................................. 208
Related Topics ................................................................................................................................... 209
Patching PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy ................................................................... 209
Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy .............................................................. 210
Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy .......................................................... 210
Configuring PerfectDisk Policies at the Computer and User Levels.................................................. 210
Computer Settings ............................................................................................................................ 214
User Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 218
Related Topics ................................................................................................................................... 219
Deploying PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy ................................................................. 219
Deploying PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy ............................................................. 220
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Users and Computers.................................................. 220
Related Topics ................................................................................................................................... 228
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy Management (GPOs) from the Microsoft
Group Policy Management Console ................................................................................................. 228
Related Topics ................................................................................................................................... 237
Using PerfectDisk for Exchange ................................................................................................................ 239
Using PerfectDisk for Exchange ............................................................................................................ 239
PerfectDisk for Exchange overview....................................................................................................... 239
The PerfectDisk Exchange tab ............................................................................................................... 240
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Table of Contents
Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange ................................................................................................... 241
Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange ............................................................................................... 241
Specify the backup directory ............................................................................................................ 243
Specify the working directory ........................................................................................................... 245
Using a remote share for Exchange defragmentation ...................................................................... 247
Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange in virtual environments ........................................................ 248
Defragmenting an Exchange data store................................................................................................ 248
Defragmenting an Exchange data store............................................................................................ 248
Preconditions for defragmenting Exchange data stores .................................................................. 249
Starting Exchange data store defragmentation ................................................................................ 250
Stopping Exchange data store defragmentation .............................................................................. 251
Viewing details of Exchange defragmentation ................................................................................. 251
Viewing Exchange defragmentation statistics .................................................................................. 252
Scheduling PerfectDisk for Exchange .................................................................................................... 253
Scheduling PerfectDisk for Exchange ................................................................................................ 253
Creating an Exchange defragmentation schedule ............................................................................ 254
Editing an Exchange defragmentation schedule............................................................................... 254
Deleting an Exchange defragmentation schedule ............................................................................ 256
Renaming an Exchange defragmentation schedule ......................................................................... 257
Enabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule ............................................................................ 258
Disabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule ........................................................................... 259
PerfectDisk for Exchange Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................ 260
PerfectDisk for Exchange Frequently Asked Questions .................................................................... 260
How long does it take to defragment an Exchange data store? ....................................................... 260
How much free space is required to defragment an Exchange data store?..................................... 260
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How often should I defragment an Exchange data store? ............................................................... 261
What versions of Exchange Server does PerfectDisk support? ........................................................ 261
Troubleshooting PerfectDisk for Exchange ........................................................................................... 261
Troubleshooting PerfectDisk for Exchange ....................................................................................... 261
What is a CallBackNotResolved error? ............................................................................................. 262
What is a jet error message? ............................................................................................................ 262
PerfectDisk for Virtual Computing ............................................................................................................ 265
PerfectDisk for Virtual Computing ........................................................................................................ 265
Defragmenting virtual computer drives overview ................................................................................ 265
Defragmenting virtual computer drives overview ............................................................................ 265
Restoring virtual machine performance ........................................................................................... 266
Virtual Servers (Windows Host OS)................................................................................................... 266
The Virtual Computer tab (PerfectDisk for VMware only) ................................................................... 267
The Virtual Computer tab (PerfectDisk for VMware only) ............................................................... 267
Virtual Computer Control Bar ........................................................................................................... 269
Virtual Computer Available Virtual Guest List .................................................................................. 270
Virtual Computer Available Virtual Host List .................................................................................... 271
The Active Directory tab (PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition only) ................................................ 272
The Active Directory tab (PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition only) ............................................ 272
Changing virtual settings ................................................................................................................... 273
Defragmenting virtual computer drives ............................................................................................... 275
Defragmenting virtual computer drives ........................................................................................... 275
Adding a virtual guest to the Available Virtual Guest List ................................................................ 275
Starting virtual computer defragmentation ..................................................................................... 276
Stopping virtual computer defragmentation .................................................................................... 277
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Table of Contents
Shrinking virtual computer drives ..................................................................................................... 278
Viewing virtual computer defragmentation results ......................................................................... 280
Running PerfectDisk 10 from the Command Line..................................................................................... 281
Running PerfectDisk 10 from the Command Line ................................................................................. 281
PDCmd.exe Is Your PerfectDisk CLI Tool ............................................................................................... 282
PDCmd.exe Command Reference ......................................................................................................... 282
PDCmd.exe Command Line Examples .................................................................................................. 283
PDCmd.exe Command Line Examples .............................................................................................. 283
Status ................................................................................................................................................ 283
Analyze and /Stat-analyze................................................................................................................. 284
/Dol, /Analyze, and /Stat-analyze ..................................................................................................... 284
/Id file identifier lookup .................................................................................................................... 285
/Help ................................................................................................................................................. 286
PerfectDisk Network Operation ................................................................................................................ 287
PerfectDisk Network Operation ............................................................................................................ 287
PerfectDisk Network and Stand-alone modes ...................................................................................... 287
Configuring Windows Firewall for Remote Connectivity ...................................................................... 288
Running defragmentation on a remote computer ............................................................................... 288
Running Defragmentation from the Command Line ............................................................................ 291
Scheduling defragmentation on a remote computer ........................................................................... 291
Product Resources .................................................................................................................................... 293
Product Resources ................................................................................................................................ 293
Links on the Left .................................................................................................................................... 293
Defragmentation Statistics to the Right ............................................................................................... 293
Certifications Below .............................................................................................................................. 294
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Index.......................................................................................................................................................... 295
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Welcome to PerfectDisk 10!
The Industry Standard in Disk Defragmentation
Congratulations!
You have selected PerfectDisk 10®, the fastest and most complete disk defragmenter available.
PerfectDisk ensures that your Windows 2008, Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000,
and Windows Home Server systems maintain the best possible performance. PerfectDisk solutions for
virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server, VMware ESX Server,
VMware Server, and VMware Workstation are also available.
PerfectDisk’s patented SMARTPlacement™ defragmentation technology provides fast, efficient, and
complete defragmentation of even your largest drives with minimal system resource usage. System
utilization based defragmentation regimes such as StealthPatrol™ and Screen Saver (part of our
AutoPilot Scheduling™) keep your systems optimized whenever they’re not in use. Advanced space
management tools and techniques, including Space Explorer™, help you make best use of your storage
space, along with Space Restoration Technology™ to provide single-pass free space consolidation, and
Free Space Management to recapture wasted disk space.
PerfectDisk’s Enterprise Console provides powerful and scalable network deployment, management,
scheduling, and reporting for all PerfectDisk products across your organization’s networks.
As a Certified for Windows application, PerfectDisk maintains your system performance according to
Microsoft’s highest standards for safety and reliability.
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What’s New in PerfectDisk 10?
Listing What’s New and Different
Here’s a quick peek at the additions, changes, and enhancements making their debut in PerfectDisk 10:
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Improved User Interface
Greater contrast on progress bars and drive map provide a better visual experience.
Faster drive analysis and defragmentation
We’ve made improvements that result in up to 30% faster analyze and defragmentation
passes.
New ability to Pause and Resume defragmentation passes
You can temporarily pause PerfectDisk to run an application like a game or burn a dvd
and then resume defragmentation without PerfectDisk having to re-analyze the drive.
StealthPatrol supports automatic CPU/Disk threshold adjustment
This setting allows StealthPatrol to run when system activity keeps StealthPatrol from
running for an extended period of time.
PerfectDisk is now virtualization aware Exclusive New Feature!! (PerfectDisk Virtual
Enterprise only).
PerfectDisk Enterprise is the first centrally manageable defragmentation program that is
both aware of its virtual existence and able to adjust its resource consumption behavior
dynamically with respect to physical host resource loads. PerfectDisk running in a virtual
guest environment can communicate with its virtual host (Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft
Virtual Server, VMware ESX) to determine host CPU and disk resource usage, and to
limit guest defragmentation operations so as not to impact other guests or overload the
host server.
PerfectDisk for VMware adds scheduling of virtual machine optimizations
Scheduled operations also include the ability to shut down a running virtual machine
prior to performing optimization and restart that virtual machine when optimization
completes.
PerfectDisk for Exchange enhanced to allow bulk configuration
The latest version now supports global redirection for temporary and working Exchange
store locations. Sites that employ large numbers of data stores will benefit from more
efficient and effective configuration.
New Fragmentation/Free Space Recovered cumulative counters
PerfectDisk now displays the number of files defragmented and the amount of free
space recovered since it was installed.
Enhanced integration between different automated and manual defragmentation
methods
StealthPatrol and Screen Saver defrag methods no longer prevent manual, command
line, or defined schedule defragmentation passes from running.
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4
Enhanced self-diagnostics
Built-in program analysis and diagnosis features can detect and repair the most
common issues that users are likely to encounter when installing, configuring, or using
PerfectDisk. These include diagnosis and repair or replacement of PerfectDisk registry
keys and key program files.
Enhanced Space Management
Users can quickly analyze and visualize file type space distribution, when files were
created, oldest files, biggest files, and most defragmented files. It’s also easy to find
where files are located on a disk.
Enhanced Command Line capabilities
Users can analyze and obtain statistics directly from the PerfectDisk command line,
especially helpful for automated, batch reporting systems or for tie-ins to enterprise
management consoles.
Pause PerfectDisk
You can now pause PerfectDisk during defragmentation. There is no limit to how long a
pause can last, though the Drive Map could grow stale and require refreshing to include
newly fragmented files upon resumption (otherwise they will be skipped).
Purchasing PerfectDisk
Purchasing PerfectDisk 10
The following table gives you information about PerfectDisk versions available for various computing
platforms and usage scenarios. Use this information to help you decide which version(s) of PerfectDisk
you need. You can also contact Raxco Software for additional assistance, if needed.
If you have
Consider these versions
Windows Server
PerfectDisk 10 Server
2008/2003/2000
Windows 7 Vista/XP/2000 PerfectDisk 10 Professional or PerfectDisk 10 Home
Professional version is for office/professional use, Home for use at home and doesn’t include all
features found in PerfectDisk Professional.
Windows Home Server
Windows Vista/XP 2000
running VMWare
Workstation
PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server
PerfectDisk 10 for VMware
combines the power of PerfectDisk 10 with additional functionality for a VMware Workstation
environment to help you automatically boost VMware performance and reclaim VMware disk space.
PerfectDisk 10 for VMware goes beyond basic disk defragmentation by automatically defragmenting
virtual disk drives, improves VMware host performance by re indexing virtual disk drives, and reclaims
unused space by shrinking virtual disk drives and defragments host disk drives.
or
Windows Server
2008/2003/2000 running
VMWare Server
PerfectDisk 10 Professional
PerfectDisk 10 for VMware
combines the power of PerfectDisk 10 with additional functionality for your VMware Server
environment to help you automatically boost VMware performance and reclaim VMware disk space.
PerfectDisk 10 for VMware goes beyond basic disk defragmentation by automatically defragmenting
virtual disk drives, improves VMware host performance by re indexing virtual disk drives, and reclaims
unused space by shrinking virtual disk drives and defragments host disk drives.
or
Windows guests running in PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition
PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise is the first centrally manageable defragmentation program that is both
a virtual environment,
aware of its virtual existence and able to adjust its resource consumption behavior dynamically with
including Hyper-V, ESX, or respect to physical host resource loads. PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise running in a virtual guest
environment can communicate with its virtual host (Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server,
Virtual Server
VMware ESX or other Windows based host) to determine host CPU and disk resource usage, and will
dynamically adjust defragmentation activity in order to not impact other guests or overload the host
server.
or
PerfectDisk 10 Professional (workstation guests)
PerfectDisk 10 Server (server guests)
Microsoft Exchange Server PerfectDisk 10 for Exchange
combines the power of PerfectDisk 10 Server with additional functionality for your Exchange Server
2007/2003/2000/5.5
environment. PerfectDisk 10 for Exchange automates the compaction/defragmentation of Microsoft
Exchange data stores.
or
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How Many PerfectDisk 10 Licenses Do I Need?
The terms of the PerfectDisk 10 license require one license per machine upon which PerfectDisk remains
installed, outside the 30-day trial period. For two machines, including notebook or laptop PCs, two
copies are required. Also, if you are using VMWare or VMWare ESX Server, or Microsoft Virtual
PC/Server, and you wish to defragment within individual virtual machines, each VM also requires its own
PerfectDisk license. Please contact Raxco Software for answers to any licensing questions you may have.
Contact Raxco Software
To contact Raxco Software Sales with questions about any of our products, please try any of the
following:
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Telephone:
Toll-free: 1-800-546-9728
Corporate Sales: 1-301-527-0803
•
Fax: 1-301-519-7711
•
E-mail:
[email protected]
•
Technical Support
www.perfectdisk.com/support
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Re seller information
Search for “Re seller List” at www.perfectdisk.com
Vendors not on the Raxco re seller list can purchase PerfectDisk 10 copies from Ingram
Micro.
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Volume and Educational Discounts
For volume or educational pricing, please contact Raxco directly or through one of its re
sellers to request a quote customized to meet your needs.
Help on Help
Help on Help
We’ve tried to construct these Help files to make them as usable as possible, with informative titles and
generous support for search terms. As you look for information inside this Help system, you will find that
we’ve integrated troubleshooting tips and best practices for program use into our coverage of the major
program divisions that PerfectDisk 10 itself presents to its users.
As you go looking for help about PerfectDisk specifics, please pay attention to the following elements of
the program’s user interface:
•
Major program tabs: these appear as folder tabs right below the program window’s title
bar, next to the PerfectDisk 10 logo symbol (shown below, along with some illustrative
tabs). Tab headings include entries that read Defragmentation, AutoPilot Scheduling,
Space Management, Active Directory, VMWare, Exchange, and Product Resources. Any
and all of these tab headings provide entry points into our Help system as well as into
the program itself.
•
Window Titles:
Whenever PerfectDisk 10 opens a window, that window has a title that appears in white
text on a dark blue background. If you search on window title text in the help files to
locate information, you will nearly always find something useful that way. The next
graphic shows the title that appears on all of PerfectDisk 10’s welcome screens, which
appear by default after installation whenever you start the program until you click the
“Do not show this wizard again” check box at the bottom left of each such window.
This title appears on all of the PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Screens, and when you click the Guided Tour icon in the Product
Resources tab.
•
Command Bar titles:
Each program tab in PerfectDisk 10 has its command bar layout and contents. You can
use the text that labels icons and other content within any given command bar to search
for help on related features and functions. Here’s a set of screenshots for the most
common command bar elements, with active tab information to let you see what’s
what:
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The Defragmentation tab displays this command bar
The Autopilot Scheduling tab displays this command bar (Existing Schedule icons light up only after you define one).
The Space Management tab displays this command bar
The Active Directory tab displays a very simple command bar
The Program Resources tab displays this command bar
8
Help on Help
Please note that View Log and PerfectDisk Settings appear in nearly every command bar. The
preceding screenshots show Virtual Settings instead, because they were generated from an
instance of PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition.
•
Proprietary terms:
Whenever you see unique PerfectDisk terms, such as SMARTPlacement, StealthPatrol,
Space Restoration Technology, Selected Files Defrag, Free Space Management, and so
forth, it’s easy to find out more about them by following links through the Product
Resources or by searching on those terms inside Help. In general, most three to five
word phrases that don’t include articles will generally work pretty well when searching
for information.
Help’s Primary Job Is to Do Just That
We want you to find these help files to be informative and useful, and for them to explain how
PerfectDisk works and behaves. If you have questions the help file doesn’t address, please let us know. If
you have suggestions for additional topics, added coverage, better explanations or language, or ideas on
how we can improve on our help system, we’d really like to hear from you. You can visit the Support
pages at www.PerfectDisk.com/support/ and use the “Contact Support” link to share any or all of your
input with us. We promise to read everything carefully, and to let your input guide us when the time
comes for revisions, corrections, and enhancements to these pages.
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Installing PerfectDisk
Installing PerfectDisk 10
In the vast majority of cases, installing PerfectDisk simply means running the install executable file and
following the prompts through to completion. Nevertheless, we will walk you through this process so
you can see here what you should see on your computer screen when installing the software.
As when installing most Windows programs, you should log into an account with administrative
privileges to successfully install PerfectDisk 10 on your PC. If you login to the named Administrator
account, other users won’t see a PerfectDisk 10 entry on their program menus. If other users need to
run this program, we recommend navigating into C:\Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10
(or wherever the program resides) and then pinning the PerfectDisk.exe file to the Start menu. If you’re
running Vista or Windows Server 2008, you will also have to grant permission when presented with a
UAC prompt asking if it’s OK to run the PerfectDisk installer program.
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Professional or Home Versions
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Professional or Home Versions
Because most users will install either Home or Professional versions of the PerfectDisk software, we
present that install sequence first. Because PerfectDisk 10 Home is a subset of PerfectDisk 10
Professional, both programs share an identical installation sequence, except that Home users must
enter a valid Home license key to register their software, whereas Professional users must instead enter
a valid Professional license key to register their software.
Location to Save Files
During the install process, the first PerfectDisk 10 screen that you will see is a request to supply a folder
where you’ll save the PerfectDisk 10 install files. By default this is C:\Program
Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install. Unless you have a compelling reason to change this,
you can simply click the Next button to proceed further. If you do wish to change the file location, click
the Change button and you’ll see a prompt to supply a different directory specification for the target.
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Next, the installer will inform you that it’s extracting files. The PerfectDisk 10 installer executable is
actually self-extracting ZIP files. During this process, they’re actually extracting and expanding the
compressed installer files for both 32- and 64-bit OS versions to the target directories on your hard disk.
InstallShield Wizard Welcome
The next screen you see occurs after the self-extractor turns over control to the real PerfectDisk installer
program known as InstallShield. This produces the InstallShield Wizard welcome screen.
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This simply tells you that the formal installation process is now underway, so you’ll click the Next button
at the lower right to proceed to the next activity.
PerfectDisk License Agreement
The next screen presents Raxco Software Inc.’s licensing agreement for use of the software. You’ll need
to click the radio button next to “I accept the terms in the license agreement” to continue forward with
the installation process. You can review the entire agreement by scrolling inside the frame inside which
it appears, or use the Print button beneath that frame to produce hard copy on your printer.
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Destination Folder
The next step is to review the installer’s default choice for the target directory for the actual program
files, C:\Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10. As earlier in the process, you can click the
Change button to override this default election, but in most cases that should not be necessary. You can
also click the check box to the left of “Install a desktop icon” if you want a shortcut to the
PerfectDisk.exe executable to appear on your desktop.
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Ready to Install the Program
The next step provides you with the opportunity to use the Back buttons on the installer windows to
return to earlier screens and change your installation settings. Once you click the Install button at the
lower right of the screen, however, those choices will govern PerfectDisk’s install location.
15
Installing PerfectDisk 10
Next, the Installer informs you that it’s actively installing PerfectDisk 10. The Status bar will show varying
levels of green to indicate progress with a variety of tasks along the way, such as copying files, adding or
updating registry keys, and so forth. This screen will remain visible as the installer works its way through
the entire PerfectDisk installation process, unless you click the Cancel button to abort the install process.
In that case, it will terminate the installation process, clean up the files already copied to your hard disk,
and reset any registry changes or remove any registry additions it had made.
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InstallShield Wizard Completed
Next, the program informs you that PerfectDisk installation has completely successfully. You can click
the Finish button to exit this wizard, and conclude the installation process. Please note that the check
box next to “Check for updates” is checked by default, so the program will immediately proceed to
perform that check as soon as you click the Finish button.
Check for Updates
PerfectDisk Auto Update opens a small status window to let you know it’s checking for updates.
17
In most cases you’ll see a report window pop up on top of the Auto Update window that reads “You are
currently running the latest version of PerfectDisk 10 Professional;” if there are updates available, you’ll
get status information that indicates updates are being downloaded and installed.
This concludes the installation process for PerfectDisk10.
There are some aspects of the program that appear the first time you run it (and for so long as you do
not instruct the Welcome Wizard to turn itself off). Read more about this in the next section, entitled
“PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Wizard Screens.”
Installing PerfectDisk for Windows Home Server
When you download or otherwise obtain a copy of the PerfectDisk 10 installer file named
PD10_WHS.exe, run that file on a Windows machine on the same network segment where your
Windows Home Server resides. By default this unpacks the contents of this self-installing ZIP file to a
directory named Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install. If the machine upon which
you will run this program already has PerfectDisk 10 installed, you may want to retarget this operation
to a different directory, such as Program Files\WHS, in which case the unzip operation unpacks its
files into Program Files\WHS\PerfectDisk10Install, which produces a file layout like this:
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1. On a home computer, right-click the Windows Home Server tray icon, and then click Shared
Folders.
2. In Shared Folders, double-click the Software folder.
3. Double-click the Add-Ins folder.
4. Copy the PerfectDisk_x86.msi to the Add-Ins folder.
If you are installing from a downloaded package, the PerfectDisk_x86.msi
should have been extracted to:
C:\Program
Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install\PerfectDisk10_Home_Server\PerfectDisk_x
86.msi
o If you are installing from a CD, the PerfectDisk_x86.msi is on the CD in the
PerfectDisk10_Home_Server folder.
o
5. Close the Add-Ins folder.
6. Right-click the Windows Home Server tray icon, and then click Windows Home Server Console.
19
7. Type the Windows Home Server password, and then click Next.
8. Click Settings on the console.
9. On Windows Home Server Settings, click Add-ins.
10. Click the Available tab.
11. Select PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server, and click Install to install the Add-in.
20
12. Click OK on the Installation succeeded dialog box to restart the console.
13. Reconnect to the console. The PerfectDisk 10 console tab now appears on the console.
Please note that PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server looks and behaves just like PerfectDisk 10
Professional on a Windows Home Server system. In fact, it even requests a PerfectDisk 10 Professional
license key when you elect to register this software. Despite those appearances, the PerfectDisk 10
executable in the PerfectDisk10_Home_Server directory will run only on a WHS machine. In
every other respect, it works just like PerfectDisk 10 Professional, except that you will use a WHS Plug-in
inside the Windows Home Server Console application to operate the program from a network client
machine. See Defragmenting Drives on Windows Home Server, Scheduling Tasks on Windows Home
Server, and Space Management on Windows Home Server for more information on how to use these
tools on a WHS machine.
Installing PerfectDisk for Windows Server
PD10_SVR.exe, run that file on a Windows machine from which you can connect to the target
Windows Server machine. By default this unpacks the contents of this self-installing ZIP file to a
directory named %ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install. If you’ve already installed
PerfectDisk 10 on the machine where you will run this program, you may want to retarget this operation
to a different directory, such as %ProgramFiles%\SVR, in which case the unzip operation unpacks
its files into %ProgramFiles%\SVR\PerfectDisk10Install, which produces a file layout like
the one shown here:
21
To install PerfectDisk10 for Windows Server, you must copy the x86 directory for 32-bit systems, or
x64 for 64-bit systems (an Itanium version of PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Server is not available) to
your server (we recommend it go into %ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install\).
From either of those directories, you will then execute the PerfectDisk_xnn.msi file, where nn
matches your system type, to begin the Windows Server installation process.
This starts the usual PerfectDisk10 installation sequence. The InstallShield Wizard displays its welcome
screen to let you know that installation is underway.
22
Click the Next Button to start the installation process, and you’ll see the License Agreement screen:
23
Click the radio button next to “I accept the terms…” and you’ll be able to click the Next button to
proceed (feel free to use the Print button to print a copy of the agreement for your records). Click Next
to get to the Destination folder screen, where you assign a target directory for the installation to use.
You can click the Change button to change the target from the default directory shown in the preceding
screenshot. Click the check box next to “Install a desktop icon” to place a shortcut to the PerfectDisk 10
Server on the server’s desktop. Click Back to return to the preceding screen, or Next to move on to the
succeeding one, which asks you to confirm that all installation settings are correct before starting the
actual installation process.
24
To install the program, click the Install button; otherwise, click Back to return to any prior screen if you
want to review or change one or more settings. Once you click Install you won’t be able to make any
other changes to the installation settings. During the installation process, the Windows Installer displays
a status screen that reports on installation activities currently underway:
25
As the installer works it will report about copying files, updating the registry, and so forth. When this
process completes, you’ll see a screen like this:
26
By default, the check box marked “Check for updates…” is selected so that the program will immediately
go onto the Internet to check for updates as soon as you click the Finish button at the bottom of the
screen. This concludes the actual installation process, but in most cases you’ll see the following windows
appear next on your screen:
If the program does discover any updates on the PerfectDisk server, it will download and install them for
you automatically at this time.
When you run PerfectDisk 10 Server for the first time, if you’ve downloaded and installed a trial version,
it will remind you of its trial status, and request a license key. Either way, you will have a chance to scroll
through the welcome screens, where the program will identify the current platform as a server. Also,
you can elect to include external USB or Firewire drives, and do likewise for USB Flash Drives, confirm
that no defrag jobs are currently scheduled, and obtain pointers to additional information and
documentation online. The Welcome screens can be turned off any time, by clicking the check box next
to “Do not show this wizard again” on the initial welcome screen; otherwise they appear automatically
each time you launch the program.
Installing PerfectDisk 10 for VMWare
PD10_VM.exe, execute that file on a Windows machine from which you can connect to the target
directory on a VMWare platform. By default this unpacks the contents of this self-installing ZIP file to a
directory named %ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install. If you have already
installed PerfectDisk 10 on the machine where you’re running the installation program, you may want to
retarget this operation to a different directory, such as %ProgramFiles%\VM, in which case the unzip
operation unpacks its files into %ProgramFiles%\VM\PerfectDisk10Install, which produces
a file layout like the one shown here:
27
Here again, you’ll find 32-bit versions in the x86 directory, and 64-bit versions in the x64 directory.
Copy whichever directory matches the host OS running on the VMWare machine where you want to
install the software to the target machine. To begin the installation process, run the file named
PerfectDisk_xnn.msi (where nn equals 86 for 32-bit machines, and 64 for 64-bit platforms) to
begin the installation process.
This launches the Windows Installer, which in turn produces its first installation screen:
28
This display lets you know the installation process is ready to begin; click the Next button to get things
underway:
Here, you must click the radio button next to “I accept the terms…” to continue with installation. Only
when you’ve agreed to the license, will the Next button become clickable (feel free to use the Print
button on this screen to obtain a hardcopy for your records). When you click the Next button, a new
screen appears:
29
This is where you can use the Change button to select a folder different from the PerfectDisk 10 default
of %ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10. Click the check box next to “Install a desktop icon”
to place a shortcut to the application on the virtual host’s desktop. Click Back to return to the preceding
screen, or Next to move onto the succeeding one, which requests that you confirm installation settings
before actual installation gets underway:
30
To install the program, click the Install button; otherwise, click Back to return to any prior screen where
you might wish to confirm or change settings. Once you click Install you won’t be able to make changes
to the installation settings. During the installation process, the Windows Installer displays a status
screen to report on activities currently underway:
31
As the installer works it will report about copying files, updating the registry, and so forth. When this
process completes, you’ll see a screen like this:
By default, the check box marked “Check for updates…” is selected so that the program will immediately
go onto the Internet to check for updates as soon as you click the Finish button at the bottom of the
screen. This concludes the actual installation process, but in most cases you’ll see the following
messages appear next on your screen:
32
When you run PerfectDisk 10 for VMWare for the first time, if you’ve downloaded and installed a trial
version, it will remind you of its trial status, and request a license key. Either way, you’ll have a chance to
scroll through the welcome screens for this program, where the first such screen looks like this:
The program will identify the current platform as a workstation or a server, depending on the platform
upon which PerfectDisk 10 for VMWare is running (you can reset this selection if you like). Also, you can
elect to include external USB or Firewire drives, and do likewise for USB Flash Drives, confirm that no
defrag jobs are currently scheduled, and obtain pointers to additional information and documentation
online. The Welcome screens can be turned off any time by clicking the check box that reads “Do not
show this wizard again” on the initial welcome screen; otherwise they appear each time you start
PerfectDisk 10.
Installing PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition
As with other PerfectDisk install files, the preferred approach is to run the self-extracting installer file
named PD10_VE.exe on the virtual machine host computer. Otherwise, you can extract the files, then
copy either the x86 (for 32-bit environments) or x64 (for 64-bit environments) directory to the target
host. After you execute the PerfectDisk_xnn.msi file (where nn is 86 for 32-bit, and 64 for 64-bit
computers), the Windows Installer takes over and displays this welcome screen:
33
Click Next to begin the installation process. You’ll first see the PerfectDisk 10 licensing screen, where
you must click the radio button next to “I agree to the terms…” to proceed further with the install.
34
After you accept the licensing terms, click the Next button to see the Destination Folder screen, where
you can click the Change button to specify a target directory for the program files, or simply accept the
program’s default location of %ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\. Click the check box
next to “Install a desktop icon” to place a shortcut to PerfectDisk 10 on the target machine’s desktop.
Click Next to go on to the next screen, which asks you to confirm your installation settings. You can use
the Back button to back up as far as you’d like to review and change your settings, or click Install to fire
off the installation procedure on the target machine.
35
Once you click the Install button, you must wait for the install process to finish. As the installer is busy
copying files, establishing settings, writing registry values, and so forth, you’ll see a status screen that
looks like this:
36
When the installer finished its work, a completion screen will appear to let you know its job is done.
By default the check box next to “Check for updates…” is checked so when you click Finish on the final
installer screen, the software goes off to check the Raxco site for updates. In most cases you’ll see a
screen just like the next one that follows, but if and when the update check discovers pending updates,
it will report on status as those updates are installed.
37
Once you click OK, the desktop clears. To run PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition, you must launch
the program manually. The first time it is run (and until you instruct the Welcome Wizard to turn itself
off), you’ll see a series of welcome screens after the program starts up. This includes the initial welcome
screen, which announces itself as PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Edition, and recites key features and functions
that this program delivers.
Click Next to see the subsequent welcome screen, which asks you to identify how PerfectDisk should
handle CPU, disk I/O throttling, and StealthPatrol scheduling when it runs inside a virtual machine. You
can indicate that the program is running on a physical computer (a VM host, in most cases), a VM on a
Hyper-V or Virtual Server Microsoft host, a VM on an ESX server, or a VM on an ESX server where Virtual
Center is used to monitor VM activities. In the image below, we provide information necessary to test a
connection to the host machine for a virtual computer running on a Windows 2008 Server with Hyper-V.
38
Click the Test Connection button to make sure the parameters you supply actually work. When you’re
finished with this screen, click Next to advance to the next PerfectDisk Virtual Edition welcome screen,
which sets up a StealthPatrol schedule by default so that PerfectDisk will run whenever the machine has
been idle for more than 5 minutes, at least once every five days.
39
At this point, you can click Finish to close out the welcome screens, or click Next to see the list of key
features and functions for PerfectDisk10 Virtual Edition once more.
Uninstalling PerfectDisk 10
You can use Windows Add/Remove Programs (XP, Server 2003, and older versions) or Programs and
Features (Vista or Server 2008) Control Panel items, or take advantage of third party uninstall tools, to
remove all traces of the older PerfectDisk version from your PC before installing a new version.
To begin this process, right click on the PerfectDisk entry in the relevant Control Panel item, and select
Uninstall from the resulting pop-up menu. When the InstallShield Installer opens, you may be prompted
to Update, Repair, or Remove the installation; select Remove to continue. The uninstaller will then
remove the program from your PC.
When the uninstaller is finished, you should also look for the following folders, and delete them if they
remain present:
40
•
%ProgramFiles%\Raxco
•
%ProgramFiles%\PerfectDiskxxxx
%ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDiskxxxxInstall
The xxxx value that appears in the preceding folder names might be 2008 for the previous version of
PerfectDisk, or 10 for the current version.
•
Uninstalling PerfectDisk 10 from your Windows Home Server
•
Right-click the Windows Home Server tray icon, and then click Windows Home Server Console.
•
Type the Windows Home Server password, and then click Next.
•
Click Settings on the console.
•
On Windows Home Server Settings, click Add-ins.
•
Click the Installed tab.
•
Select PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server, and click Uninstall to uninstall the Add-in.
41
•
Click OK on the Uninstallation succeeded dialog box to restart the console.
•
Reconnect to the console. The PerfectDisk 10 console tab should be removed from the Console.
In rare instances, the removal of the PerfectDisk Home Server Console add-in may require a
restart of your Windows Home Server. If a reboot is required, you will be prompted to restart
now or at a later time. On restart of your Windows Home Server, the PerfectDisk Home Server
console add-in will be sucessfully removed.
42
Re-installing or Upgrading PerfectDisk
When you upgrade PerfectDisk across major versions (for example from PerfectDisk 2008 to PerfectDisk
10), it’s best to prepare for the new version by uninstalling the old one. Because PerfectDisk 10
installation is built using the Windows Installer, the safest way to uninstall the program is to use
Windows own Control Panel based uninstall utilities (Add/Remove Programs for Windows XP, Windows
Server 2003 and related Windows Home Server versions, and older Windows versions; Programs and
Features for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008) for that task. Simply right-click your version of
PerfectDisk in the proper utility, and an Uninstall option will appear in the resulting pop-up menu.
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If you encounter any problems with installing a new version of PerfectDisk or uninstalling an older
version, please contact Raxco Technical Support for assistance.
Repairing PerfectDisk
If you use your Windows tool ((Add/Remove Programs for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and
related Windows Home Server versions, and older Windows versions; Programs and Features for
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008) to select a PerfectDisk installation, as shown in the preceding
screenshot, another option labeled “Change” appears in that menu. If you select that option, the
PerfectDisk installer starts up. The next screen that appears includes a Repair option that will fix most
common installation issues, as well as issues related to file corruption for PerfectDisk 10 executable and
support files. Use this option first if you encounter problems during a PerfectDisk installation or receive
error messages that refer to file corruption.
44
Again, if you encounter any problems with installing a new version of PerfectDisk or uninstalling an older
version, please contact Raxco Technical Support for assistance.
Please note: if you attempt to install PerfectDisk 10 on a machine where you already have another
version of PerfectDisk installed, a screen much like the preceding one (except for whichever version of
PerfectDisk is already present on your machine) will appear. If you like, you can click the Remove button
here to remove this previous version as you’re installing a newer one: once the previous uninstall
completes, you can repeat the installation of a newer or different PerfectDisk version (as when
upgrading from PerfectDisk 10 Home to PerfectDisk 10 Professional).
Entering License Key post-installation
If you decide not to enter a PerfectDisk 10 license key during the installation process, or obtain a license
key after installing the software, you can enter that key through the License and Updates area in the
PerfectDisk Product Resources pane. There, trial versions will include License and Updates information
that looks like this:
45
You can click the Get Full License button to open a Web browser window into the Raxco store, where
you can purchase a full license. When you obtain a license key, click the Enter License Key button to
open a license key entry window like this:
You can simply cut and paste the 20-digit license key for PerfectDisk 10 into the text box, dashes and all.
The control is smart enough to ignore invalid characters and will happily digest the key in that format.
After pasting or entering it into the text box, click Apply. If you have properly entered a valid key, the
Licenses and Updates area in the Control Bar will change to look like this:
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PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Wizard Screens
The first time you run PerfectDisk 10 after installation, and as long as you leave the “Do not show the
wizard again” check box inside the Welcome to PerfectDisk screens unchecked, you will see a sequence
of welcome screens each time you start up this program. Because you can download free, 30-day trial
versions of PerfectDisk10 and license them at any time, behavior and appearance differs slightly
between the free trial and licensed versions. We’ll point out these differences as we work our way
through these screens, and discuss how trial status impacts the PerfectDisk Settings screens as well.
Welcome Screen One (trial vs. licensed version)
When you start up the trial version of PerfectDisk, the initial welcome screen indicates the number of
days left in your 30-day trial period. It also reports total files defragmented and free space reclaimed,
and provides an entry box into which you can enter a valid license key. If you elect to purchase a license,
you can click the Get License Key button; if you elect to continue the free trial, you can click Continue
Trial.
47
Once you have a licensed copy of PerfectDisk, you see something different: the trial information, key
entry, and status information are all missing from the bottom of the PerfectDisk Welcome window.
Both screens share a common description of the program, and include pointers to in-depth discussions
online for key program features. To get to the next welcome screen, click the Next button. However, to
jump straight into the program, click either Finish or Cancel.
Welcome Screen Two: Configure PerfectDisk and external storage
On the next welcome screen, you can designate your PC as either a notebook or laptop PC (the first
option), or as a workstation desktop computer (second option) to configure PerfectDisk behavior on the
spot. On the other hand, you can choose the third option and defer configuration until later by working
with the PerfectDisk Drive Properties and PerfectDisk Settings controls in the Options area on the
Control Bar.
48
Be default, PerfectDisk chooses the Workstation desktop computer option when you first run this
wizard. On licensed copies, if you change this setting, the program remembers and maintains such
settings; on the trial version, the program reverts to the default setting each time you start it up again.
The check boxes at the bottom of this screen permit you to view and defragment external USB and
Firewire drives with PerfectDisk, and to defragment Flash drives as well. Just check the appropriate
check boxes to instruct PerfectDisk how to behave. Most such external devices will work fine with
PerfectDisk, but will work best with write caching disabled. See our discussion in the Removable Storage
Section of the PerfectDisk Settings help files for more information on working with removable storage
devices.
To get to the next welcome screen, click the Next button. However, to jump straight into the program,
click either Finish or Cancel. To return to the previous welcome screen, click the Back button.
Welcome Screen Three: Schedule
In its third Welcome screen, PerfectDisk enables you to schedule defragmentation activity. By default,
PerfectDisk10 establishes automatic defragmentation through a StealthPatrol schedule. Basically, this
means that any time the PC qualifies as idle for five minutes or longer (and there are settings specific to
49
StealthPatrol behavior in the PerfectDisk Settings AutoPilot Schedule screen), PerfectDisk will begin
defragmenting selected disks for so long as the machine continues to remain idle thereafter.
If you click the radio button “When Windows screen saver starts,” you’ve elected the Screen Saver
defragmentation schedule, which means that any time the Windows Screen Saver kicks in on a machine,
PerfectDisk also begins defragmenting selected drives. If you click the “Configure it later using
PerfectDisk AutoPilot” a Manual schedule applies by default, which means PerfectDisk will wait for user
action to start any defragmentation behavior.
To get to the next welcome screen, click the Next button. However, to jump straight into the program,
click either Finish or Cancel. To return to the previous welcome screen, click the Back button.
Welcome Screen Four: Selected Features and Benefits
Welcome screen four repeats a list of selected key features for PerfectDisk 10, with online links to
enable interested users to learn more about them. You can also search on these same topics here in the
help files for additional discussion or information about them.
50
PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation
As a computer repeatedly uses a disk drive, and writes and reads more files, files fall in many locations
on its recording surfaces (called platters). “Fragmenting” happens when a file occupies two or more
separate locations on a disk, because it is divided into multiple pieces that are not physically contiguous.
Each individual piece is called a “fragment,” and it’s not unusual to see some files dispersed across tens,
hundreds, or even thousands of fragments on a disk drive.
Here’s a reasonably typical display of fragmented files from the system disk (C:\) on a Windows
notebook PC.
Note that the CBS.log file consists of over 100 fragments, while the other files report fewer fragments
(but still a lot!). CBS.log is a file that the Windows Vista system file checker (sfc.exe) writes as it
performs its Windows system integrity checks, for example, and can easily get scattered into numerous
fragments. The same applies to various \Prefetch\Readyboot files that Vista creates regularly to
anticipate applications users are most likely to load upon system startup.
As a file grows increasingly fragmented, it can slow PC performance. That’s because the disk drive must
essentially “skip around” from the end of one fragment to the beginning of another as it reads its way
through such a file. During that period, the drive is simply moving and reading or writing no data. As the
number of fragments increases, more and more time gets lost during these moves, and overall
performance drops. This explains why it’s a good idea to defragment Windows drives regularly, and why
it’s not a good idea to allow files to become excessively fragmented over time. In fact, file fragmentation
can lead to any or all of the following symptoms on Windows PCs:

Slower file system and disk activity

Slower application launch and load

Slower system shutdown and startup

Slower system hibernation and resume

Degraded audio or video playback

Dropping of multi-media frame rates
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
Slower file and system backups
While you don’t want any Windows files to become fragmented, allowing certain Windows files to
become fragmented will have a greater negative impact on system response time and performance than
others. In particular, key operating system files (especially those that Windows uses frequently), as well
as commonly used applications and data files, can impose more of a drag on a system if allowed to
become fragmented; likewise infrequently or never-used applications and data files are more likely to
remain whole, or at least will break up into fewer fragments over time. That’s why regularly scheduled
defragmentation is an important part of Windows system maintenance and upkeep.
Differentiating OS-level from application-level fragmentation
Unless you have experience maintaining a variety of computers comprising dozens of services, you may
not realize all the areas where fragmentation can occur. When most people talk about fragmentation
they mean specifically the hard disk, because that’s where slow performance is most noticeable.
However, in even a simple computing environment, fragmentation occurs at the network level to the
applications and services accessed both locally and remotely.
PerfectDisk has specific product lines catering to some of these areas, such as PerfectDisk 10 for
Exchange, PerfectDisk 10 for VMWare or PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition. Microsoft Exchange
Server has its own file defragmentation and compaction utility that PerfectDisk leverages. VMware and
other virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Virtual PC, Virtual Server, and other such products also
experience fragmentation for both host and guest machines, which PerfectDisk can handle for most
Windows-based platforms. If you run SQL Server then you may know about its internal defragmentation,
but what you might not know is that SQL cannot reliably report such information.
Microsoft offers a detailed explanation describing SQL Server’s internal defragmentation, which boils
down to this: SQL Server is ignorant of how the operating system physically arranges its parts—and for
good reason. Accordingly, SQL Server is unable to accurately report file fragmentation even when its ondisk parts are 100% fragmented. However, even when you defragment the SQL Server database it can
still be fragmented in other ways. Read Microsoft’s explanation (linked above) for more detail.
Understanding the Defragmentation Tab
In PerfectDisk 10, the Defragmentation tab serves as the nerve center for the program; it is divided into
three areas on-screen:
•
52
The control bar, where you find the buttons and controls for drive disk defragmentation
and related activities.
•
The drives list area, which displays all hard disks and other storage devices to which
PerfectDisk can provide access (for compactness, only the left-hand side of that area is
shown here):
•
The results area appears at the bottom of the window, starting with tabs labeled Drive
Map, Performance, and Statistics. Only after PerfectDisk has analyzed one or more
drives does any data of interest appear in this part of the screen.
Defragmentation fundamentals
In PerfectDisk 10, start by selecting one or more drives in the drives list area, then analyzing the drive to
see if it needs defragmentation. Thus, for example, you can click on the C: drive to highlight it in the
drives list (this is usually the system disk on most desktop or notebook Windows installations). Once the
drive is selected, click the Analyze button in the Advanced area of the control bar. This produces a
display something like this:
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By default, while PerfectDisk 10 is analyzing a drive it selects the Disk Map tab, and shows a graphical
update of disk locations and status that it updates while the analysis phase is underway. Notice the
progress bar that appears beneath the Drive Map tab and the graphical disk map area. This updates as
the analysis continues, and includes a rough estimate of when it will complete (1:50 PM as shown in the
image above). When the analysis is complete, PerfectDisk opens the Statistics tab automatically, and a
Summary information screen appears to report on disk analysis results, like this:
54
This summary analysis indicates that the drive is not in need of defragmentation. This drive gets green
check marks across all ratings categories, with percentage values that earn Excellent ratings across the
board. If you were to see ratings with yellow warning or red problem icons, PerfectDisk 10 would also
recommend some specific type of defragmentation pass to run where the display currently reads “Your
drive is optimized for peak performance.”
Best PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation Practices
In general, you should not allow a disk drive to become too fragmented; if you do, you are likely to
experience performance degradation due to poor disk organization. Regularly scheduled
defragmentation, preferably automated to a regular schedule or to take advantage of idle computing
cycles, is the best way to use this technology to keep hard disks running smoothly and efficiently.
See these other help pages for more information:
• A Defragmentation Primer
•
PerfectDisk’s Defragmentation Algorithms
•
Managing and Monitoring Defragmentation in PerfectDisk 10
55
•
Analyzing Disk Drives
•
Working with Selected Files
•
Working with System Files
•
Working with the Drive Properties Window
•
Using the View Log Controls
•
Working with PerfectDisk Settings
•
Defragmenting Windows Home Server
A Defragmentation Primer
Here’s a basic definition of disk defragmentation: defragmentation software systematically scans and
observes the layout of files, directories, and other descriptive data (usually called metadata) on a disk. It
will then apply any of a number of strategies to find and rewrite files occupying two or more separate
locations on a hard disk with versions where all the data blocks in such files are physically contiguous.
When a file occupies two or more locations on a hard disk, it is “fragmented”; when it occupies a single
location on a hard disk, it is “contiguous”.
Why Defragment Files?
If a file resides in two or more locations on a hard disk, here’s what happens when the computer reads
from or writes to that file:
1. Look in the master file table (MFT) to determine where the beginning of the file resides
2. Read or write to the first fragment, then follow a pointer to the next fragment
3. Repeat step 2 for as many additional fragments as exist for the file
Before each set in this list, the heads on the disk drive must position themselves on the track where the
data of interest resides, then wait while platter spins around until the starting disk sector for the data of
interest comes around. Thus, any single file access requires the disk heads to move at least twice to get
to the starting point where actual data resides, and then again for each additional fragment in a
fragmented file. Although the delays involved are only around 1-10 milliseconds, as the number of
fragments increases, so also does the delay involved in working through a fragmented file.
Fragmentation occurs for many reasons. If an unoccupied disk extent greater than or equal to the size of
the file can’t be located quickly when a new file is written to disk, that file will be fragmented from its
very creation. As existing files are rewritten, they may outgrow their assigned disk extents and become
fragmented to accommodate change and growth over time. As a drive gets increasingly crowded with
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files, not only will it be more difficult to find areas of free space, the size of the free spaces available will
also decrease. All of these factors contribute inevitably to file fragmentation, and thus also to the
fragmentation of the disks upon which those files are stored.
There are a number of reasons to defragment files; among them:
1. Reading from or writing to individual files, directories and metadata goes faster when
those items are stored contiguously on disk.
2. Rearranging file layouts on a hard disk permits file ordering so that those that are
accessed most frequently are easy to find and access, and to help optimize access to
common files used as part of the computer boot-up process.
3. Rearranging file layouts on a hard disk also permits operating system file placement to
emphasize performance, availability, and reliability. For example, the Windows NTFS
MFT table can potentially produce the best overall system performance when placed
approximately one-third of the way into the drive (at 83.3 GB on a 250 GB drive, 106.7
GB on a 320 GB drive, 166.7 GB on a 500 GB drive, and so on). Likewise, important
Windows system files such as the paging file (pagefile.sys) and the hibernation file
(hiberfile.sys) can also be optimally placed and made as contiguous as free space
will allow. Generally, however, you can’t move or defragment operating system files
while a computer is running because this could interfere with normal system operation.
Instead, system files will generally be scheduled for boot-time defragmentation, which
means that they are handled the next time the computer goes through start-up, at the
point where enough intelligence is present to perform defragmentation on system files,
but before those files become necessary for the operating system to behave properly
and consistently.
Why Consolidate Free Space?
The other operation that PerfectDisk performs on the disks it handles is to consolidate free space. At
first glance, this may seem either unnecessary or superfluous. Consolidating free space is neither:
consider for a moment that many file systems look at available free space only as long as it takes to find
an area as big as, or bigger than, a file they wish to store, and suddenly the idea that keeping free space
consolidated begins to make sense. Consider further that file systems may fragment large files across a
great many separate areas (that is, they may include numerous excess fragments) if a file system can’t
find a space large enough to accommodate the entire file it wishes to write to disk.
Consolidating free space enables the file system to find room for almost any large files quite easily, and
decreases the need to fragment files to fit them into free space available on a drive. PerfectDisk offers
two methods of free space consolidation:
1. When performing SMARTPlacement defragmentation, PerfectDisk will seek to consolidate larger
chunks of file space as it traverses the files and free space areas on a disk. However, it won’t
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move large files to add relatively small areas of free space to the consolidated free space area it
builds as it goes through defragmentation and file relocation.
2. When PerfectDisk is instructed to “Aggressively consolidate free space” it will attempt to move
files to create the largest extents of free space possible on a disk, except for excluded files that
cannot be moved. In this case, it will move large files to add even small areas of free space to its
consolidated free space chunks. This is why it can take longer to complete a defragmentation
pass with PerfectDisk when you select this particular option.
Benefits of consolidating free space include faster write performance from the file system, because it
needs less time to find free space into which it can write new or updated files. Consolidating free space
also reduces the need to fragment files on a drive, because it has sufficient room to accommodate new
or updated files. For virtual environments, consolidating free space can also permit virtual machine
workspaces to shrink, thereby improving their space consumption and operating efficiency.
Online and Offline Defragmentation
Most of the files in Windows file systems are fair game for the file system to create, read, write, and
delete as circumstances require, where that file system manages these operations by passing detailed
sequences of instructions to the disk drives that implement these tasks to get the job done. However,
certain files—those that the operating system itself uses to control and manage its own behavior—are
generally off-limits for anything except read access. In fact, the operating system itself will mediate all
access to such files very carefully, and generally won’t allow such files to be changed or moved.
This is where offline defragmentation comes in handy; it provides a mechanism to change or move
protected files when the operating system isn’t using or managing those files as it normally does. This
also explains why such work, including relocating and defragmenting such files, normally occurs at boot
time. This is a period of “special operation” for many operating systems when various activities are
possible during start-up before normal conditions and requirements come fully into play. Windows itself
schedules and runs a utility called chkdsk (Check Disk) for its system disk only during this period, and
this is when defragmentation tools such as PerfectDisk perform their special operations on system files.
See also these other Help pages:
•
•
To provide the broadest range of functionality and capability, PerfectDisk performs multiple types of
defragmentation. These include various algorithms or methods for defragmenting entire drives, as well
as file-by-file (also known as “Selected Files” defragmentation). Entire drive defragmentation algorithms
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define different ways to optimize file placement and to manage free space on hard disks, and produces
the following options:
•
SMARTPlacement
•
Consolidate Free Space
•
Defrag Only
In the next sections, we explain these approaches to whole-drive defragmentation in more detail.
PerfectDisk SMARTPlacement
This is the default defragmentation algorithm for entire drive defragmentation in PerfectDisk.
SMARTPlacement not only defragments files and consolidates free space, it also optimizes file
placement based on file age and most recent time of access. PerfectDisk treats files created or accessed
in the last thirty days as Recently Modified; they receive preferential placement on the disk. PerfectDisk
treats files created or accessed in the last 31 to 60 days as Occasionally Modified, and places them next
to Recently Modified files (but closer to the outside edge of the physical disk where access times begin
to increase). Finally, PerfectDisk treats files created or accessed more than 60 days ago as Rarely
Modified and places them next to Occasionally Modified ones, but even closer to the outside edge. Boot
files go all the way to that edge, where they are easy to locate during boot time (and unused thereafter).
SMARTPlacement will optimally place Metadata and MFT files for best Windows performance as well.
This is the default setting for PerfectDisk because it produces disk organizations that are least likely to
fragment going forward, and is what most users should choose when defragmenting a disk.
Consolidate Free Space
When it defragments a drive using SMARTPlacement, PerfectDisk emphasizes optimal file placement
and speed of overall completion above creating the largest possible extents of free space on any hard
disk it defragments. When you select the Consolidate Free Space option, the software will seek to create
the largest possible extents of free space, and does not optimize file placement. This process can involve
moving large files to reclaim relatively small amounts of free space (a maneuver that PerfectDisk omits
when using SMARTPlacement by itself), and explains why this mode sometimes takes longer to
complete. Free space consolidation is best for shrinking or growing disk partitions, when seeking to
resize virtual machines, or to provide a boost to lagging Windows performance when PerfectDisk itself
recommends running this defragmentation algorithm.
Defrag Only
As the description hints, this is a quick and dirty method of defragmentation. It neither optimizes file
placement nor seeks to consolidate free space, but simply defragments any fragmented files it finds as
quickly as possible. This method will probably increase the number of free space fragments on a drive,
but is not particularly thorough or optimal. It is the fastest form of entire drive defragmentation; use it
primarily as a convenience between regularly scheduled SMARTPlacement defragmentation jobs.
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File-by-File (“Selected Files”) Defragmentation
Using either the Selected Files interface in the Control Bar, or the Most Fragmented Files view in the
Results area in PerfectDisk, you can selectively defragment individual files on a case-by-case basis. When
you have only a small number of fragmented files, or when large regularly-used files are subject to
fragmentation (such as the PST files that Windows Outlook uses for message stores), these tools permit
only those files to be defragmented as a hurry-up disk cleanup technique.
Except for special circumstances, PerfectDisk recommends SMARTPlacement defragmentation, because
it combines the speed and flexibility of a single-pass defragmentation with optimal file placement and
easily arranged free space consolidation.
See these other Help sections for more information on PerfectDisk 10 defragmentation and analysis:
•
Choosing a Defragmentation Method
•
•
•
•
Choosing a Defragmentation Method
After you select and analyze disk drives, you must instruct PerfectDisk what type of defragmentation to
perform on those drives. The three types available are:
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•
SMARTPlacement: Optimizes file placement, performs one-pass free space
consolidation.
•
Consolidate Free Space: Performs aggressive, free space consolidation, but does not
optimize file placement.
•
Defrag Only: Defragments all fragmented files for which the program can find sufficient
available free space, but neither optimizes file placement nor consolidates free space.
For more information on how these methods work please see the PerfectDisk’s Defragmentation
Algorithms pages. Of the three methods available, PerfectDisk generally recommends SMARTPlacement
(that’s why it’s the default choice in PerfectDisk). Use Consolidate Free Space if PerfectDisk recommends
it, or if you want to resize a partition or shrink a Virtual Machine.
Managing and Monitoring Defragmentation in PerfectDisk
In the sections that follow, you will explore the primary work space inside the PerfectDisk program
window. This is where the program lists drives available for analysis, free space consolidation, and
various defragmentation operations in the Drive Pane. Beneath that area is the results pane, where the
program shows progress while defragmentation is underway, along with a visual map of the structure,
contents, and layout of the hard disks it’s working on. The result pane is also where you can access
various performance reports and numerous statistical displays and charts to help you understand the
health and status of your hard disks. Understanding how this part of PerfectDisk works will help you to
understand how to make best and most effective use of this program.
The Defragmentation Drive Pane
When you select the Defragmentation tab in PerfectDisk, the Drive pane appears beneath the Control
Bar in the PerfectDisk interface. It lists all the drives that are accessible to PerfectDisk, including all
internal drives on the PC where the software is running at a minimum, plus any attached external USB or
Firewire drives, or USB Flash Drives, if PerfectDisk has been configured to defragment them. In the
following screenshot, you can see the system drive (C:) and an external drive (F:).
Here’s an explanation for the various fields and the associated values that appear in the drive pane in
their order of appearance from left to right:
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•
Name: Displays the drive letter that Windows associates with the drive, along with any name
associated with that drive (in the preceding screen capture, drive C: has no associated name,
while drive F: is named EXTERNAL). By default, PerfectDisk lists all accessible drives in drive
letter order, but you can click on the column to reverse that order.
•
Type: Displays the type of file system installed on the drive. For both C: and F: in the image
above, the value is NTFS, the primary file system used with modern Windows versions. On
Windows Desktop systems, other valid file systems include FAT16, FAT32, EFS, and exFAT.
•
Status: This identifies what PerfectDisk is doing with a drive as you view the drive pane. This
field will normally display one of the following values: Analyzing (followed by a percentage
completion value, while drive analysis is underway), Defragmenting (followed by a percentage
completion value, while defragmenting is underway), or Idle (indicates that PerfectDisk is not
operating on the drive at present).
•
Last Defragmented: Provides the date and time at which the drive was last defragmented. If you
haven’t defragmented the drive since you installed the current version of PerfectDisk on the
system, no value appears in this field, as with the C: drive in the preceding screen capture.
you’re using a StealthPatrol schedule on a drive, this field may remain blank for extended
periods. Technically, there is no “start” or “end” to an automatic schedule, so while a
StealthPatrol schedule may routinely process a drive, it seldom generates a time stamp for
completion.
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If
•
Next Run: If the defragmentation schedule calls for a specific date and time for the next
defragmentation run on a drive, a date and time will appear here. If you have scheduled either
StealthPatrol or Screen Saver defragmentation for the drive, those values will appear here
instead. StealthPatrol indicates that PerfectDisk will defragment drives whenever the system is
sufficiently idle to meet its threshold requirements; Screen Saver indicates the PerfectDisk will
defragment drives when Windows invokes a screen saver for the system.
•
Boot time: If checked, this indicates that PerfectDisk will run an offline/boot-time
defragmentation pass the next time the system starts up.
•
Size: Indicates the size of the disk drive, usually in GB. In the image above, drive C: is 149.05 GB,
and drive F: is 298.09 GB. Disk drive manufacturers usually size drives in decimal rather than
binary values, so while the manufacturer tells us that drive C: is 160 GB in size, PerfectDisk
reports the size in binary value. Drive F: is, according to the manufacturer, 320 GB in size but
also reported here in binary value (divide 160,000,000,000 by 230 and you get 149.01, divide
320,000,000,000 by the same value to get 298.02, to produce the same approximate values).
•
Fragmented: Shows the percentage of File Fragmentation (as also shown in the Statistics
Summary page) for the drive.
Using the Drive Pane in PerfectDisk
Aside from its status and descriptive information, the drive pane in PerfectDisk also provides the area
where you select drives upon which to apply various defragmentation operations (Analyze, Defragment,
key and click on multiple drives in the drive pane to
Selected Files, and System Files). Hold the
select more than one for various operations, or click on a drive in the drive list, then hold down the Shift
key and click on a second drive to select all the drives between the first one selected and the last one for
various operations.
Defragmentation Statistics Tab
Of all the results that PerfectDisk delivers from disk analysis and defragmentation, those available
through the Statistics tab are the most detailed and informative. Whereas the Drive Map and
Performance tabs deliver results meant to be interpreted at a glance, or used for visual exploration,
results from the statistics tab are meant to be read and studied, often at some length and at great levels
of detail.
The Statistics tab offers seven different panes to display drive analysis and disk defragmentation results
that appear in the following order on the left-hand side of the results pane:
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•
Summary: The Summary pane appears by default when PerfectDisk displays results,
both for drive analysis and defragmentation activities. This view provides information
about start and stop times for the most recent defragmentation pass as one completes,
and provides data and ratings related to files, directories, free space and performance in
one summary, and about drive metadata, MFT, pagefile, and largest free space chunk in
another summary. For more information and an example, see the Summary section.
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File: Provides a pie chart that shows how files are distributed on a drive, with color
coding to identify individual slices by type. A legend appears with counts and metrics on
the left-hand side of these results, with a single pie chart on the right-hand side. For
more information and an example, see the File section.
•
Most Fragmented Files: By default, this lists fragmented files by their number of
fragments, starting with the highest first. PerfectDisk offers various methods to reorder
the list. You can select up to 20 files at any given time in this list, and then click the
button at the lower right to perform file-by-file defragmentation on selected
files. For more information and an example, see the Most Fragmented Files section.
•
Excluded Files: Shows a list of all files that PerfectDisk has been instructed to ignore.
PerfectDisk offers various methods to reorder the list, and various reasons for exclusion
supplied. For more information and an example, see the Excluded Files section.
•
File Types: Shows a list of defined file types used to categorize files on the drive, along
with counts and metrics on the left-hand side of these results, with a single pie chart on
the right-hand side. For more information and an example, see the File Types section.
•
Performance Chart: Shows a temporal line graph of PerfectDisk’s estimated drive
performance value as far back in time as such measurements go. This provides an easily
inspected line to see how drive performance is trending over time. For more
information and an example, see the Performance Chart section.
•
Free Space Chart: Shows a temporal line graph of PerfectDisk’s free space
fragmentation measurement as far back in time as such measurements go. This provides
an easily inspected line to see how free space fragmentation is trending over time. For
more information and an example, see the Performance Chart section.
Summary
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Summary results are probably the most informative among all the statistics panes. At top right, you
see start and stop times for the most recent online defragmentation pass, along with CPU time
consumed during that run.
The first set of Summary results lists percentage values, counts, and total number of fragments for
files and directories, and reports free space fragmentation and estimated drive performance as a
fraction of the maximum achievable 100% value. A green check mark denotes a passing rating
(excellent), a yellow exclamation point indicates defragmentation will soon be needed (good), and a red
exclamation point denotes a failing rating (poor).
The second set of Summary results lists percentage values, size on disk, and number of excess fragments
for system files (which must normally be defragmented offline or at boot time). It also shows the size of
the largest chunk of free space available on the drive as well. Here again, a green check mark denotes a
passing rating, a yellow check mark indicates that defrag will soon be needed, and a red exclamation
point denotes that defrag is definitely needed.
At the bottom of the display, the preceding screen shot shows a green check mark indicating that the
drive is optimized for peak performance. When PerfectDisk’s measurements indicate that the drive
needs defragmentation, you will see messages advising you to perform SMARTPlacement or Defrag-only
defragmentation passes, or to consolidate free space, as circumstances dictate.
If you click the
button at the upper right of the Statistics Summary right-hand pane, you
can save the contents of this display, along with that for all other Statistics panes plus system and drive
descriptive information, to a collection of HTML-formatted data tables. This provides a mechanism to
collect statistics over time, and to provide input to other programs that can parse and interpret the data
this file contains.
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File
This pie chart shows how files break down by their distribution across various categories that
PerfectDisk defines. The information in the table at the left shows how many files belong to each
category by count (the number column heading) and by total disk space consumption (Size). The “% of
drive” value measures this in terms of disk space percentages instead.
The distribution across the various categories in the example is fairly typical in that excluded files often
consume an appreciable portion of Windows disks (primarily for shadow copies in the System Volume
Information directory), and where Rarely Modified files outnumber both Occasionally Modified and
Recently Modified files.
Most Fragmented Files
By default, the files with the greatest number of fragments appear at the top of the Most Fragmented
Files list, which describes the Top 100 fragmented files in its scrolling data area on the right-hand pane.
You can reorder this list by clicking on any of the column heads, where a second click reverses whatever
order is visible. You can also select up to 20 files in the list at any time, then click the Defragment button
at the lower right to instruct PerfectDisk to defragment them a file at a time.
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You may observe in this list files that Windows and applications use regularly for both read and write
will usually appear. In the example shown, entries such as Outlook.pst, Layout.ini, and
Windows-update related items are typical for desktop machines, as are various types of indexes and
logs. On server machines, database files, journals, and logs will often appear in this list as well. Common
strategies for performing file-by-file defragmentation using this display include selecting the files with
the largest number of fragments (PerfectDisk’s default order of presentation), or sorting by file size to
select the largest fragmented files for such treatment.
Excluded Files
By default, PerfectDisk’s list of excluded files typically fall into two categories: system files that can only
be defragmented offline or at boot time (MFT, metadata, layout.ini, page and hibernation files, and
so forth), and the contents of the \System Volume Information directory where Windows
places shadow copies and restore points (in Vista and Server 2008, these files may not be moved or
defragmented at all). If a vendor or developer instructs you to add any files to the Excluded Files list
through the PerfectDisk Settings interface, they will appear here as well.
Valid reasons for exclusion appear in the left most column in the excluded files list, and will usually read
Metadata (for various MFT and NTFS metadata files), Access Denied (Windows has locked these files for
exclusive write access and PerfectDisk cannot access them), or Excluded (belongs to an untouchable
collection of files, often in the \System Volume Information directory). File name information
appears in the middle column, and the number of excess fragments appears in the right most column.
You might notice that these files will seldom, if ever, be fragmented.
File Types
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File type uses the PerfectDisk file types categorization—available through the File Types display in
PerfectDisk Settings—to control which file extensions belong to the various categories shown in the
image above. For each category, PerfectDisk supplies the number of files that belong (Number), their
total disk space consumption (Size), and what percentage of total disk space (% of drive) they consume.
On the pie chart, this distribution is rationalized to ignore excluded files and free space, so that pie slices
reflect their relative position and distribution only for the categories that appear in the left-hand table,
rather than their actual disk space consumption (those slices might be too small to see clearly if that
were the case).
Performance Chart
This Performance Chart differs from the snapshot that appears on the Performance tab in Disk
Defragmentation results in that it goes back as far in time as the current PerfectDisk installation has
been keeping records (the other chart shows only a maximum of four recent defragmentation runs).
This historical view makes this performance chart an excellent trend indicator for PerfectDisk drive
performance estimates over time. You’ll want to look for upward trends from past to present, and look
for explanations when that expectation isn’t met. The example chart indicates a very slight downward
trend that probably won’t require any user response for quite some time.
Free Space Chart
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Like the Performance Chart information that the Statistics tab also provides, the Free Space Chart also
goes as far back in time as the current PerfectDisk installation. This chart reports free space
fragmentation percentage. Whereas you want to see high values for the Performance Chart that
provides a relative measure whose highest value is 100%, here you want to see low values because the
ideal value for free space fragmentation is 0%. This historical view makes this performance chart an
excellent trend indicator for free space defragmentation measurements over time. You’ll want to look
for downward trends from past to present, and seek explanations when that expectation isn’t met. The
graph shown here indicates a slight upward trend that won’t require any action for some time to come.
For more information on running PerfectDisk 10, check the Relevant Topics.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Working with the Drive Properties Window
•
Using the View Log Controls
•
Working with PerfectDisk Settings
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Before PerfectDisk will defragment any drive, it must first analyze the drive. For this purpose, use the
Analyze button that appears in the Advanced area among the program controls.
When you click the Analyze button, you’re instructing PerfectDisk to inspect whichever hard disks you
identify in the drives list. For this example, we selected the C: drive, which is the only drive available on a
notebook PC:
As the analysis gets underway, PerfectDisk will update the Drive Map in the results area to show
progress toward completing this task. For the example drive selected above, an interim display looks like
this:
The bar above the drive map show that analysis is underway (it appears about 25% complete in this
image), and provides an estimated completion time for the task as well. The drive map area shows
where PerfectDisk has found files on this drive. Items with black outlines indicate fragmented files.
Colors for blocks in this diagram correspond to the disk map legend, as follows:
Ordinary files are either blue (Rarely modified), orange (Occasionally Modified), or green (Recently
Modified). Metadata (information the file system itself uses to organize and manage files) is in grey,
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while the master file table (MFT) is in yellow (additional disk space pre-allocated for MFT use, but still
unused, appears in light brown). The dark brown “Used” color identifies space on the disk that is not
free. It only appears on a drive map during an offline defragmentation, during which only the MFT,
Metadata, Free Space, and “Used” colors are shown. To see this at work, instruct PerfectDisk to perform
a System Files defrag on a data drive from inside Windows. Disk directories are in magenta, while boot
files are in lavender. Excluded files, which primarily refer to items in Windows’ System Volume
Information folder, appear in black. White squares denote free space on the drive.
Reading a Disk Map
As you look at a disk map, you’ll notice that lavender files invariably appear at the head of the map. By
default Windows reorganizes boot files and seeks to place them at the head of the drive, every three
days or so. When you install PerfectDisk, it takes over this chore by default unless you instruct it
otherwise. Either way, you’ll typically find boot files at the start of the disk map (upper left).
Next come normal files, usually in this order: Rarely Modified (blue), then Occasionally Modified
(orange), then Recently Modified (green). Excluded files (black), Metadata (grey), and MFT (yellow) will
usually show up after all the Rarely Modified (blue) files, usually somewhere within or near the end of
the Occasionally Modified (orange) and Recently Modified (green) files, as do MFT zone (brown) blocks
as well. There’s also usually a larger area of Excluded Files (black) around the middle of the drive. You’ll
also normally find some files right near the end of the drive as well.
As you look at your disk map, you should be seeking various types of patterns. For one, it’s desirable for
the Rarely-Occasionally-Recently Modified items to appear in that order, and for the individual regions
to be more or less distinct and contiguous (some mixing is inevitable, but the more random it becomes
the less optimal it will be). Many small patches of white interspersed among these areas indicate greater
free space fragmentation, which is itself not desirable. Finally, when you do see sizable areas of white
space, the larger they are, the better, because this tells you that sizable and desirable chunks of free
space remain available on the drive.
Please also consult these additional Help items:
•
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•
•
•
Defragmenting Selected Files
Selected Files enables you to open an Explorer-like browse window into the file system on your drive,
where you can select individual files (up to 20 at a time) for file-by-file defragmentation.
File-by-file defragmentation can be useful when you simply wish to defragment a handful of badly
fragmented files (more than 100 excess fragments is a good cut-off point for this designation). Most
such tasks will take only a few minutes to complete, and can be handy when you want to work on a
large database, in Outlook (.pst file), or with large application files (video or audio tracks) that have
become fragmented over time.
To defragment selected files, complete the following steps:
1. Make sure the Defragmentation tab is selected.
2. From the Drive Pane, select a drive from where you want to select the files for
defragmentation.
3.
Click the Selected Files icon in the Advanced area on the Control Bar, or right-click a
drive and choose Selected Files. It opens the “Defragment Selected Files” window shown here:
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4.
By default, the Show All Files option is selected. On the left-hand side, directories with
plus signs to their left include further subdirectories. Click on any plus sign to expand a
directory’s contents.
5.
Navigate to a folder to find the fragmented files. The files that are fragmented will be
enabled and will show the number of fragments they have. Tip: By using the Most Fragmented
Files list from the Statistics tab in the results pane, you can choose a directory that includes
some fragmented files.
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6.
Select a file in the left pane of the browser and then click the Add-> button to
move file to right pane. Add as many fragmented files for defragmentation.
7.
After selecting the files, click the Defragment button. As defragmentation gets
underway, the Defragment Selected Files window closes, and you’ll see the entire
primary PerfectDisk 10 window on display. A close look at the drive(s) where you
selected files reveals that Defragmenting is underway, and the Fragmentation pie chart
on the right-hand side of the results pane will flash a progress bar embossed with the
name of the file currently being defragmented. Once the defragmentation is complete,
the Summary node of the Statistics tab appears as shown below:
For more information please read these other Help items:
•
•
•
System Files is the designation that PerfectDisk uses to identify important files that the operating system
uses at runtime to operate your PC. These include the Windows paging file (pagefile.sys), the
hibernation file used to support sleep mode on desktop Windows PCs (hiberfile.sys), and
operating system files too numerous to mention (primarily found in the %systemroot%--often
C:\Windows--and %systemroot%\System32—often C:\Windows\System32—directories.
Depending on whether or not the drive is a system drive, or some other drive that PerfectDisk can’t lock,
offline file defragmentation may or may not run on the drive(s) you select in the drive pane, when you
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click the System Files button in the Advanced Area on the Control Bar in PerfectDisk. As long as
PerfectDisk can lock a drive for exclusive access at runtime, it will defragment system files immediately.
But for a Windows system disk or any other locked drive—one, for example, where a paging file might
reside in whole or in part—attempts to defragment system files at runtime will usually fail.
Defragmenting System Files on a System (OS) Disk
When you click the System Files button in the Advanced Area on the Control Bar in PerfectDisk on a
Windows system (OS) drive, you’ll go through the following dialog sequence:
This indicates that, as expected, the System Files are in use on the drive. If you answer Yes to this dialog,
it will not work on this drive because PerfectDisk cannot force all open handles on an OS drive to close.
Instead, you’ll see the same dialog that also appears in this case if you click No:
Click Yes in this dialog to schedule system files defragmentation during the next system boot. You’ll then
be prompted to reboot your system:
You can click No to postpone the reboot until a time of your choosing, or click Yes to force an immediate
reboot. If you elect to reboot immediately, the machine will reboot right away, unless you have
StealthPatrol or Screen Saver defragmentation turned on. If either StealthPatrol or Screen Saver
defragmentation is active, however, one additional dialog appears:
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Here, you can either elect to finish out the waiting period before an automatic reboot occurs, or click
Reboot Now to force an immediate reboot. One way or the other Windows reboots.
Defragmenting System Files on Locked Disk
In the Windows environment, it’s possible to situate various system files on other disks besides the
system (OS) disk. For example, the pagefile can be moved to one or more other disks, depending on
Virtual Memory selections chosen in the Performance Options window in the Advanced tab (accessible
using the Advanced tab on the System item in the Classic View of Control Panel Classic View). If you try
to defragment system files on such a drive, you’ll see a dialog like this one:
This works the same way as a System (OS) drive. If you click Yes to force all handles closed, you’ll get an
error message indicating that the files can only be defragmented at boot time.
Click Yes here, and you’ll schedule a boot time defragmentation for this drive the next time the system
boots. In turn, this produces a prompt to reboot immediately, after which the same sequences of
choices for rebooting apply.
The most common scenario for true offline disk defragmentation occurs on drives that the operating
system doesn’t lock—this applies to all drives except for those where the operating system, the paging
file, and hibernation files reside. When you select such a drive in the drive list, then click on the System
Files icon in the Advanced area on the Control Bar, an analysis pass, followed by defragmentation gets
immediately underway. If you hover your mouse over the icon while the task is active, a tooltip that
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reads as follows pops up: “Defragment your system files which are normally locked by the Windows OS”.
Also, occupied blocks in the disk map will be uniformly black because offline defragmentation treats all
files as if they were excluded, except for directory, metadata, MFT, and boot blocks.
Behind the scenes, what’s going on is that PerfectDisk has locked the drive for its own exclusive use,
which gives the software license to defragment and move files that the operating system would
otherwise insist be left alone. Thus, boot time defragmentation is really only mandatory for drives that
cannot be locked at run-time, though it is convenient to handle offline defragmentation at boot time for
other drives as well, unless the time required to handle all such drives results in unacceptably long wait
times before the system once again becomes available.
Boot Time Defragmentation
If PerfectDisk CANNOT dismount the drive, then the defragmentation of the system files has to be done
at boot time. When the boot time defragmentation is started, you’ll see the beginning of the Microsoft
boot-up sequence, including the progress bar (if it’s enabled). After that, the screen goes black and looks
much like the DOS command line. You should see something like this on your screen (we compress an
ongoing dynamic sequence into a static display):
Proceeding in their order of appearance, this display reports on the following boot-time activities:
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For each drive selected (this display applies only to a single drive, but all others will look quite
similar), the process begins with an analysis and verification pass. You’ll see Verifying…Done
when this step is complete.
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The boot time program, PDBoot.exe, provides the numeric file IDs for any pagefile or
hibernation files it finds on a drive (the example drive has both).
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The boot time program analyzes the system files, reports percentage progress while underway,
and “Done” when complete.
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•
The boot time program then defragments system files, reports progress while underway, and
“Done” when complete. Then it does likewise for the paging and hibernation files if they need to
be defragmented .
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PDBoot.exe concludes by calling another reboot when the defragmentation pass is complete,
after which it will automatically reboot in 10 seconds (you can speed this process by striking any
key before that time elapses—otherwise, it counts down from 10 to 0, then reboots.
When Boot Time Defragmentation Fails
Occasionally when you schedule a boot time defragmentation pass in PerfectDisk you’ll get an error
message during the next boot, rather than a successful defragmentation of your system files. Known
error messages for this phenomenon include “Failed to open” and “Driver conflict.” These errors
indicate that PerfectDisk was unable to lock the drive during boot time at which point it will reboot and
launch Windows without performing the offline defragmentation task.
When this happens, it’s primarily because numerous third-party programs modify the BootExecute
registry key so that PDBoot.exe (the name of the PerfectDisk boot-time defragmentation executable
file) is no longer the first entry in its value string. This entry must occur first in that key for boot time
defragmentation to run correctly. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to verify that the BootExecute
registry key is properly formatted. Here’s how
1. Launch PerfectDisk 10 if it is not already running.
2. Click on the Product Resources tab (at the far right of the program’s tab bar).
3. Click on the Support button in the PerfectDisk Help area on the Command Bar.
4. Click the Start button in the Support for PerfectDisk 10 window that appears.
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5. If the PDBoot BootExecute Key item appears in the Problems Found window, click the
Fix button to the right.
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6. To confirm that the problem is fixed, click the Start button again. This time it should
read “Problems found: None.”
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There are other reasons why a boot time/offline defragmentation pass may fail to run. These primarily
have to do with third-party software products that open the drive for write access before PDBoot.exe
can mount the drive for exclusive access (generally, it’s undesirable to permit other readers or writers to
access a drive during offline defragmentation). If the drive is open for write access, PerfectDisk will not
run a boot time/offline defragmentation process to avoid potential damage to or corruption of system
files. These kinds of conflicts are what usually provokes a “Failed to open” or “Driver conflict” error
message from PDBoot.exe.
Search the PerfectDisk Knowledge base for an article entitled “When attempting to perform a boot time
or offline defragmentation pass…without performing the boot time/offline defrag” for a list of programs
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known to cause such problems, with information about updates and workarounds where available (you
can find the KB through www.perfectdisk.com/support).
Best Practices for Boot Time/Offline Defragmentation
It’s smart to keep an eye on metadata defragmentation on the drives that PerfectDisk manages. If
quality indicators start declining (from Excellent or Good, or Poor), or if metadata fragmentation
numbers start to increase, this often results from increasing fragmentation of free space over time.
When such patterns emerge, it’s often wise to schedule a one-time free space consolidation, to help
increase the amount of free space available to Windows for writing new files, or updating existing ones.
The PerfectDisk Enterprise Console can read and report on statistics from individual drives on the clients
it manages. It will also report on trends in metadata and free space fragmentation, and warns
administrators when a system exceeds these threshold values. If you do not have the benefit of the
Enterprise Console, however, you should get in the habit of checking these values at least once a month
to see if special action—namely, free space consolidation—might be warranted.
The best way to approach this situation is to watch for trends in metadata and free space
fragmentation. If a once-a-month schedule leads to a decrease in the defragmentation for either or both
metrics, it’s probably safe to relax a bit and reduce checks to once every six weeks or so. But if a monthly
schedule is followed by an increase in either or both metrics, it’s time to increase the frequency to once
every two or three weeks.
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Defragmenting Drives on a Windows Home Server
When you install PerfectDisk on a Windows Home Server (WHS) machine, it automatically adds a
PerfectDisk 10 Plug-in to the Windows Home Server Console. To see the PerfectDisk 10 Plug-in icon in
the Plug-ins display area at the top of the Windows Home Server Console window, you may need to hit
the scroll right button several times until it appears, as shown here:
Click this plug-in icon to produce the PerfectDisk 10 console inside the Windows Home Server Console’s
primary display area (please note that the entire console is not viewable within this display area; some
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scrolling is needed to access information and buttons normally visible when running PerfectDisk 10 on
the desktop).
Once this plug-in is open in the Windows Home Server Console window, the program looks and behaves
just like PerfectDisk 10 Professional. Therefore, we provide no special operating instructions here,
except to observe that the software recognizes and treats the WHS machine as a server, and that it
automatically sets up a default weekly defragmentation schedule for every Sunday evening at 6:00 PM
by default.
For more defragmentation coverage, please consult the following help items:
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Drive Properties Controls
You’ll find the Drive Properties button in the Options area on the program’s Control Bar. Use these
controls to change defragmentation settings for the drives that PerfectDisk manages inside the Drive
Properties window.
After you click the Drive Properties button, the corresponding window appears. By default, the Online
Defragmentation item is selected in the left-hand pane, where related settings appear in the right-hand
pane. Other left-hand pane options include Offline Defragmentation, Excluded Files, and Drive Info.
Online Defragmentation Settings
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Online Defragmentation settings include two threshold values that will trigger PerfectDisk
defragmentation or free space consolidation activity. When you configure PerfectDisk to perform
SMARTPlacement or Defrag Only defragmentation, a Fragmentation value greater than or equal to the
number in the Fragmentation % value box will trigger a defragmentation pass. If you configure
PerfectDisk to Consolidate Free Space, that number applies to free space fragmentation instead. Thus if
the value in the box is set to 5, PerfectDisk will not perform a scheduled or requested manual operation
unless that value is met or exceeded. By default, this value is set to zero (0%), which instructs
PerfectDisk to perform the requested operation whenever it is scheduled or run manually.
SMARTPlacement Settings apply to the most recent modification dates for files whose on-disk
placement is optimized during a SMARTPlacement defragmentation pass. By default, Rarely Modified
files are those that were created or modified longer than 60 days ago, and Recently Modified files are
those that were created or modified in the last 30 days. By implication, this means that Occasionally
Modified files were modified or created more than 30 (value set for Recently Modified) and less than 60
(value set for Rarely Modified) days ago.
We recommend that you leave these default values unchanged, unless your environment is such
that other thresholds make better sense. For example, an e-commerce environment produces email and
tracking files in great numbers daily, and routinely flushes them every 15 days; in that case, it may make
sense to reset the Recently modified age value from 30 to 15, and the Rarely modified age value from 60
to 30.
The check box marked “Aggressively consolidate free space” invokes PerfectDisk’s most active
consolidation behavior, and causes SMARTPlacement to seek the maximum free space consolidation
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possible in a single pass. When the aggressive option remains unchecked, PerfectDisk allows small areas
of free space to persist between files to avoid the extra time it may take to move large files simply to
eliminate small gaps in free space. For example, if the gap between two files is only 30K in size, but the
files in question are 60GB, then PerfectDisk normally leaves such a gap untouched to avoid moving a
large amount of data for little or no benefit. But when “aggressively consolidate” is turned on,
PerfectDisk consolidates as much free space as it can, and no longer ignores small gaps. In that case,
PerfectDisk will likely move at least one of the two 60GB files to close the gap. If PerfectDisk encounters
many such situations on a drive, it may take longer to defragment that drive significantly. This is
important for certain servers where it’s appropriate to schedule defragmentation during non-peak
hours. In such cases, you should observe how long defragmentation takes to complete to make sure it
doesn’t cut into prime-time server accessibility.
When you’ve made all settings to meet your requirements, click OK to confirm them and close the
window, or Cancel to leave existing settings unchanged.
Offline Defragmentation
Offline Defragmentation enables you to select which system files to defragment during an offline/boottime defragmentation pass. If you check the Master File Table, Metadata, Hibernate file check box, the
files that comprise the Master File Table (MFT) and related drive and file system information, also called
metadata files, and the Windows hibernation file (hiberfile.sys) used to permit a system to enter
and wake up quickly from a suspended “sleep state” will all be defragmented. The Windows paging file
(pagefile.sys) will also be defragmented if its box is checked. PerfectDisk selects both of these
check boxes by default when you install it.
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For more information about the NTFS MFT structure and contents, see TABLE 17.7 in “File systems” in the
Windows 2000 Resource Kit. The “OPTIMIZING NTFS” TechNet article originally from Windows NT
Magazine will also be of some interest as well.
The Defragment the selected system files on EVERY reboot check box in the right-hand pane permits
administrators to schedule a boot-time/offline defragmentation pass every time a system boots up.
PerfectDisk leaves this box unchecked by default when you install it; it’s probably best to leave it that
way on most systems except those where boot-up speed is not an issue. Thus, workstations where only
a single user must wait for reboot to complete, or servers that aren’t rebooted very often or where
availability is not an issue, are the most likely candidates for this option. Otherwise, this can cause
delays on every system boot-up, because PerfectDisk will always defragment system files during startup.
Boot time defragmentation occurs when Windows boots. This means that you have to restart your
system to defragment system files and directories. Defragmenting certain files at boot time ensures that
no other processes can access a partition. You can always tell PerfectDisk to abort a boot time
defragmentation pass safely, by pressing the Escape key.
Once PerfectDisk completes a boot time
defragmentation pass, your Windows system continues booting as normal.
Offline defragmentation occurs when PerfectDisk is able to lock a partition. If PerfectDisk can lock a
partition, it obtains exclusive access to that partition and can defragment system files and directories
without having to shut your system down. No other processes will be able to access the partition during
that time. Once PerfectDisk has finished its defragmentation pass, the partition is unlocked and other
processes can once again access it. When PerfectDisk locks a partition, processes can still access other
partitions that PerfectDisk is not currently defragmenting offline.
When you’ve made all settings to meet your requirements, click OK to confirm them and close the
window, or Cancel to leave existing settings unchanged.
Excluded Files
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This set of controls provides an Explorer-like interface into the file system on drives under PerfectDisk’s
control, and enables you to select specific files you wish PerfectDisk to leave untouched during its
defragmentation or free space consolidation operations. Generally, manual exclusion of files through
this interface is not necessary unless a software vendor (for third party applications) or developer (for
custom applications) informs you that specific files must not be moved from their on-disk locations.
By default, PerfectDisk excludes various NTFS metadata files ( all located in the %systemdrive%
directory, usually C:\; specifically these are: $MFTMirr, $LogFile, $Volume, $Bitmap, $Boot,
and $BadClus:$Bad) and the contents of the System Volume Information directory, which is
where Windows stores System Restore Points, which may be automatically or programmatically
generated, or manually created as needed by users. For Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server
systems, System Restore Points (and the clusters that they comprise on disk) are off-limits to
defragmentation software. PerfectDisk specifically excludes the contents of the System Volume
Information folder and its constituent files from defragmentation online and at boot time on those
systems. On earlier versions of Windows such as XP, Server 2003, 2000 Workstation and Server, and so
forth, these files can be defragmented, so PerfectDisk defragments them during offline/boot-time
defragmentation passes. On Vista and Server 2008 machines, however, these files account for the black
excluded regions that typically show up near the middle of NTFS disk drives at or near the middle of the
drive in PerfectDisk disk maps.
Other files that show up in the Excluded File list (available on the Statistics tab under Excluded Files on
the PerfectDisk Defragmentation tab) may be marked “Access Denied” rather than “Excluded File.”
These include pagefile.sys and hiberfile.sys, NTFS metadata and MFT files, and NTFS
extension files (in the %SystemDrive%\$Extend directory). Pagefile.sys, hiberfile.sys,
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NTFS metadata, and MFT files will be defragmented offline or at boot-time when the corresponding
check boxes in the Offline Defragmentation pane are selected.
Drive Info
PerfectDisk populates the fields in the Drive Information pane when it obtains information about
Windows drives and volumes. This includes information that the drive stores about itself (serial number,
bytes per cluster, free/used clusters, and so forth) and that Windows associates with the drive (drive
letter, GUID, and file system). This information is convenient, but is also useful for diagnostics purposes.
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PerfectDisk Settings
Clicking the PerfectDisk Settings button in the Options area on the program’s control bar opens the
PerfectDisk Settings window. You can always find the PerfectDisk settings button on the PerfectDisk 10
control bar.
The left-hand version appears only when you select the Defragmentation tab; the right-hand version
occurs for all other PerfectDisk tabs (AutoPilot Scheduling, Space Management, Active Directory,
Product Resources, and so forth).
The PerfectDisk Settings Window is divided into two panes: the left-hand pane highlights an item entry,
and the corresponding right-hand pane provides relevant details. Left-hand pane entries include:
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General
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Log Settings
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Auto Update
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Power Options
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AutoPilot Schedule
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Removable Storage
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System Resource Priority
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File Types
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Duplicate Search Settings
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Exchange Settings (Exchange version only)
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Virtual Environment (Virtual Enterprise Edition only)
Together, these items provide settings controls that determine the overall behavior for PerfectDisk. In
the sections that follow, we review each of these items.
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General
Every three days during system idle periods on Windows XP and Windows Vista, the Task Scheduler
process organizes a list of files and directories in the order in which the file system accesses them during
boot-up or application start, and stores it in a file named %windir%\Prefetch\Layout.ini. The
Prefetch folder supports Prefetch (XP) and SuperFetch(Vista) technology used to anticipate what
items to load during system startup and speed up that process. PerfectDisk can manage these files,
which are part of the layout.ini environment, or it can allow Windows to manage them, or disable
their management altogether.
PerfectDisk supports numerous options for handling the files involved in these facilities as shown in the
image above. The default (and recommended) option is to let PerfectDisk manage all files related to
computer startup. For Windows XP, the files involved are a subset of the files that appear in the
layout.ini file, and include only those files needed to boot the operating system itself. On Vista, this
also includes startup items loaded after the operating system itself starts up.
The “Let PerfectDisk Manage all layout.ini files” option instructs PerfectDisk to defragment and position
all files listed in the layout.ini file in their order of appearance therein, starting at the beginning of
the hard disk. This includes files needed to boot the operating system as well as applications and
services that routinely start within one minute after the Windows Desktop (XP and Vista only) appears.
The “Let Windows manage the layout.ini file” applies only to Windows XP and Vista. When you select
this option, Windows repositions the layout.ini files automatically during idle periods every three
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days. It places these files in the first free space area that can accommodate them. Note: If the system is
never idle long enough to trigger this activity, the layout.ini files will never be repositioned.
The “Disable” option also applies only to Windows Vista and XP, and means that neither PerfectDisk nor
Windows will manage the layout.ini files.
The remaining options control how PerfectDisk itself behaves when you run the program, under the
headings of Graphic User Interface (GUI) features, and Close button behavior:
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A check next to “Show Splash Screen on start” turns on the PerfectDisk splash screen as the
program loads. PerfectDisk checks this option by default when you install it.
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A check next to “Show Space Management tab” causes the Space Management tab to appear
on the tab bar at the top of the PerfectDisk display window. This tab makes tools available to
clean up the Windows Recycle Bin and temporary files, to identify duplicate files, to examine
space distribution for files and folders, and to report on file system activity and space
consumption. PerfectDisk checks this option by default when you install it.
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A check next to the “Show Active Directory management tab” causes the Active Directory tab
to appear on the tab bar at the top of the PerfectDisk display window. This tab provides
information about how to integrate and manage PerfectDisk using Active Directory Group Policy
Objects, or GPOs. PerfectDisk leaves this option unchecked by default; it generally isn’t
necessary for most users.
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The “Close Button behavior” settings control what happens to PerfectDisk when a user clicks
the close button at the upper right hand corner of the display window. If you select the radio
button next to “Minimize to system tray”, PerfectDisk keeps running and minimizes to an icon
in the Windows system tray. If you select the radio button next to “Exit PerfectDisk”,
PerfectDisk ceases GUI operation and the program closes.
Log Settings
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Log Settings control where PerfectDisk writes log file entries as it works. If the check box next to
“PerfectDisk log” is checked, PerfectDisk will record all entries within its own log file and make them
visible by way of the View Log button in the Options area in the Control Bar. If the check box next to
“Windows Application Event log” is checked, PerfectDisk will record all entries within the Windows
Application Event log (and available using the Windows Event Viewer) under the Windows Logs:
Application heading. In that log, look for or filter on PDEngine, PDAgent, and PDScanner in the Source
field when searching for entries made by PerfectDisk.
PerfectDisk checks both boxes by default during installation so that log information is available to the
program itself, and through the Windows Event Viewer. In most cases, you should not need to alter this
configuration.
Auto Update
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Auto Update governs how often PerfectDisk checks for updates to itself, and how it behaves when it
finds updates. Under the “Install option” heading, you can choose one of the following behaviors by
choosing a single radio button:
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“Notify when update is available” will look for updates at the interval set in the “Check for
Updates” area, but will only provide an on-screen notification that an update is available. You
must download and install the update yourself if you choose this option. PerfectDisk selects this
option by default.
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“Always install updates when available” will look for updates at the interval set in the “Check
for Updates” area, and will also download and install them automatically when it finds them.
Update behavior is entirely automatic if you choose this option.
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“Do not automatically check for updates” turns off PerfectDisk’s built-in update checker. If you
choose this option, the “Check for Updates” area will also be greyed out and inaccessible as
well.
There are three fields in the “Check for Updates” area on this display:
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The left most field reads “Every 4 weeks” by default and sets the frequency for update checks.
Other options available in the pull down list for this field include checks every 1, 2, or 3 weeks.
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•
The center field reads “Sunday” by default and sets the day upon which update checks
occur. Other options available in the pull down list for this field include the other days of the
week.
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The right most field reads “6:00:00 PM” by default and sets the time at which update checks
occur. You can change the hour, minute, and second fields to any valid 12-hour clock setting,
and the meridian value can be either AM or PM.
The “Update server” area points to Raxco’s own Internet update server for your version of PerfectDisk
by default in the URL Path field. You will normally change this value only if you operate your own update
server, in which case you’ll replace the Raxco URL with one of your own choosing. Click the Proxy
Settings button that appears in the Update server area at the lower left if you access the Internet via a
Proxy server, to identify the Server name to use, and provide a Username and password to permit them
to work through that server.
Power Options
PerfectDisk provides Power Options for the benefit of notebook PC users, who generally want to
conserve power and avoid defragmentation unless plugged into a wall socket. By default on notebooks
(identifying to PerfectDisk by selecting the Laptop or Notebook entry in the “Configure PerfectDisk for
your computer” welcome screen following installation), all defragmentation activities cease while a
notebook or laptop PC is running off battery power. For other types of PCs, PerfectDisk leaves both
boxes unchecked by default.
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AutoPilot Schedule
This screen instructs PerfectDisk how it should behave when it misses scheduled defragmentation
activities, or when the computer is in standby mode when some scheduled activity is supposed to occur.
The “Computer off when scheduled” entry provides two options for missed activities: by default,
PerfectDisk reschedules missed activities as shown above. You may elect to run missed schedules when
the computer restarts; PerfectDisk recommends this setting for notebook or laptop PCs, especially those
that see only periodic or infrequent use.
The “Computer in standby when scheduled to run” allows users or administrators to indicate whether
computers should be awakened from sleep, hibernation, or standby mode to run a scheduled activity
when its start time is reached. By default, PerfectDisk will not awaken a computer in standby mode to
perform such activities, as shown above. You may elect to wake the computer to perform the activity at
the scheduled start time by selecting the “Wake computers from standby...” option.
The final area on this display controls “StealthPatrol automatic defragmentation mode.” StealthPatrol
enables PerfectDisk to monitor system activity and to initiate defragmentation passes whenever a PC
has been idle for some minimum period. By default, PerfectDisk adjusts the minimum levels of kernel
and user mode CPU activity used to define a system as idle, and observes the level of disk input/output
(IO) activity that also constitutes idling. You can override PerfectDisk’s own built-in monitoring with your
own settings by clicking the radio button next to “Use the following settings” after which you may also
adjust kernel and user mode CPU as well as Disk IO thresholds from the values that PerfectDisk supplies
by default. PerfectDisk does not recommend using this setting, however, except in cases where detailed
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performance analyses have been conducted to set realistic thresholds based on system observation. If
you set incorrect values, StealthPatrol may never initiate defragmentation or free space consolidation,
or it may launch these tasks at inappropriate times.
Removable Storage
Use the Removable Storage page to enable defragmenting USB and firewire devices and flash drives.
PerfectDisk works with drives that are formatted FAT16, FAT32, exFAT or NTFS. PerfectDisk defragments
removable drives only if the external drive represents itself as a fixed hard drive. This is common with
USB/Firewire and flash drives attached external drives. Please note that removable drives may use
hardware or drivers that may not be fully compatible with Windows. Users should confirm that their
hardware is on the Windows Hardware Compatibility List. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/131900 for more information.
Care should be taken to ensure that removable drives are not accidentally ejected or unplugged while
being defragmented. Most USB drive vendors provide drivers specific to their drives and recommend
that these drivers be used instead of the generic Windows USB Mass storage driver. Microsoft also
recommends in many cases that Write Caching be disabled for external drives.
PerfectDisk by default does not display media connected by a USB or Firewire connection since even
though these devices represent themselves as a fixed hard drive, they may not support
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defragmentation. Prior to defragmenting these devices, you need to check with the USB/firewire device
manufacturer if the defragmentation is supported on these devices.
By default, PerfectDisk does not list hard disks connected via USB and Firewire in its drive lists, nor does
it include Flash Drives in those listings. You can override this default through the PerfectDisk Welcome
screen labeled “Configure PerfectDisk for your computer,” which includes the same check boxes and
text shown above, or those settings may be elected here.
In general, it makes sense to disable write caching for removable drives (most Windows operating
systems do so by default, but you can check status for individual drives in Device Manager by checking
the Policies tab in the Device Properties window, as in the image below).
System Resource Priority
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This is the setting where you can manage PerfectDisk CPU and I/O priorities when the program runs
alongside other applications and services on a PC. By default, PerfectDisk runs at normal CPU priority
(identical to the Process Priority settings in Task Manager for PDAgent.exe, PDEngine.exe,
PDScanner.exe, PerfectDisk.exe, and so forth). If you wish to give PerfectDisk higher priority
(and ensure quicker completion times) select the Above normal entry in the CPU Priority area instead; if
you wish to give other processes preferential treatment, select Below normal.
The “Disk I/O” area is where you can instruct PerfectDisk to monitor and react to or ignore other
ongoing disk activity on the system where it’s running. PerfectDisk selects this option by default so that
it will slow down on its own I/O whenever other processes are engaged in substantial I/O. Although this
will slow down completion of PerfectDisk’s activities, it will permit other processes to complete their
tasks more quickly.
In Windows, the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provides access to previous versions of files,
supports various types of backup activity, enables creation of stable snapshots of open files, and
provides the mechanism for creating Restore Points. For Windows Vista and Server 2008, VSS copies
reside in the %systemdrive%\System Volume Information directory and may not be
defragmented or moved from their on-disk locations. That’s why PerfectDisk always includes these files
on its Excluded Files list for those operating systems, and why it leaves such files alone on disk. For older
Windows versions, PerfectDisk can defragment them at boot time or if the drive can be locked for
offline operation.
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Normally, NTFS volumes get formatted using 4KB (4,096 byte) cluster sizes. Defragmenting files on a
drive with shadow copies can cause older snapshots or Restore Points to be purged, simply through the
act of moving files from one on-disk location to another. That’s why the PerfectDisk default is set to
defragment files in VSS compatible mode to avoid this phenomenon. If problems with shadow copies
occur on key drives on a system, you may elect to turn off defragmentation altogether, by selecting the
item in the VSS defragmentation area labeled “Do not defragment/Stop if any shadow copies exist.” On
drives where cluster sizes are 16KB (16,384 bytes) or larger, VSS compatible mode is not required; in
that case you can select the “Defragment normally” option.
File Types
This PerfectDisk Settings display allows users to add or modify the various Windows file extensions that
PerfectDisk users to identify specific files by type. In turn, this controls the composition of the pie chart
that appears in the PerfectDisk Statistics File Types display in the program’s Defragmentation tab. Here’s
an example:
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To create this display, which features a noticeable “User Defined” segment in yellow at center right in
the pie chart, we removed the .vbs (Visual Basic), .js (JavaScript), .wsf (Windows Script Files), .wsc
(Windows Scripting Component), .com (Windows command file), .ocx (Windows ActiveX control), and
.sys (Windows system files) elements from the default programs definition, and pasted them into User
Defined definition instead. You can do likewise with any of the predefined lists supplied by default for
PerfectDisk, or add your own extensions as you see fit. You can restore the original definitions at any
time by clicking the Restore All Defaults button in the lower right hand corner of this display panel.
Duplicate Search Settings
When PerfectDisk searches for duplicated files as a part of its Space Management capabilities, it
automatically excludes certain directories from that search by default in the program. You can view
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these defaults by scrolling though the list shown in the exclusion list above. You may add other
directories to exclude by clicking the Add button, and then selecting directories one at a time in the
mini-Explorer interface that appears in response to that button. You can highlight individual excluded
entries in the existing list, and then click Remove to remove them, or clear the list entirely by clicking
the Remove All button. You can restore the original defaults for your system at any time by clicking the
Restore Defaults button at the lower right corner of this display panel.
As you use the Duplicates Finder in PerfectDisk Space Management, you will come across directories
where duplication is inevitable and where you probably should not remove duplicates. For example, in a
collection of drivers from the same vendor, you will invariably find duplicated support files (installers,
help, end-user agreements, and so forth). You should probably leave these files alone. You can note
these directories as you look at the results presented in the Duplicate Files Found window, and then
open this display panel in the PerfectDisk Settings to exclude them by working your way through the
Explorer interface when you click the Add button.
By default, all new entries appear at the bottom of the exclude list. So if you want to modify settings
(perhaps to unclick the Subfolders checkbox that is selected by default for drive folders) please scroll to
the bottom of the list to find those entries.
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PerfectDisk Log View
When you click the View Log button in the Options area on the PerfectDisk Control Bar, this opens the
program’s Log View window
Log View Window
The Log View window shows information that various runtime modules log to the PerfectDisk log file.
Reporting modules can include PDEngine.exe (the PerfectDisk online defragmentation program) and
PDAgent.exe (the PerfectDisk scheduling service). Here’s a snapshot with a typical collection of log
entries:
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When a log file entry includes a plus (+) sign it is usually a statistics record (Event ID 36), where clicking
that plus sign expands the level of detail visible in the log display. Here’s another snapshot with the
topmost statistics record expanded to show available details.
This information is a subset of the information available in the Statistics pane from PerfectDisk after
pressing the Analyze button, and completing a drive analysis. The key information fields report on the
total number of fragmented files before and after the last defragmentation, the total number of excess
fragments, the fragmentation percentages before and after, and a brief recommendation statement as
to any additional use of PerfectDisk that may be indicated (SMARTPlacement, Consolidate Free Space,
and so forth). After using the PerfectDisk Scramble.exe utility on a test drive to create numerous
fragments intentionally and widely scattered, small amounts of contiguous free space (look for this in
the Updates and Downloads area under www.perfectdisk.com/support), you can see a Smart Placement
recommendation in this statistics entry:
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Log View Best Practices
You can turn to PerfectDisk log files when you need information about defragmentation results, status
of the PerfectDisk Scheduler, and completion/miss status on scheduled defragmentation runs. The Save
As button in the Log View window lets you save log file contents as a plain text file, as shown here:
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You can save or print this information for later re-use, or import it into other programs (such as business
process management dashboards, network management systems, and so on) to provide drive health
and utilization information.
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Scheduling Defragmentation
Scheduling defragmentation tasks in PerfectDisk brings unparalleled efficiency, flexibility, and scalability
to your working environment. You have the power to create, enable, edit, disable and delete
defragmentation schedule profiles and create templates or reuse existing templates distributed across
several machines on your network.
PerfectDisk also enables you to automate, control and schedule defragmentation tasks remotely to help
lighten your administrative workload. With PerfectDisk’s integrated scheduler, remote connectivity,
exclusive StealthPatrol™ and screen saver methods, defragmenting your home office or enterprise
environment has never been easier, more efficient or more effective.
What is PerfectDisk Scheduling?
Scheduling allows PerfectDisk to start the defragmentation process automatically according to the
date(s) and time(s) you specify. You can use schedules whenever you need to start the defragmentation
without manual intervention, making the defragmentation process more efficient and with little to no
user interaction.
Once you have determined the best defragmentation schedule for your system, you can easily schedule
PerfectDisk to perform unattended defragmentation tasks. Read the related topics for a more complete
perspective on how PerfectDisk scheduling best suits your needs.
Related Topics
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Types of Schedules
Scheduling Options
Creating a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
Enabling a Schedule
Disabling a Schedule
Running a Schedule
Creating a Schedule Template
Saving a Schedule Template
PerfectDisk Schedule Types
Scheduling PerfectDisk defragmentation has never been easier. PerfectDisk supports six different types
of scheduling options (depending on your version of PerfectDisk), enabling you to create, enable, delete,
disable and start schedules locally and remotely. Furthermore, your you can drive your PerfectDisk
schedules with Group Policy settings for tight integration with Active Directory networks or Exchange
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Server datastore needs and VMWare virtual machines (only available in PerfectDisk for Exchange and
PerfectDisk for VMWare, respectively).
PerfectDisk supports six types of schedules:

Local schedule – The PerfectDisk client software uses this type to defragment drives on
your local computer or a remote computer connected via PerfectDisk.

Network schedule – This option is identical to the local schedule, but instead of placing
the schedule on a single computer, the schedule is copied to the registries of many
computers. You can manage this option through PerfectDisk Enterprise Console. Refer
to PerfectDisk Enterprise Console Help for more information.

Group Policy schedule – You can create a schedule for Active Directory using the
PerfectDisk Administrative Template. PerfectDisk supports up to five different Group
Policy schedules on any given computer. These schedules may only be created, deleted
and change from within Active Directory.

Exchange Data Store Schedule – This option is available only in versions of PerfectDisk
that support Exchange. It allows you to select one or several Exchange data stores and
perform offline compaction to recover disk space on your Exchange server. Refer to
Creating a Schedule for Exchange Data Store for more information.

Virtual Computer One Time – This option is available only in PerfectDisk for VMWare,
and lets you schedule a one-time defragmentation task at a specific date and time for a
designated virtual machine on a system running some form of VMWare.

Virtual Computer Weekly – This option is also available only in PerfectDisk for VMWare,
and lets you schedule a weekly defragmentation task for a specific time on a designated
day of the week.
See the related topics for further guidance in using PerfectDisk schedules.
Related Topics
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PerfectDisk AutoPilot Schedule Options
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Creating a Schedule
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Deleting a Schedule
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Enabling a Schedule
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Running a Schedule
The PerfectDisk Client supports the Local Schedule type used to defragment drives on your local
computer or for a remote computer connected via PerfectDisk. The Local Schedule type offers the
following schedule options:

One-Time Schedule – Schedules used to perform defragmentation passes only once. This option
should be used if you want to execute a defragmentation pass only once at a later specified
time, such as the middle of the night or early morning hours when there is little workload.

Daily Schedule – Schedules used to perform defragmentation passes on a daily basis. The
interval between passes may be one or several days. You should use this option whenever you
want to schedule regular defragmentation passes more than once a week.

Weekly Schedule – Schedules used to perform defragmentation passes on a weekly basis. The
interval between defragmentation passes may be one more days over the course of several
weeks. You should use this option whenever you want to schedule regular defragmentation
passes once or more per week and/or every several weeks.

Screen Saver Schedule – (Professional versions of Windows only) Schedules used to defragment
drive(s) automatically whenever the computer screen saver kicks in and the computer has not
been defragmented in some user-definable number of days. The Screen Saver Schedule only
applies to the Online Defragmentation method.

StealthPatrol Schedule – Automatic scheduling initiated through PerfectDisk’s exclusive
StealthPatrol technology to optimize your drive(s) whenever the system is idle. You may specify
the period between optimizing runs, the number of minutes to wait after Windows goes idle,
and disable optimization when certain programs are currently running.
Note: Screen Saver and StealthPatrol schedules will take priority over manual or scheduled
defragmentation passes if they are already active when a scheduled task’s time slot comes up.
Otherwise, regular schedules will proceed as they normally would.
Schedules work according to these priorities:
1. User initiates a manual defragmentation task.
2. Defined schedules (one time, daily, weekly, Exchange, VMWare)
3. Screensaver schedule
4. StealthPatrol
If you have enabled StealthPatrol, a Screensaver schedule will still run whenever the system screensaver
is activated.
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Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule
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Deleting a Schedule
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Enabling a Schedule
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Running a Schedule
Creating a Schedule
Creating a Schedule
You can schedule a defragmentation pass by using PerfectDisk’s Schedule Wizard, which allows you to
create a schedule for a single local computer or a remote computer connected via PerfectDisk.
Note: Although PerfectDisk can be started while other disk activity is occurring, the best
defragmentation performance is realized when disk activity (creating, modifying or removing files) is
minimized.
You can create any one of the following schedules:
One-Time Schedule
 Daily Schedule
 Weekly Schedule
 Screen Saver Schedule
 StealthPatrol Schedule
 Exchange Schedule
 VMWare Schedule
PerfectDisk also enables you to create schedules from an existing template and save schedule templates
as necessary. See the subsequent sub-headings and related help topics for more information on
manipulating schedules.

Related Topics
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Deleting a Schedule
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Enabling a Schedule
•
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Running a Schedule
Creating a One-Time Schedule
Use one-time schedules to perform defragmentation passes only once. This option is useful when you
want to execute a defragmentation pass once at a later specified time, such as the middle of the night or
early morning hours when there is little workload activity.
To create a one-time schedule, proceed through the following steps:
1. Open PerfectDisk.
2. Switch to the AutoPilot mode by choosing the AutoPilot tab from the tab bar.
Alternatively, in Defragmentation mode navigate to the Available Drive List and under
the Next Run column select the Change option.
3. In AutoPilot mode, click the One Time tool from the tool bar as shown:
The Schedule Wizard window opens to create a One-Time Schedule, as shown below:
4. Enter a unique name for the schedule. The Existing Schedules section of this window shows any
previously created schedules on your machine.
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5. Click the Next button. The Select Drives page opens as shown below:
6. Select the drive(s) you want to defragment (by default, all drives are selected). You can specify
one or several disks as necessary. You also see three defragmentation options:

Defragment drives one after another (in series) – In general, defragmenting
the drives one after another is faster and has a lower impact on computing
resources (CPU and memory).

Defragmentation drives at the same time (in parallel) – Parallel selection is
useful when your machine has multiple physical drives.

Auto Detection (let PerfectDisk decide for you) – This is the default option.
PerfectDisk will decide the best defragmentation sequence for your drive.
7. Click Next to open the Defragmentation Method dialog, as shown below:
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8. You may now select among the various defragmentation methods: reclaim free space, online,
offline or all three. If both online and offline defragmentation methods are selected, the online
files are defragmented after the offline portion completes. Each method is described as follows:

Reclaim Free Space before defragmentation – This option is new in
PerfectDisk 10 and enables you to achieve greater defragmentation results by
eliminating wasteful recycle bin contents and temporary files.

Defragment files – Choose this for scheduling online defragmentation, which
implicitly excludes system files. This option is enabled by default, and you
should use this option for whenever files can be processed and relocated while
the system is online.

Offline Defragmentation of system files – Check this box to defragment file
types that cannot be relocated while Windows is running. These files may
include directories, system files and the page file. See Offline File Types for
more detailed information. Note: if you select this option, PerfectDisk will first
try to perform an offline defragmentation of the locked volume. If that fails,
PerfectDisk will reboot the computer so it can perform a boot time
defragmentation.
First, select the type of online defragmentation file placement strategy you wish to take.
Next, if you select the Offline Defragmentation of System Files option, then you may
also select to Override the Drive Properties of Notebook Settings check box. If you
choose this override option then all directories, the Master File Table, metadata,
hibernate and page file check boxes become active. Any selections you make here
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override selections made in the Drive Properties window’s Offline Settings node. If this
option is not selected, then those settings remain unaffected and remain valid during
the defragmentation period.
9. Click Next. The Time and Date page appears, as shown below:
10. Enter a date, time and maximum duration of line passes (in hours) when you want the
defragmentation pass to initiate. You may also check the box indicating that Windows should
shutdown when defragmentation completes (applies to workstation versions of Windows only).
Windows Server versions entirely ignore this option.
Note: You’ll see that the schedule start date and time must be set in the future.
Otherwise, the Finish button remains shaded and you may only go back or cancel from
here.
Let’s evaluate each option as it appears in turn below:
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
Calendar – Select a date. By default, the current date is selected.

Start Time – Enter a time when the defragmentation pass will start.

Maximum Duration – Enter the maximum amount of time this
defragmentation should take in hours (online passes only). If left blank (or set
to 0), the defragmentation pass continues to completion. This option enables
you to terminate the defragmentation pass at any given time if it hasn’t
completed. When you schedule an overnight defragmentation pass, you may
want to set the maximum duration to ensure that the pass stops before any
co-workers need the computer in the morning. You can also use this option to
avoid conflicts with other scheduled system tasks.
Note: The Maximum Duration option does not apply to offline defragmentation
passes.
On Windows workstation versions, checking the ”Shutdown when complete” option
halts the computer upon completion of the defragmentation pass. However, if a user is
currently logged on at that time, PerfectDisk displays an error message giving that user
five minutes to save any necessary data. At this point, the user may also abort the
shutdown process by clicking Stop Shutdown or force an instant shutdown by clicking
Shutdown Now. On Windows 2000, you can abort this process from the PerfectDisk
application by clicking the Stop Shutdown button on the AutoPilot tab tool bar.
11. Click Finish. You’ll see the one-time schedule in the Schedule List section, as you see below:
The Schedule List section displays the following information:

Name – The unique name you assigned to the schedule.

Type – The schedule’s frequency: once, daily, weekly, screen saver or automatic.

Last Run – The date and time when the schedule last ran.

Next Run – The start date and time of the next scheduled defragmentation.

Disabled – The schedule’s disabled status.
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
Reclaim Free Space – If reclaim free space option is set during schedule creation, it
shows the scheduled clearing of Windows’ recycle bin and temporary files in the
bottom.

Defragment – The scheduled defragmentation type is shown in the bottom.
Related Topics
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PerfectDisk Schedule Options
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Creating a Schedule from a Template
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Editing a Schedule
Creating a Daily Schedule
You can use daily schedules to perform defragmentation passes more frequently than any other
scheduling option. The interval between passes may be one or several days. Use this option if you want
to schedule a regular defragmentation pass more than once a week.
To create a daily schedule, follow these procedures:
Alternatively, in Defragmentation mode you can navigate to the Available Drive List and
under the Next Run column select the Change option.
3. In AutoPilot mode, click the Daily tool from the tool bar as shown below:
The Schedule Wizard window opens to create a Daily Schedule, as shown below:
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4. Enter a unique name for the schedule and click Next. The Select Drives window appears, as
shown below:
5. Select the drives to be defragmented. By default, the All Drives option is selected. You can also
specify one, several or all drives to be defragmented. You’re also given three defragmentation
options:
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
the drives one after another is slower and has less of an impact on computing

Defragment drives at the same time (in parallel) – Parallel selection is useful
when your machine has multiple physical drives.

6. Click Next. The Defrag Method window appears, as shown below:
files are defragmented after the offline portion completes. Each method works as follows:
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


types that cannot be relocated while Windows is operational. These files may
more detailed information.
Select a type of online defragmentation file placement strategy to take. If you select the
Offline Defragmentation of System Files option, then you may also select to Override
the Drive Properties of Notebook Settings check box. If you choose this override option
then all directories, the Master File Table, metadata, hibernate and page file check
boxes become active. Any selections you make here override selections made in the
Drive Properties window’s Offline Settings node. If this option is not selected, then
those settings remain unaffected and remain valid during the defragmentation period.
shut down when defragmentation completes (applies to workstation versions of Windows only).
Note: You’ll see that the schedule start date and time must be set in the future.
Otherwise, the Finish button remains shaded and you may only go back or cancel from
here.
Let’s look at each option:


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
Maximum Duration – Enter the maximum amount of time this
defragmentation should take in hours (online passes only). If left blank (or set
to 0), the defragmentation pass continues to completion. This option enables
you to terminate the defragmentation pass at any given time if it hasn’t
completed. When you schedule an overnight defragmentation pass, you may
want to set the maximum duration to ensure that the pass stops before any
co-worker need the computer in the morning. Additionally, you can use this
option to avoid conflicts with any other scheduled system tasks.

Frequency – Select the daily defragmentation frequency. For example, you can
specify that defragmentation recurs every two days or every three weeks. You
may also specify whether defragmentation occurs only on the weekdays or
during the weekends.
Note: This option does not apply to any offline defragmentation passes.
On Windows workstation versions, checking the “Shutdown when complete” option
halts the computer upon completion of the defragmentation pass. However, if a user is
currently logged on at that time, PerfectDisk displays an error message giving that user 5
minutes to save any necessary data. At this time, the user may also abort the shutdown
process by clicking Stop Shutdown or force an instant shutdown by clicking Shutdown
Now. On Windows 2000, you can abort this process from the PerfectDisk application by
clicking the Stop Shutdown button on the AutoPilot tab tool bar.
10. Click Finish. You’ll see the one-time schedule in the Schedule List section, as in the example
below:
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The Schedule List section indicates the following information:


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bottom.
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Related Topics
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Editing a Schedule
Creating a Weekly Schedule
You may create schedules to perform defragmentation on a weekly basis. The interval between passes
can be one or several weeks. Use this option only where you intend to schedule defragmentation on a
weekly or semi-weekly basis.
To create a weekly schedule, follow these steps:
3. In AutoPilot mode, click the Weekly tool from the tool bar as shown below:
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The Schedule Wizard window opens to create a Weekly Schedule, as shown below:
4. Enter a unique name for the schedule and click Next. The Select Drives dialog appears, as shown
below:
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5. Select the drives to be defragmented. By default, the All Drives option is selected. You can also
specify one, several or all drives to be defragmented. You’re also given three defragmentation
options:

the drives one after another is slower and has a lower impact on computing

Defragmentation drives at the same time (in parallel) – Parallel selection is
useful when your machine has multiple physical drives.

6. Click Next. The Defrag Method dialog appears, as shown below:
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files are defragmented after the offline portion completes. Each method is described as follows:



types that cannot be relocated while Windows is operational. These files may
more detailed information.
Select a type of online defragmentation file placement strategy to take. If you select the
Offline Defragmentation of System Files option, then you may also select to Override
the Drive Properties of Notebook Settings check box. If you choose this override option
then all directories, the Master File Table, metadata, hibernate and page file check
boxes become active. Any selections you make here override selections made in the
Drive Properties window’s Offline Settings node. If this option is not selected, then
those settings remain unaffected and remain valid during the defragmentation period.
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shutdown when defragmentation completes (applies to workstation versions of Windows only).
Note: You’ll see that the schedule start date and time must be set in the future. Otherwise, the
Finish button remains shaded and you may only go back or cancel from here. Note also that you
must select one or more days under the Select Days label.
Let’s have a look at each option:


Start Date – Enter a date when the defragmentation pass will start.


Maximum Duration – Enter the maximum amount of time this defragmentation
should take in hours (online passes only). If left blank (or set to 0), the
defragmentation pass continues to completion. This option enables you to
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terminate the defragmentation pass at any given time if it hasn’t completed. When
you schedule an overnight defragmentation pass, you may want to set the
maximum duration to ensure that the pass stops before any co-worker need the
computer in the morning. Additionally, you can use this option to avoid conflicts
with any other scheduled system tasks.

Frequency – Select the weekly defragmentation frequency. For example, you can
specify that the defragmentation pass recurs every two weeks.
Note: This option does not apply to any offline defragmentation passes.
On Windows workstation versions, checking the shutdown option halts the computer upon
completion of the defragmentation pass. However, if a user is currently logged on at that time,
PerfectDisk displays an error message giving that user 5 minutes to save any necessary data. At
this time, the user may also abort the shutdown process by clicking Stop Shutdown or force an
instant shutdown by clicking Shutdown Now. On Windows 2000, you can abort this process
from the PerfectDisk application by clicking the Stop Shutdown button on the AutoPilot tab tool
bar.
10. Click Finish. You’ll see your new weekly schedule in the Schedule List section, as you see below:
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
Name – The schedule’s name entry.




Reclaim Free Space – The scheduled clearing of Windows’ recycle bin and
temporary files.

Defragment – The scheduled defragmentation type.

Related Topics
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Editing a Schedule
Creating a Screen Saver Schedule
A Screen Saver Schedule is available only to Professional versions of Windows. This enables you to have
PerfectDisk automatically defragment your drive(s) when the computer is idle, as indicated by the
invocation of screensaver functionality, and when you haven’t defragmented the drive in a user-defined
number of days. You achieve greater flexibility in scheduling defragmentation, but this option is only
compatible with online defragmentation.
To create a screensaver-initiated schedule, follow these steps:
3. In AutoPilot mode, click the Screen Saver tool from the tool bar as shown below:
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The Schedule Wizard to create a Screen Saver schedule appears. The Select Drives
dialog is shown below:
4. Select the drives to be defragmented. By default, all drives are selected.
5. Click Next. The Defragmentation Method dialog appears as shown:
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6. The Screen Saver Schedule is only available for online defragmentation. Select the type of Online
File Placement Strategy you want to take. Your options are as follows:

Defragment with SMARTPlacement – Raxco’s patented algorithm designed to
optimally place the most frequently used and reused files on your system.
SMARTPlacement organizes and groups frequently used files and data so that
future defragmentation passes are less likely to move them again.

Defragment without SMARTPlacement – Without SMARTPlacement file
optimization, your fragmented files are simply defragmented and left as-is
wherever they are located. A defragment only pass disregards your usage
trends and space consolidation, and instead focuses on providing fast
defragmentation.

Consolidate Free Space – Defragment all files and consolidate free space, so
you get the best of optimal file access and free space consolidation, without
the usage trend analysis and optimal file placement of SMARTPlacement.
7. Click Next. The Minimum Period page appears, as shown:
8. Enter the daily threshold for the minimum period between defragmentation runs. PerfectDisk
references this value to check against how many days expired since the last defragmentation
occurred, and when the screen saver is active, the defragmentation begins.
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9. Click Finish. The created screen saver schedule is listed in the Schedule List pane as shown
below:
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bottom.
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Related Topics
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Editing a Schedule
Creating a StealthPatrol Schedule
Automatic defragmentation scheduling is possible through PerfectDisk’s exclusive StealthPatrol™
technology, which optimizes your drive whenever the system becomes idle. An automatic
defragmentation schedule affords you the flexibility to invoke a defragmentation pass when Windows is
idle. By default, automatic defragmentation does not initiate whenever the system has been
defragmented within the past three days. It is possible for StealthPatrol to run even if someone is using
a machine because we use CPU and Disk I/O thresholds to determine if the machine is busy or not. A
user might be surfing the Web, for example, but as long as system resource usage remains beneath the
thresholds a defragmentation can still run silently in the background.
You can change the number of days to wait between automated passes, set the number of minutes that
Windows must remain idle before triggering the defrag, and specify a list of applications to check status
on prior to processing a drive. Whenever an application on that list is running, the drive optimization will
not take place. This feature ensures that defragmentation does not interfere with the operation of any
critical applications and incur performance degradation as a result.
Note: Automatic schedules are only available for online defragmentation.
To configure an automated StealthPatrol schedule, follow these steps:
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3.
In AutoPilot mode, click the Screen Saver tool from the tool bar as shown below:
The Schedule Wizard to create a StealthPatrol Schedule appears. The Select Drives
window is the first step, as shown below:
4. Select the drive(s) where you’d like the automated schedule to begin optimizations.
You can select one, several or all drives (enabled by default) from this list.
5. Click the Next button.
You will see the Defrag Method page of the Schedule Wizard, as shown below:
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6. Three options are available:

Defragment with SMARTPlacement – Raxco’s patented algorithm is designed
to optimally place the most frequently used and reused files on your system.
SMARTPlacement organizes and groups frequently used files and data so that
future defragmentation passes are less likely to move them again.

Defragment without SMARTPlacement – Without SMARTPlacement file
optimization, your fragmented files are simply defragmented and left as-is
wherever they are located. A defragment-only pass disregards your usage
trends and space consolidation, and instead focuses on providing fast
defragmentation.

Consolidate Free Space – Defragment all files and consolidate free space, so
you get the best of optimal file access and free space consolidation, without
the usage trend analysis and optimal file placement of SMARTPlacement.
By default, the recommended SMARTPlacement method is selected.
7. Click the Next button.
The Minimum Period dialog appears as shown:
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8. Specify the number of days between defragmentation runs in the field marked Period (days).
By default, this entry is 5 days.
9. Specify the number of minutes to wait for Windows to remain idle before initiating the
defragmentation pass in the field marked Idle (minutes).
By default, this entry is 5 minutes.
10. In the field labeled Do not defragment when the following programs are running, add any
desired applications to this list. Click the Add button and select the application(s) to include.
To remove an application from this list, select that application’s entry and click Remove.
The third and final button, Remove All, clears all applications from this list.
11. Click the Finish button.
You will then finalize the creation of an automatic schedule for the selected drive(s). The main
AutoPilot window displays all newly added schedules under the Schedule List section, as in the
example below:
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Related Topics
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How does StealthPatrol know when my computer is idle?
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Editing a Schedule
Creating an Exchange One Time schedule
PerfectDisk for Exchange assists you in scheduling maintenance tasks for your busiest Exchange data
stores. You may create one-time or weekly schedules with simple configuration like any other
PerfectDisk scheduling task. PerfectDisk for Exchange provides a new panel under the AutoPilot
Scheduling tab called Create New Exchange Schedule, where you can find the Exchange One Time tile.
To create an Exchange one-time schedule, follow these steps:
2. Select the AutoPilot Scheduling tab.
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3. Click the Exchange One Time tool on the Create New Exchange Schedule panel.
The Exchange One Time window appears as shown below:
4. Enter a Schedule Name for your new Exchange One Time schedule and click Next.
5. Select your Data Stores and click Next.
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By default the All Data Stores option is selected. You may make individual selections by
clicking Select the Data Stores you would like to compact/defragment in this schedule
and mark the appropriate check box for the Storage Group entry.
6. Select the Time and Date to run your new Exchange One Time schedule and click Finish.
7. Choose an appropriate date and time in the future and click Finish.
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See the related topics for further information on PerfectDisk scheduling.
Related Topics
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Creating an Exchange Weekly schedule
Running a Schedule
Creating an Exchange Weekly Schedule
PerfectDisk for Exchange assists you in scheduling maintenance tasks for your busiest Exchange data
stores. You may only create one-time or weekly schedules with simple configuration like any other
PerfectDisk scheduling task. PerfectDisk for Exchange provides a new panel under the AutoPilot
Scheduling tab called Create New Exchange Schedule, where you can find the Exchange Weekly tile.
To create an Exchange weekly schedule, follow these steps:
3. Click the Exchange Weekly tile on the Create New Exchange Schedule panel.
The Exchange Weekly window appears as shown below:
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4. Enter a Schedule Name for your new Exchange Weekly schedule and click Next.
5. Select your Data Stores and click Next.
By default the All Data Stores option is selected. You may make individual selections by
clicking Select the Data Stores you would like to compact/defragment in this schedule
and mark the appropriate check box for the Storage Group entry.
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6. Select the Time and Date to run your new Exchange Weekly schedule and click Finish.
Related Topics
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Creating a One-Time Schedule
Running a Schedule
Creating a VMware One Time schedule
PerfectDisk for VMware provides an extra panel to the AutoPilot Scheduling tab called Create Virtual
Computer Schedule. On this panel, there are two tools: Virtual Computer One Time and Virtual
Computer Weekly. These two items are your scheduling options for VMware environments.
To schedule a one-time defragmentation run for a VMware guest, follow these steps:
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The AutoPilot Scheduling main window opens.
3. Click the Virtual Computer One Time tool on the Create Virtual Computer Schedule
panel.
The Virtual Computer – One Time Schedule wizard appears.
4. Type the Schedule Name for your new Virtual One Time Schedule and click Next.
5. Make your virtual computer selections under Select Virtual Computers page and click Next.
6. Select the Time and Date to run your new VMWare One Time schedule and click Finish.
Choose an appropriate future date and time to start your new schedule.
Related Topics
Creating a VMware Weekly schedule
• Creating a Schedule from a Template
• Saving a Schedule Template
Running a Schedule
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Creating a VMware Weekly schedule
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PerfectDisk for VMware provides an extra panel to the AutoPilot Scheduling tab called Create Virtual
Computer Schedule. On this panel there are two icons: Virtual Computer One Time and Virtual
Computer Weekly. These two items are your scheduling options for VMware environments.
To schedule a weekly defragmentation run for a VMware guest, follow these steps:
The AutoPilot Scheduling main window opens.
3. Click the Virtual Computer Weekly tool on the Create Virtual Computer Schedule panel.
The Virtual Computer – Weekly Schedule popup dialog appears.
4. Type the Schedule Name for your new Virtual Weekly Schedule and click Next.
5. Make your virtual computer selections under Select Virtual Computers and click Next.
6. Select the Time and Date to run your new VMWare Weekly schedule and click Finish.
Choose an appropriate future date and time to start your new schedule.
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Related Topics
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Creating a VMware One Time schedule
Running a Schedule
PerfectDisk enables you to create schedules from a saved template through reuse, which is useful when
you need to create several schedules to replicate across many machines on a network. You may save a
template to a shared network folder for later reuse on all relevant computers.
The saved schedule template facilitates the creation of new schedules whenever you provide a new
schedule name. You may use this to create any type of schedule; however, you do need to provide some
special criteria for the resulting schedule(s). For example, you can use the daily schedule template to
create a weekly schedule, but you must provide the weekday criteria before finalizing the template.
Using the daily, weekly or one-time schedules with Screen Saver or StealthPatrol schedule templates is
incompatible and ineffective. Similarly, using Screen Saver and StealthPatrol schedule templates for
creating daily, weekly and one-time schedule(s) has no effect. You can use Screen Saver and
StealthPatrol to fabricate schedule templates only for those scheduling types.
To create a schedule from an existing template, follow these steps:
3. From AutoPilot mode, click any desired tool from the tool bar labeled Create New Schedule to
create a schedule. For example, we’ll create a template based on the One Time schedule, as
shown below:
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4. Click the Use saved Template link in the lower left corner of the left window pane, as indicated
in the previous screen shot. A file browser window appears, as shown:
Note: If you haven’t already created a template, then none may appear. In that case,
you will have to save a template file first, and work from that point forward.
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5. Locate and choose the schedule template that you want to use and click Open. The PerfectDisk
schedule template uses a .pdt file extension. The template loads the information for the
selected schedule in the Schedule Wizard.
6. Provide a new name for the schedule.
7. Provide any other necessary criteria where needed and click Finish to finalize your schedule
template changes. When you use a saved template file for schedule creation, the new schedule
will have all the same attributes as the template. However, you may change any attribute for
the newly created schedule.
Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule Template
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Editing a Schedule
PerfectDisk enables you to save schedule templates for later reuse, which is useful whenever you must
create several schedules for redistribution across many machines on a network. You may save a given
template on a shared network folder and then reuse it for all applicable network computers.
To save a schedule template, follow these steps:
2. Switch to the AutoPilot mode by choosing the AutoPilot tab from the tab bar. Click any schedule
type from the tool bar to create a new schedule. The Schedule Wizard dialog opens, as shown:
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We’ll create an example daily schedule, but you may select whichever type you prefer.
3. Create a schedule by proceeding through each dialog, selecting the appropriate options to
create your ideal schedule. Refer to Creating a Schedule for more information on schedule
creation.
4. Upon reaching the final page, refrain from clicking the Finish button. Instead, click the entry in
the lower left corner labeled Save this schedule as a template, as depicted below:
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5. A file browser window appears, as shown below. Specify the file name and folder where you
want to save this new template.
6. Click Save. The schedule template is automatically saved with a .pdt file extension.
The resulting schedule template file is useful for creating new schedules; you will provide a new name
for the new schedule. You may create any compatible type of schedule with this template, but you must
first provide special criteria for the new schedule. For example, you can use the daily schedule template
to generate a new weekly schedule but you must supply the weekday(s) before clicking Finish.
For Screen Saver and StealthPatrol schedules, using a daily, weekly or one-time schedule template has
no effect. Similarly, using Screen Saver and StealthPatrol schedules for creating daily, weekly and onetime schedules is ineffective. You may only use Screen Saver and StealthPatrol schedule templates to
create those schedules.
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Editing a Schedule
Running a Schedule
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A schedule typically starts whenever your computer clock reaches a given start date and time threshold
specified in the active schedule. However, you may manually start a schedule to run immediately
through the following steps:
2. Switch to the AutoPilot tab in the main tab bar.
3. Select the appropriate schedule and click the Run Now button as pictured below, or right-click
the schedule entry and click Run Now.
4. The schedule initiates and there’s nothing more to do from here.
Note: The Run Now option remains disabled and shaded gray until you have selected a schedule
from the Schedule List. If you choose an incompatible schedule type such as Screen Saver, then the
Run Now button remains inactive and no such entry appears in the right-click context menu.
Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule
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Editing a Schedule
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Deleting a Schedule
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Scheduling Defragmentation on a Remote Computer
You may create schedules for a remote computer that already has PerfectDisk installed on it and is
remotely accessible through a local PerfectDisk installation, provided you are logged into the local
computer as an administrator.
Note: This option is disabled in the standalone mode. See Pre-conditions for Connecting to the Remote
Computer for further details.
To schedule defragmentation on a remote computer, follow these procedures:
2. Left-click the icon located in the upper-left corner, as depicted:
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3. Click Connect to Another Computer. The PerfectDisk network connection dialog appears, as
depicted below:
4. Follow the steps outlined in the Connecting to a Remote Computer help topic.
5. Begin creating schedules as described in the Creating a Schedule help topic.
Related Topics
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Pre-conditions for Connecting to the Remote Computer
Editing a Schedule
PerfectDisk only allows you to edit a single schedule at a time. You may edit any of the properties of a
schedule including its name, which can alternatively be performed through the renaming feature
described in the Renaming a Schedule help topic.
Note: You will create some schedules through PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console while managing a
group of computers whereas you’ll create others by connecting remotely or through Active Directory.
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You cannot edit those schedules by launching PerfectDisk locally, because only an Enterprise Console
administrator can edit a schedule created in PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console. Likewise, you can only
edit schedules created by remote access through PerfectDisk from wherever you remotely accessed that
computer. Finally, you must use Active Directory to edit any schedules created by Active Directory.
To edit a schedule, follow these steps:
2. Switch to AutoPilot mode by selecting the AutoPilot tab from the tab bar.
Alternatively, you may select the Change option from the Next Run column of the
Available Drive List while in defragmentation mode.
3. Select a schedule for editing from the Schedule List in the AutoPilot main window. The
properties for that schedule appear in the bottom of the Schedule Properties window.
4. Double-click a schedule from the list, or click the Edit entry from the tool bar.
Alternatively, you may right-click a schedule and choose the Edit option as depicted
below:
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The Schedule Wizard dialog appears.
5. You may change the name of a schedule in the Schedule Name page. However, this does not
apply to Screen Saver and StealthPatrol scheduling options. When done, click Next.
6. You may now change the drives to defragment in the Drive Selection page. When you are
finished, click Next.
7. You can change the defragmentation method in the Defragmentation Methods page. When you
have completed this task, click Next.
8. You can modify the date, time, frequency and shutdown options of the schedule.
9. When you are done, click Finish. The schedule is saved with your new changes.
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Creating a Schedule
Enabling a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
Renaming a Schedule
PerfectDisk makes renaming a schedule simple. PerfectDisk schedules must have unique names, and you
may encounter a conflict with naming a new schedule where one already exists, but you want to keep
both schedules around.
To rename a schedule, follow these steps:
2. Select the AutoPilot tab from the tab bar.
3. Choose the desired schedule from the Schedule List.
4. Locate the window pane titled Change Existing Schedule and click the Rename icon, as depicted
in the following image:
Note: Alternatively, you may right-click the selected schedule entry and click Rename.
5. The Schedule Wizard appears. Enter a new schedule name in the field entry labeled Enter a
unique schedule name.
6. Click Finish. The dialog closes, saving the new name.
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Creating a Schedule
Enabling a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
PerfectDisk makes disabling an active schedule easy. There are times when you may wish to disable a
schedule temporarily without preventing its future reuse. You may have PerfectDisk scheduled for a
Screen Saver or StealthPatrol defragmentation run but neither schedule ever initiates because Windows
screen saver fails to start or the system never reports a sufficient idle threshold.
Upon analyzing the drive volume, you see that its fragmentation level requires PerfectDisk
defragmentation to restore the busy system to an optimal performance level. You’ll have to disable any
background schedules you’ve created (i.e., Screen Saver or StealthPatrol) otherwise they might conflict
with your defragmentation run only to later enable it—preferably with more sensitive threshold values.
To disable a schedule, follow these steps:
3.
Select the desired schedule from the Schedule List, locate the panel titled Change Existing
Schedule and click the Disable icon, as depicted below:
Alternatively, you may right-click the selected schedule entry and choose Disable.
4. The schedule is now disabled, which you can verify under the Disabled column (it will now say
“Yes”) and in the Schedule Properties window next to the Starts entry.
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Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule
Enabling a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
Renaming a Schedule
Enabling a Schedule
PerfectDisk allows you to create, edit, delete and disable schedules created for your system(s). There
may come a time when you want to temporarily disable a schedule from running and resume its
functions later.
To enable a schedule that was previously disabled, follow these steps:
3.
Schedule and click the Enable icon, as depicted below:
Alternatively, you may right-click the selected schedule entry and choose Enable.
4. The schedule is now enabled, which you can verify under the Disabled column (it will now say
“No”).
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Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
Renaming a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
When you no longer require a PerfectDisk schedule, you can easily delete it. You may encounter a
schedule that is incorrect, redundant or just plain unnecessary, and wish to remove it permanently.
To delete a schedule, follow these steps:
3.
Schedule and click the Delete icon, as depicted below:
Alternatively, you may right-click the selected schedule entry and choose Delete.
4. A confirmation message appears as shown below:
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5. Click Yes to delete and the schedule is removed from the Schedule List pane.
Related Topics
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Creating a Schedule
Deleting a Schedule
Renaming a Schedule
Configuring a Schedule to Run Under Special Conditions
Configuring a Schedule to Run Under Special Conditions
You can specify how PerfectDisk should respond when a computer is turned-off or in hibernation mode
when a scheduled defragmentation is supposed to start. You can configure this in the AutoPilot
Schedule area of the PerfectDisk Settings window.
Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Turned Off
Over time, you will invariably encounter a time when the scheduled defragmentation pass is designated
to start but the computer is turned off and preventing its execution. You can configure how PerfectDisk
responds in such a case.
To configure defragmentation settings when the system is off, follow these steps:
2. Defragmentation should be selected.
3. Select the PerfectDisk Settings icon under the Options panel, as depicted below:
4. The PerfectDisk Settings dialog appears. Click the AutoPilot Schedule item from the left pane.
The AutoPilot Schedule dialog appears as depicted below:
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Notice the field titled Computer off when scheduled: this section provides two options
on how PerfectDisk should respond when the computer was turned off at the time of a
scheduled run.

Run missed schedules when the computer restarts – When selected, the
defragmentation pass will start when the computer is restarted. The benefit is
that even if the computer is off at night or it shuts down for maintenance, it
won’t miss out on the scheduled defragmentation. The drawback is that the
startup defragmentation can slow performance on some drives during the
login process. Raxco Software has determined that computers most likely to
be affected are laptop computers because they generally have slower drive
speeds.

Re-schedule defragmentation passes when missed – When selected,
PerfectDisk simply reschedules the defragmentation pass if the computer was
not running at the time. The advantage is that the user is will not experience
performance issues when the system restarts. The disadvantage is that the
defragmentation pass may never run if the user turns off the computer every
night at that time.
5. Click OK for the changes to take effect.
Related Topics
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Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Hibernating
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Creating a Schedule
Running a Schedule
Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Hibernating
Some computers—particularly laptops running on battery power—support wakeup from standby and
hibernation sleep states. You can configure PerfectDisk to run a defragmentation pass on these
computers. Standby and hibernation is a function of your computer’s BIOS, and you can check for its
support by opening Control Panel and navigating to the Power Options applet.
You can specify how PerfectDisk should respond when a computer resumes from hibernation during
which time a scheduled defragmentation pass was unable to run. To configure these settings, follow
these steps:
2. Select Defragmentation if it is not already selected.
3. Select the PerfectDisk Settings icon under the Options panel, as shown below:
4. The PerfectDisk Settings dialog appears. Click the AutoPilot Schedule node from the left pane.
The AutoPilot Schedule dialog appears as shown below:
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Notice the field titled Computer in standby when scheduled to run: this section
provides two options on how PerfectDisk should respond when the computer was off at
the time of a scheduled run.

Wake computers from standby to run a scheduled defragmentation pass –
When enabled, PerfectDisk’s integrated scheduler attempts to awaken the
computer to initiate a scheduled defragmentation pass. In this case, the
schedule either starts immediately or gets rescheduled when the computer
starts, depending on the option you specify. If your hardware does not support
sleep and resume states, then nothing happens.

Do not wake computers from hibernation/standby to run a scheduled
defragmentation pass – When this option is selected, PerfectDisk makes no
attempt to awaken the computer from its sleep when a defragmentation pass
is scheduled to run. In this case, the job either starts immediately or is
rescheduled when the computer starts, based on the option you choose.
5. Click OK for the changes to take effect.
Related Topics
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Configuring Defragmentation for when the Computer is Turned Off
Creating a Schedule
Running a Schedule
How does StealthPatrol know when my computer is idle?
StealthPatrol monitors system CPU usage (user-mode and kernal-mode) and disk activity and will
defragment when the system is idle. By default, PerfectDisk will wait for a system to remain idle for at
least 5 minutes before StealthPatrol initiates and at least 5 days between defragmentation runs. To
provide flexibility in different environments, these settings can be adjusted (manually via PerfectDisk
Settings, network wide via Active Directory Group Policy or PerfectDisk Enterprise Console).
Even if you have closed all applications on the desktop and Windows taskbar, certain background
process and service threads continue running. StealthPatrol will automatically adjust settings to adapt to
different workloads. To provide flexibility in different environments, you can configure StealthPatrol's
CPU and disk thresholds (manually via PerfectDisk Settings, network wide via Active Directory Group
Policy or PerfectDisk Enterprise Console).
To customize StealthPatrol resource thresholds, follow these steps:
2. Click the PerfectDisk Settings icon, as shown below:
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The PerfectDisk Settings popup dialog appears.
3. Select AutoPilot Schedule from the menu on the left.
The AutoPilot default settings dialog appears, as shown below:
4. Locate the field labeled StealthPatrol automatic defragmentation mode.
5. Check the radio option labeled Use the following settings (advanced).
6. Select new thresholds values for Kernel mode and User mode CPU usage.
7. Select a new Disk IO threshold.
8. Click OK.
Related Topics
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Configuring defragmentation for when the computer is turned off
Configuring defragmentation for when the computer is hibernating
How do I monitor resource usage to customize StealthPatrol idle
thresholds for a specific environment?
StealthPatrol monitors system CPU usage (user-mode and kernal-mode) and disk activity and will
defragment when the system is idle. By default, PerfectDisk will wait for a system to remain idle for at
least 5 minutes before StealthPatrol initiates and at least 5 days between defragmentation runs. To
provide flexibility in different environments, these settings can be adjusted (manually via PerfectDisk
Settings, network wide via Active Directory Group Policy or PerfectDisk Enterprise Console).
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Even if you have closed all applications on the desktop and Windows taskbar, certain background
process and service threads continue running. StealthPatrol will automatically adjust settings to adapt to
different workloads. To provide flexibility in different environments, you can customize StealthPatrol's
CPU and disk thresholds (manually via PerfectDisk Settings, network wide via Active Directory Group
Policy or PerfectDisk Enterprise Console).
To determine a system's baseline CPU/Disk resource usage, you can use Performance Monitor. To
monitor system resource usage on Windows Vista, follow these steps:
1. Run the Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor.
2. Expand the Monitoring Tools branch under the Reliability and Performance link in the
left pane.
3. Click the Performance Monitor.
4. In the right pane, find the third icon from the left with an arrow-down symbol.
5. Click the arrow-down icon and select Report.
6. Now click the green plus sign.
The green plus sign icon appears to the right of the graph icon you just used.
The Add Counters sign popup dialog appears, as shown below:
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7. Expand the Process branch.
8. Locate these three entries:

IO Other Bytes/sec

IO Read Bytes/sec

IO Write Bytes/sec
Highlight each entry and click the Add >> button.
9. Scroll down and expand the Processor branch.
10. Locate these two entries:

% Processor Time

% User Time
Highlight each entry and click the Add >> button. The Add Counters dialog creates a list
on the right hand side, as shown below:
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11. Click Add >> to place these items under the “Added counters” pane on the right.
12. Click OK.
You may now begin monitoring usage values under the _Total heading. You can customize StealthPatrol
resource threshods according to these baseline numbers. A summary depicting this output appears in
the image below:
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Related Topics
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Configuring defragmentation for when the computer is turned off
Configuring defragmentation for when the computer is hibernating
Using Space Management
PerfectDisk lets you to reclaim wasted space due to Recycle bin accumulation, temporary file buildup
and duplicate data clutter. You should perform these tasks to augment regular defragmentation as part
of your optimization strategy and before preparing backups and recovery images. With PerfectDisk, you
can also visually explore and examine how files and folders are using up disk space.
Defragmentation and optimal file placement are the two primary focuses of any defragmenter.
However, these strategies are less effective when some of the data being defragmented and optimized
is useless information—temporary files, system garbage, and especially duplicate data. You should
include PerfectDisk scheduling as part of your strategy for routinely handling cleanup of general junk file
accumulation specific to your desktops, laptops and servers.
Note: The Space Management feature of PerfectDisk is not available to PerfectDisk Home version users.
The Space Management tab
The Space Management tab (formerly called Free Space) of PerfectDisk recovers disk space lost to
duplicate files (text documents, picture files, audio and video data, and so on), temporary files and
Recycle Bin contents. Space Management mode enables you to configure and use PerfectDisk for
reclaiming free space (via Recycler) and view a graphical representation of disk space utilization (via
Space Explorer).
Note: PerfectDisk excludes some files from its duplicate files detection strategy (e.g., Program Files, the
root directory, Windows directory, Temp and Recycle Bin).
To access Space Management features, follow these steps:
2. Click the Space Management tab on the tab bar. This opens the Space Management window.
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Here’s what you see in the main Space Management window:

Tab bar – Switch between Defragmentation, AutoPilot, Space Management
and Product Resources modes.

Tool bar – Shows tool icons applicable to the Space Management mode.
Currently, there are four main features, (Recycler, Duplicates Finder, Space
Explorer and Space Reports); Start and Stop buttons; Recycle Bin and
Temporary Files check boxes under Actions; and the Options panel contains
icons for View Log and PerfectDisk Settings.

Available Drive List – Displays a list of drive volumes on your system. Your
system configuration may show one or several drives.

Recycler Statistics and Results – Reveals configuration properties for
reclaiming free space on the storage volumes that appear in the Available
Drive List.
3. Select an applicable drive entry from the Available Drive List.
4. Select free space options from the Recycler Properties window to reclaim space from specific
duplicate file types.
5. Click the Start icon in the Actions frame of the Space Management tool bar.
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The Space Management tab’s tool bar contains three main panels:
1. Reclaim Free Space – Tools for configuring properties to free up various forms of
space-wasting files and data (e.g., duplicates, temporary files, recycled content).
2. Actions – Tools in this pane help you reclaim free space from your Recycle Bin
and/or Temporary Files, according to which option(s) you select.
3. Options – The two icons for View Log and PerfectDisk Settings persist in the Space
Management views.
With the Reclaim Free Space panel, you can carry out the following tasks:

Recycler – Reclaim free space by removing temporary files and emptying your recycle bin.

Duplicates Finder – Find instances of duplicate files and data for the storage volumes appearing
under the Available Drive List section.

Space Explorer – View space distribution between the files and folders within a directory.

Space Reports – Examine graphical and statistical reports for file space usage and allocation.
Visit the Related Topics for more detail about each of these groups.
Related Topics
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Using Recycler
Using Duplicates Finder
Using Space Explorer
Using Space Reports
Using Recycler
Using Recycler
Recycler is the first thing you see when you open the Space Management tab. You can configure its
settings under the Available Drive List and both Results and Statistics tabs, as in the image below:
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Space Management’s Recycler function helps you identify space wasted by Recycle Bin contents and
temporary files. You can view results for all drives in the Available Drive List, selectively check and
uncheck drives to search, and review reports and statistics for reclaimed free space on any given drive.
Related Topics
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Navigating the Recycler
Starting Recycler
Stopping Recycler
Viewing Recycler results and statistics
Using Space Reports
Space Management’s Available Drive List displays accessible drive entries for your computer and
includes file system format type, drive status, storage capacity and free space (broken down by size and
percentage) as in the image below:
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Beside each drive entry you’ll see a check box that enables or disables activity for the specified path. If
you have several drive listings (as shown above) you may choose more than one drive. You might want
to make conservative choices on systems with lots of large capacity drives (several hundred GBs apiece)
to avoid spikes of excess resource consumption.
The drive list includes properties for each drive entry, as follows:

Name – Drive entry letter and label name.

Type – File system format type (e.g., FAT, FAT32, exFAT or NTFS).

Status – Current status of the drive.

Size – Total drive capacity (in MB or GB).

Free – Total remaining free space on that drive (in MB or GB).

% Free – Progress bar and percentage value of remaining free space.
Follow the Related Topics to begin using Recycler and start exercising its features.
Related Topics
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Using Recycler
Starting Recycler
Stopping Recycler
Using Space Reports
Starting Recycler
Before you start the Recycler, you should familiarize yourself with its options.
To start reclaiming free space with Recycler, follow these steps:
2. Click the Space Management tab.
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The Space Management main window opens, as shown below:
3. Select a drive entry from the Available Drive List.
Note: By default, all drives are selected
4. Select your options on the Actions panel.
You will see two check box choices:
 Recycle Bin – Empty the Windows recycler contents.

Temporary Files – Delete known temporary file locations.
5. Click Start.
Recycler will begin processing your drive selections and the result will be displayed in the Results
and Statistics tab in the bottom pane.
When you want to view Recycler’s results, see Viewing Recycler results and statistics.
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Using Recycler
Stopping Recycler
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Using Space Reports
Stopping Recycler
When you want to stop an ongoing Recycler process, click the Stop button on the Actions panel under
the Space Management tab, as shown below:
Recycler will immediately cancel any analysis or processing phases.
Related Topics
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Using Recycler
Starting Recycler
Using Space Reports
Space Management’s final segment provides an up-to-date report on the various results and statistics of
PerfectDisk operations on the various available storage volumes.
The Results tab of the Results and Statistics pane reports the following information, as shown below:
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For every drive listed, there is a set of corresponding properties and parameters, as follows:

Drive – A lettered drive entry for each reported storage volume on your system.

Free Space Before – Amount of calculated free space before any reclaimed free space.
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Free Space After – Amount of calculated free space after reclaiming free space.
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Free Space Recovered – Amount of calculated free space recovered.
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Recycled Files Cleaned – Amount of Recycle Bin contents removed.
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Recycled Space Recovered – Size of the Recycle Bin contents removed.
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Temp Files Cleaned – Amount of temporary items removed.
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Temp Space Recovered – Size of temporary items removed.
Note: You may need to use the scroll bar to bring the last few columns into view.
The Statistics tab of the Results and Statistics reveals tabbed entries for each drive, containing a line
graph that indicates the charted free space result for that drive. Multiple drive tabs appear from left to
right with the highlighted tab active and its results displayed in the Statistics window, as follows:
The chart for each drive plots its progressive free space loss and gain (in percent) over a period of time.
You can review this list to evaluate how your scheduled and manual PerfectDisk operations work over
time.
See the Related Topics for more information on using PerfectDisk.
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Using Recycler
Starting Recycler
Stopping Recycler
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Navigating the Space Explorer
Using Space Reports
Wasted space is hidden everywhere on computers, from the Recycle Bin to temporary folders and setup
files for installation programs. You can also lose a lot of space to file duplicates throughout the system.
Not all file duplicates are invalid, so you must evaluate what duplicates you can safely remove.
PerfectDisk’s Duplicates Finder icon launches a search dialog enabling you to isolate and identify repeat
file entries according to a variety of configurable search criteria.
As you see in the image above, you have a number of options for file types and formats for which
PerfectDisk should seek duplicates; you can customize the search to include .iso and .dvd disc images
or seek out .vhd or .vmdk file formats to identify any duplicate Virtual PC or VMware images across
several disk drives. Each of these file types can potentially release wasted space accounting for several
hundred megabytes, if not several gigabytes worth of data. Searching for and removing duplicate audio,
media and video file formats also helps reduce some of the largest chunks of wasted space on your
system drives.
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Navigating the Duplicates Finder
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Starting Duplicates Finder
Stopping Duplicates Finder
Viewing Duplicates Finder results
Using Recycler
Using Space Reports
You can release free space by identifying unnecessary duplicate files for the selected drive entries
appearing under the Available Drive List, as shown below:
The Available Drive List displays all applicable drives reported by your system. You may see a single drive
or several drive entries in this window. You can adjust the Duplicates Finder Properties to suit your file
search needs, but the default file extensions apply to most systems and searches.
You can check for duplicates under the following categories:
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
Text documents – Search for common text file extensions (e.g., Word 2003/2007 documents,
WordPad RTF files, Adobe PDFs and generic HTML files). This option is checked by default.

Picture files – Locate typical image file extensions (e.g., bitmaps, JPEGs, GIFs, TIFFs and PNGs).
This option is checked by default.

Video files – Identify common video file extensions (e.g., MPEG, Movie, MP4, or Windows
Media video and Shockwave Flash Video formats). This option is checked by default.

Music files – Find duplicates of popular music file formats (e.g., MP3, WAV files, MIDIs, AACs,
Ogg Vorbis and Windows Media audio files).
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Other files – Specify custom file extensions specific to your particular operating environment
(application developer files, database assets, email or printer spools, and so on).
You can Clear All or Select All search categories, change the contents within a search category, and
Restore Defaults from the Duplicates Finder Properties pane.
Clicking the Advanced Scan button takes you to a window that gives you finer control over directories to
select for searching.
You can use the Selected Directories dialog to make individual search patterns to include or exclude
from the Duplicates Finder process. There are two tabs for this interface:
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
Directories to Scan – An list of drive paths to include in your duplicate search. You may choose
any directory that suits your search criteria.

Directories to Exclude – An list of drive paths to disregard when seeking duplicate files and data.
You may choose any directory that suits your search criteria.
Highlight a selection in the left pane to activate the Add button, which you can use to insert the selected
entry into the inclusion list. Highlight a selection in the right pane to activate the Remove button, which
you can use to delete an entry from the inclusion list. Alternatively, you can use the Clear All button to
remove all entries from the inclusion list and start over.
The Directories to Exclude tab performs the opposite of the inclusion list: it excludes certain paths from
duplicate searches.
You should glance through this entry, which lists many excluded entries by default. Note: If you select
the check box under the Subfolders column, then all subsequent sub-directories for that entry are
ignored by Duplicates Finder.
Keep track of which files are excluded; they will not be searched by default, and you may find that the
results are unsuitable for your space reclaiming needs. The following image shows how the Directories
to Exclude list appears when expanded:
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PerfectDisk’s Duplicate Files search function dutifully reports a list of entries for any duplicate data or
files found on the selected drive entries under the Available Drive List.
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Deleting duplicates cautiously
Using Recycler
Using Space Reports
Before starting the Duplicates Finder you should familiarize yourself with its features and options, then
fine-tune your search accordingly. Making your drive selections will activate the Start button. Click Start
when you’re ready to go!
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Duplicates Finder immediately begins processing your selections, as shown below:
See Stopping Duplicates Finder for detailed instructions on stopping the Duplicates Finder process.
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Using Recycler
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Using Space Reports
Once you start the Duplicates Finder, the Stop button will be active. Click it to halt the Duplicate Files
process. Placing your cursor over the Stop button will produce an orange highlight, as shown in the
image below:
The Duplicates Finder immediately stops and reactivates all of options that remain grayed-out and
inaccessible during run-time.
See Viewing Duplicates Finder results to learn about the Duplicates Finder results.
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Using Recycler
Using Space Reports
When the Duplicates Finder has finished processing all drive entries and the results are ready, you will
see a report similar to the following example:
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Beside each duplicate entry is a check box allowing you to make specific cleanup decisions.
Clicking the Mark Duplicates button highlights each perceived duplicate entry; click UnMark All
to undo the entire selection. In the image that follows, Mark Duplicates has made selections
based on what appear to be the duplicate entries:
Related duplicate entries are separated by groupings of gray and white. Every first selection for each
entry is presumed to be the original, with all subsequent repeated entries presumed to be the file and
data duplicates.
Remember, not every duplicate file is unnecessary and removing some of them may cause run-time
application issues. Make your deletions carefully and cautiously, and make sure you have backups—
there is no undo feature once you click Delete.
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Using Recycler
Using Space Reports
Please exercise caution when deleting the duplicate file entries that PerfectDisk presents, as all
duplicates may not unnecessary. Certain programs keep similar copies of data in several different
locations for various reasons, mostly to support individual user configurations. Such files are necessary
for program operation, so use caution when processing Duplicates Finder results.
Files that generally occupy the most amount of space are audio (such as .mp3 or .ogg), CD/DVD
formats (such as .iso and .dvd) and video (such as .mp4 or .wmv) files. Even though many of these
files are user-defined content, you should nevertheless exercise caution, and choose carefully rather
than deleting entire classes of such duplicates.
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Using Recycler
Using Space Reports
PerfectDisk’s Space Explorer is your viewfinder into the arrangement and usage of files and folders on
your disk drive(s). You can use Space Explorer to navigate the file structure, analyze drive usage, and
open or delete files as needed.
Space Explorer provides visual representation of your storage space usage trends using a color-coded
radial column graph, and exposes the directory structure in a browser tree format, as shown here:
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Space Explorer handily generates a graphical representation of all your files and folders complete with
sizes, so you can quickly navigate space usage. Under the directory tree, you’ll see each file-based entry
for a given directory with its on-disk size.
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Starting Space Explorer
Stopping Space Explorer
Expanding a Folder from the Pie Chart in Space Explorer
Exploring a Folder in Windows Explorer from the Radial Column Graph
Opening and deleting files in Space Explorer
When you click the Space Explorer icon under the Space Management tab (called Free Space in earlier
versions of PerfectDisk) the window changes to Space Explorer mode, as you see below:
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The Space Explorer window displays a radial column graph representation of the disk drive, giving you a
quick view into how your file folders utilize existing disk space. It maps the distribution between files
and folders within a directory, visually indicating and indexing their layouts and locations, and enabling
you to identify and isolate large files consuming large amounts of disk space, as in the example below:
From this bird’s eye view of your file and folder structure you’re able to better manipulate, navigate and
visualize the way information is stored. As you can see, this window is divided into two panes:

Left Pane – Displays a file browser tree structure to view files and folders on your drive,
complete with collapsible (-) and expandable (+) branches.
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Right Pane – As you select files and folders from the left pane, they are visually represented in
the graph in the right pane. You can use this legend to visualize how information is stored on
disk. Blue portions represent files and yellow portions indicate folders. Click on the Space
Explorer Resources link above the graph to access more information regarding Space Explorer.
As you select directory entries in the left pane, Space Explorer generates the graphical representation
and displays it in the right pane. You can click Analyze (formerly Rescan) to achieve the same results or
refresh a potentially stale visual representation.
See the related topics for further help using Space Explorer.
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Start Space Explorer by clicking the Analyze button on the Actions panel of PerfectDisk’s Space
Management tab. When Space Explorer processes the drive and directory selection you’ve made in the
right pane, the Analyze icon will be activated with an orange highlight when you pass your mouse cursor
over it, as shown below:
Click Analyze to begin processing your drive and produce a graphical readout of the results.
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When you want to interrupt Space Explorer, the Stop button—inactive except when the Space Explorer
process is running—halts the scanning process. You’ll see that the Analyze button is then inactive while
the Stop button is active, as shown below:
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Expanding a Folder from the Graph in Space Explorer
When you select a folder in the left pane to view a graph of that folder in the right pane, you can expand
the folders inside two ways:
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
Black dot placement marker – A small black dot on the graph represents the position of a file or
folder on disk in the selected directory entry. Click the dot to reveal the exact location and a
summary of its contents, as in this example:
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Directory tree plus sign – A plus sign (+) in the directory tree listing in the left pane expands that
folder to reveal sub-folder and file entries. You may collapse the directory tree by clicking on the
minus sign (-) or expand further sub-folders using the plus sign (+), or you can simply select and
double-click on the entry.
Space Explorer won’t burden your system resources by automatically rescanning each sub-folder you
expand, so you can freely navigate to any depth without incurring performance penalties. When you
reach a point of interest, you may click the Analyze button to generate disk usage statistics.
Note: There is another way you can analyze these entries from the left pane. If you select an entry to
highlight it, and then right-click the entry, you will reveal a context menu. From this menu, click Analyze
to produce its visual representation, as in the example below:
Next we’ll examine and explain how to navigate radial column graph entries with Windows Explorer.
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You can explore any folder and sub-folder in the directory tree in the left pane by double-clicking the
highlighted entry or by right-clicking to reveal a context menu, as shown below:
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Alternatively, you can right-click an entry listed directly in the radial column graph to open a Windows
Explorer window in that location, as shown below:
When you click either of these items Windows Explorer will open the exact location indicated by the
entry you’ve chosen, as in the following example:
See Opening and deleting files in Space Explorer.
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You may open or delete files while navigating the drive structure under Space Explorer. Opening a file
launches its associated application so that you can view its content. The following image shows the
right-click context menu entry in the left directory tree:
Delete a file by right-clicking on the selected entry in the browser tree and selecting Delete, as shown
below:
Alternatively, you may also open a file through its associated application or delete it by left-clicking its
entry in the radial column graph on the right and selecting Open file ‘[filename]’ or “Delete file
‘[filename]’, as shown:
PerfectDisk will prompt you to confirm that you want to delete the file.
If you are unable to delete a file (it may be in use, locked by another application, or you have insufficient
permissions), then you will see an error message:
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Note: When you delete a file through PerfectDisk, it may not appear in the Windows Recycle Bin;
therefore, delete files with caution—you may not be able to get them back if you change your mind.
See Related Topics for more help on using Space Explorer
Related Topics
• Navigating the Space Explorer
• Starting Space Explorer
• Stopping Space Explorer
• Exploring a Folder in Windows Explorer from the Radial Column Graph
• Expanding a Folder from the Pie Chart in Space Explorer
• Navigating the Space Reports
Space Management Tab
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Using Space Reports
Using Space Reports
PerfectDisk’s Space Reports display graphical and statistical information based on your computer’s
storage allocation and usage trends. Space Reports also allows you to make fine-grain search criteria
selections based on a number of file and date properties.
You can narrow the results to a set of search criteria specifying the file mode (accessed, created or
modified) and file age (within the past week, month, three months, six months or year). You can also
select a search date range specifying the day, month, year and time for the chosen file mode and only
for specific file sizes or types.
Here’s what you see under the Space Reports Settings tab:
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Date and Time – Choose the selection criteria for file reports (access, creation or
modification date).
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Size – Choose the size of the files you wish to report.
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Types – Choose the file extension type(s) for the files you wish to report.
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Search Options – Choose the file attributes for the files you wish to report.
PerfectDisk’s Space Management Space Reports enables you to perform fine-grain searches for file
space utilization on your drive and produce graphical results for your review.
You may configure one drive at a time, or several drives at once, along with specific search criteria (e.g.,
date/time, size, type) to fine-tune your search process.
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Navigating the Space Reports
Starting Space Reports
Stopping Space Reports
Viewing Space Reports results
Space Management’s Space Reports feature provides graphical results for the statistical data reported
on your file allocation and usage trends. Here’s how it looks:
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The drive list pane to the left displays available drive letters for every accessible volume on your system.
Beside each entry is a plus sign (+) and check box to enable or disable general and/or specific selections.
You can expand each drive letter entry and make individual selections based on each reported directory
entry, as pictured below:
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Underneath the drive list pane are two buttons: Select All and Clear All. Select All selects every available
entry in the drive list; Clear All clears any selected entries from that list. All remaining Space Reports
options appear on the right side, as shown below:
There are four categories of options:
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Date and Time – Specify report criteria to match accessed, created or modified
attributes within week, month(s) or a year from today’s date or between a specific date
range.
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Size – Filter report criteria to show files matching either a maximum size, minimum size
or between both.
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Types – Filter report criteria to show only a select set of file types listed by extension.
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Search Options – Control whether or not PerfectDisk searches system folders.
Under the Results tab, Space Reports displays all data related to its findings, as shown below:
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The upper area displays file names and folders for everything found under the drive(s) and directory
folder(s) you specified in the Settings tab, as well as access, creation and modification dates and
applicable file size and type.
Space Reports collects a lot of information about space utilization and divides it into tabbed headings in
the lower pane. You can view Space Reports by file type, when files were created, modified or accessed,
or by Top 5 largest, oldest and recently modified files
See the related topics for further guidance in using Space Reports.
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Using Space Reports
Space Reports helps you visualize the way storage space is utilized on a system. It generates a pie chart
representing the largest file types, and lets you browse various tabbed entries related to file access,
creation and modification.
To start Space Reports, perform the following steps:
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2. Select the Space Management tab.
3. Click the Space Reports icon on the Reclaim Free Space panel.
4. Select the Settings tab.
Make your drive and option selections in the check box drive list on the left.
5. Click Analyze on the Actions panel.
Under Actions, only Analyze will be active, as shown below:
The final report is prepared and presented under the Results tab.
See the related topics for further guidance in using Space Management.
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Using Space Reports
Space Reports can take a while to complete on systems with large drives, and particularly on systems
with multiple large drives and attached storage. There may be times when you want to halt the search
process before it’s done.
To stop Space Reports, follow these steps:
2. Locate the Actions panel under the Space Management tab.
The Space Reports icon should be active and selected; if not, select it.
3. When the search process is running, the Stop button is active (but Analyze is not), as
shown in the following image:
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4. Click the activated Stop button. Space Explorer will stop.
See the related topics for further guidance in using Space Reports.
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Using Space Reports
PerfectDisk’s Space Reports feature analyzes your drive for allocation and usage trends, and includes
seeking out and reporting on the largest files and when they are accessed, created and modified. Space
Reports then displays its findings for your review.
The results of Space Reports analysis will look something like this:
You’ll notice that Space Reports groups data into two panes comprising several different reports on
different file properties. The upper pane provides a listing of all the relevant file entries Space Reports
finds for the search criteria you specified in the Settings tab.
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You can also access at-a-glance visual reports in the lower pane for file usage based on type,
access/creation/modification time and top 5 entries.
The File Types tab displays top users of file space by extension (e.g., exe, pdf, doc, chm, zip). A colorcoded legend makes differentiating file type usage easy.
The Files Created tab displays a line graph for files created on or around the date and time search
criteria you selected under the Settings tab.
The Files Modified tab displays a line graph for files modified on or around the date and time search
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The Files Accessed tab displays a line graph for files accessed on or around the date and time search
Finally, the Top 5 tab lists the top 5 largest files, top 5 oldest files, and top 5 recently modified files.
See the related topics for further guidance in using Space Management.
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Using Space Reports
Working with PerfectDisk 10 on Servers
PerfectDisk 10 on Server comes in 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions and works on Windows 2000
SP4 (also requires Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4), Windows Server 2003 , and Windows Server 2008 SP
(Windows Server versions for Itanium are not supported). PerfectDisk Server provides the same ability
to defragment disk drives and manage disk space on any of these Windows Server versions that
PerfectDisk Professional provides for Windows desktop machines.
Configuring PerfectDisk 10 on Server
As you work through the welcome screens for PerfectDisk 10 Server, you will notice the following
elements:
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The “Configure PerfectDisk for your computer” screen includes a server computer bullet
among the platform selections (selected by default on systems running any version of
Windows Server)
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The “Allow defragmenting USB and Firewire connected hard disks,” and “Allow
defragmenting Flash Drives” options are unchecked by default. On most servers it may
make sense to check the hard disks check box; you’ll have to decide whether or not to
enable Flash drive defrags yourself.
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On the “Schedule PerfectDisk Screen” no defrag schedule is assigned by default; in most
cases, you’ll want to go into the AutoPilot Scheduling tab to create one or more defrag
schedules for your servers. Many admins try to schedule maintenance activities,
including defragmentation, during off-peak hours; some admins also enable
StealthPatrol on their servers, secure in the understanding that this schedule will not
run (or keep running) if and when the server gets busy.
Note: Normally, the Welcome wizard appears only during the first launch of the PerfectDisk. If the user
has checked "Do not show this wizard again" check box, then the wizard will not appear.
Best Practices for PerfectDisk on Server Scheduling
If you upgrade from a previous version of PerfectDisk (perhaps PerfectDisk 2008 Server), it automatically
imports any existing schedules and configurations from the old version into the new one. The best place
to start scheduling activities with PerfectDisk 10 Server is with a review of existing schedules, if any. Only
new installations should produce a display like this when you click the Autopilot Scheduling tab:
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Because PerfectDisk 10 Server defines no schedules by default (as is the case for certain other
PerfectDisk 10 versions) you get a blank slate when you create a brand-new installation. Most upgrade
installs will probably see something like the following:
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Don’t forget that you can create custom one-time schedules for particular activities that may be needed
only once in a while. Once One Time schedule has been defined, you can always edit it later to change
its start time and to tweak its particular settings. This comes in handy for occasional clean-ups, when
preparing for upgrades or OS migration, and other predictable but infrequent tasks.
Special Server Scenarios
Special Server Scenarios
In the following sections we discuss particular types of servers that are likely to benefit from special care
and attention when using PerfectDisk. You’ll get a chance to read about:
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Backup servers
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File Servers
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Media Servers
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Print Servers
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SQL Servers
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Web Servers
Exchange Servers are covered in the Working With Exchange Servers Help files, and virtualized
environment issues are addressed in the PerfectDisk for Virtual Computing Help files.
Backup Servers
Backup server data drives typically contain large files created by backup applications or disk imaging
tools. If free space becomes highly fragmented, it can take longer for backups to complete. If the backup
or image files are heavily fragmented, restore times take longer. A SMARTPlacement or Consolidate free
space should be performed to defragment files and consolidate free space (this allows the file system to
create new backup or image files contiguously). You may want to consider defragmenting when the
backup or imaging application is not backing up data to the drive. You may also want to configure
PerfectDisk to run at a low CPU priority and monitor or throttle Disk I/O usage.
On an ongoing basis, the data drive should be defragmented when backup or image files become heavily
fragmented (500+ fragments). Perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass on the OS drive to
defragment and optimize files, and consolidate free space. Afterward, the OS drive should be
defragmented using SMARTPlacement at least monthly. For best defragmentation speed and
performance on Backup server data drives, do not use Aggressive Free Space consolidation.
File Servers
File server data drives typically contain a mix of both small and large files that change frequently and are
thus more prone to fragmentation. Perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass to defragment files,
and optimize their on-disk placement, as well as to consolidate free space. For peak performance,
defragment the drive using SMARTPlacement at least monthly and if conditions warrant, weekly. For the
OS drive, perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass as well. Thereafter, defragment the OS drive
using SMARTPlacement at least monthly.
Media Servers
Media server data drives typically contain large files that may or may not change often and may or may
not become highly fragmented. Perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass to defragment files, to
optimize their on-disk placement, and to consolidate free space (this also allows the file system to
create new media files in contiguous disk space). For peak performance, defragment the drive at least
monthly and if conditions warrant, weekly. For the OS drive, perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag
pass. Thereafter, defragment the OS drive using SMARTPlacement at least monthly. For best
defragmentation speed/performance on Media server data drives, do not use Aggressive Free Space
consolidation.
Print Servers
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Print servers typically contain a mix of small and large files that are created and deleted constantly. Files
to be printed get copied to the print server; as print jobs complete, those files get deleted. Because of
their frequent creation and deletion files on the disk where the print spooler resides are prone to
excessive fragmentation. Perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass to defragment any existing
files and consolidate free space. For peak performance, defragment the drive using Consolidate Free
Space at least monthly and if conditions warrant, weekly.
SQL Servers
SQL database server data drives typically contain large to very large files (databases, indexes,
workspace, temporary files) that may or may not become highly fragmented. If such files become
heavily fragmented, perform a SMARTPlacement or Consolidate free space to defragment files and
consolidate free space on affected drives.
While SQL does NOT need to be stopped to defragment these files, if a SQL Server is heavily used, you
may want to consider defragmenting during non-peak hours so as to minimize the impact on disk
activity. You may also want to configure PerfectDisk to run at a low CPU priority and/or to monitor and
throttle Disk I/O usage. On an ongoing basis, the drive should be defragmented if a database device
becomes heavily fragmented (500+ fragments). For the OS drive, perform an initial SMARTPlacement
defrag pass to defragment files, optimize their on-disk placement, and consolidate free space. On an
ongoing basis, defragment the OS drive using SMARTPlacement at least monthly. For best
defragmentation speed, and improved performance on SQL database server drives, do not use
Aggressive Free Space consolidation on OS or SQL server database drives.
Web Servers
Web servers typically contain small files (web pages) that may or may not change often, depending on
whether content is static or dynamically generated. Perform an initial SMARTPlacement defrag pass on
the primary Web page drives. This will defragment those files, optimize their on-disk placement by
modification date, and consolidate free space available for new page writes. For best performance
defragment the drive at least monthly and if conditions warrant, weekly.
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Overview: Using PerfectDisk 10 with Active Directory
PerfectDisk 10 can integrate completely with Active Directory Group Policy Administrative Templates
and Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to handle enterprise deployment, scheduling, management, and access
controls. This helps speed up enterprise deployment, and requires no additional training for
administrators who are already familiar with Microsoft’s Active Directory environment.
PerfectDisk 10 system configuration options—such as Standalone/Network enabled, boot file
optimization, defragmentation thresholds, log file configuration options, and defragmentation
schedules—have all been implemented as Group Policy Administrative Templates. All related
configuration settings appear under Administrative Templates within the Computer Configuration
section of the Group Policy.
User actions normally undertaken using the PerfectDisk 10 GUI, such as analyze, offline and online
defragmentation, start/stop/pause defragmentation, schedule creation/deletion/modification, running
of scheduled operations, restrictions to GUI access, and modification of drive settings are also available
as Group Policy Administrative Templates with the User Configuration section of the Group Policy.
Using these Administrative Templates, administrators can install, configure, schedule and manage
PerfectDisk 10 across an entire enterprise through the Active Directory interface. This helps speed
administrative actions, ensures consistent application of policy, and provides a single console through
which to manage a multitude of PerfectDisk 10 installations.
Related Topics:
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Installing PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory
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Patching PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group Policy
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Deploying PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory
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Configuring PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group Policy
You can deploy PerfectDisk through Active Directory using Group Policy.
To deploy PerfectDisk using Group Policy, complete the following steps:
1. First, you must create an Administrative Installation of PerfectDisk. Type the following at
the command line:
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msiexec /a C:\PerfectDisk.msi
where "C:\PerfectDisk.msi" is the full path to the PerfectDisk.msi file. If
you are installing to x86 editions of Windows, the .msi file will contain x86 in the file
name (i.e. PerfectDisk_x86.msi). If you are installing to x64 editions of Windows,
the .msi file will contain x64 in the file name (i.e. PerfectDisk_x64.msi).
2. This launches the Administrative Installation wizard. You need to install PerfectDisk to a
share point accessible by all computers on which you’ll be installing PerfectDisk.
3. Next, open Group Policy from Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory
Sites and Services, or as a stand-alone Microsoft Management Console snap-in
(gpmc.mmc).
4. To assign PerfectDisk to computers, double-click Computer Configuration.
5. Double-click Software Settings.
6. In the console tree, right click Software Installation, and chose New Package from the
menu.
7. Choose the appropriate PerfectDisk.msi file from the Administrative Installation
you created earlier (x86 or x64).
If you need assistance deploying PerfectDisk using Active Directory Group Policy, please contact Raxco
Technical Support.
Related Topics:
•
Overview: Using PerfectDisk10 with Active Directory
•
Patching PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group Policy
•
Deploying PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory
•
Configuring PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group Policy
Benefits of Managing PerfectDisk with Active Directory
Benefits of Managing PerfectDisk with Active Directory
Numerous benefits accrue when managing enterprise defragmentation using Active Directory and
PerfectDisk:
•
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Leverage Active Directory Configuration - By integrating with Active Directory, PerfectDisk
ensures that installations and updates are easy and fast and that they consume minimal
network resources. This also takes advantage of existing knowledge and expertise.
•
Common Management Interface - With Active Directory as the sole management console for an
enterprise, there’s no need to deploy or install another management console to manage
network-wide defragmentation.
•
Group Inheritance - The group inheritance properties of Active Directory Group Policy greatly
reduce the amount of system administrator time consumed staying abreast of changes in the
user community. For example, when a user joins a company and is assigned to a group, Active
Directory instantly recognizes this user and ensures that all members of the group have
PerfectDisk installed and configured according to the policy for that group. Active Directory also
automatically configures PerfectDisk to match the defined group policy’s schedule. There’s no
need for administrators to push PerfectDisk out to a user's machine or to attach to that machine
to set schedules manually.
Related Topics
•
Overview: Using PerfectDisk with Active Directory Group Policy
•
Deploying PerfectDisk with Active Directory Group Policy
•
Configuring PerfectDisk with Active Directory Group Policy
Patching PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
You may need to update PerfectDisk to a new build as features are added or as service packs become
available. Do this using PerfectDisk's AutoUpdate feature or by patching/updating via Group Policy. To
patch/update using Group Policy, please proceed as follows:
1. First, you must download the appropriate patch or update file from Raxco using the
AutoUpdate feature of PerfectDisk. If you are patching or updating 32-bit versions of
Windows, the file will contain x86 in the file name (such as PD10ENp_x86.exe). If you
are patching or updating 64-bit versions of Windows, the file will contain x64 in the file
name (such as PD10ENp_X64.exe).
2. Patches and updates are always packaged as self-extracting zip file. You will need to run
the self-extractor, or manually extract the Windows Installer patch file such as
PD10ENp_x86.msp or PD20ENp_x64.msp from the exe file using a program like
WinZip or some equivalent.
3. Once extracted, you must update the Administrative Installation you created when you
first deployed PerfectDisk 10. To do this, type the following at the command line:
msiexec /a \\MyServer\MyShare\PerfectDisk.msi /p
C:\PD10ENp_x86.msp
where "\\MyServer\MyShare\PerfectDisk_x86.msi" is the network path to the
original Administrative Installation and "C:\PD10ENp_x86.msp" is the full path to
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the patch file. If the original deployment was to 64-bit Windows versions, please alter
file names appropriately.
4. This launches the Administrative Installation wizard. You must re-install PerfectDisk to
the same share point used for the original Administrative Installation.
5. Next, open Group Policy from Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory
Sites and Services, or as a stand-alone Microsoft Management Console snap-in
(gpmc.mmc).
6. To assign PerfectDisk to computers, double-click Computer Configuration.
7. Double-click Software Settings.
8. Under Software Installation, choose the PerfectDisk installation. Right-click the package
and choose Redeploy. The next time Computer Policy is refreshed, PerfectDisk will be
updated.
You can find help from Microsoft on patching or updating using Group Policy at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B226936.
If you need assistance deploying PerfectDisk using Active Directory Group Policy, please contact Raxco
Technical Support.
Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
PerfectDisk supports complete integration with Active Directory Group Policy. Its installation folder
contains a PerfectDisk Administrative Template file named PerfectDisk.adm.
To import this Administrative Template file into Active Directory, please consult the following Help
topics:
•
Manage PerfectDisk using Active Directory Users and Computers
•
Manage PerfectDisk using Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
Configuring PerfectDisk Policies at the Computer and User Levels
Once you have created the GPO and have imported the PerfectDisk's administrative template, you can
start managing the PerfectDisk settings by changing template policies. To manage the PerfectDisk
policies, you need to access the Group Policy Object Editor. Follow the steps below to open the Group
Policy Object Editor:
2. Click the Active Directory tab on the Tab Bar.
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3. When you select the Steps to Manage tool in the Tool Bar, click the Open button to launch the
Group Policy Management Console; or when you select the Using GPMC tool, then choose the
Start button under Step 2.
4. Right-click the GPO you created that’s linked beneath the current OU, then select the Edit
option. The Group Policy Object Editor launches, as shown here:
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The Group Policy Object Editor window shows the Computer Configuration and User
Configuration containers that store per-computer and per-user information.
5. If you want to configure policies at the Computer level, expand the Computer Configuration
node, and then expand the Administrative Template node. Select the PerfectDisk Group Policy
template installed beneath that node. A list of policies appears in the right-hand pane as shown
in the preceding screen shot. To configure policies at the User level, expand the User
Configuration node and follow the same steps as above.
6. Double-click a policy to configure or right-click a policy and select Properties option. The
Properties window opens as shown here:
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7. Set the properties of the selected policy. You can enable or disable it. You can also view the
explanation of the selected policy by clicking the Explain tab, as shown here:
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8. Click the OK button when you have altered the configuration to your satisfaction.
Computer Settings
Here, we reproduce the Explain tab text for all PerfectDisk GPOs that fall under this heading.
Allow PerfectDisk to defragment flash drives
•
If NOT CONFIGURED, PerfectDisk will follow whatever is set on the local computer.
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will allow defragmenting Flash drives.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will not allow defragmenting Flash drives.
PerfectDisk 2008 License Key
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•
If NOT CONFIGURED or DISABLED, the setting established locally will be followed.
•
If ENABLED, you can edit and enter a valid PerfectDisk 2008 license key that will then be
deployed to all computers assigned to the OU.
Note: Make sure to enter the appropriate license key for the computers assigned to the OU. Enter
a PerfectDisk Professional license key if the computers are running PerfectDisk Professional, a
PerfectDisk Server license key if the computers are running PerfectDisk Server, a PerfectDisk
Exchange license key if the computers are running PerfectDisk for Exchange, or a PerfectDisk for
VMware license key if the computers are running PerfectDisk for VMware.
Boot File Optimization Settings - Raxco recommends letting PerfectDisk Manage Boot files only (option
1 in the General area of the PerfectDisk Settings window). See PerfectDisk Settings Window for
additional details.
•
If NOT CONFIGURED, the setting established locally will be followed.
•
If ENABLED, the setting defined here will be followed. If either XP only option is selected for a
Win2000 computer, PerfectDisk will manage the boot files (option 1).
•
If DISABLED, neither PerfectDisk nor the system will defragment the files needed to boot your
computer.
Defragmentation Threshold
•
•
If ENABLED, the value set will apply to all drives. Defragmentation will only occur if the threshold
is exceeded.
Aggressively Consolidate Free Space
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will aggressively pack free space.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will use more relaxed free space packing algorithm.
Do Not start defragmentation pass when on battery power
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will not start defragmentation schedules if computer is on battery
power.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will allow defragmentation schedules to start if computer is on battery
power.
Stop Defragmentation schedules if computer switches to battery power
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•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will stop running defragmentation schedules if computer switches to
battery power.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will allow defragmentation schedules to continue running if computer
switches to battery power.
Allow PerfectDisk to defragment removable drives
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will allow defragmenting removable media (USB, Firewire drives).
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will not allow defragmenting removable media (USB, Firewire drives).
What priority should the defragmenter have on the local computer
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will adjust the defragmentation engine CPU priority to your selection:
•
Normal - PerfectDisk runs at a normal CPU priority
•
Idle - PerfectDisk runs below normal CPU priority
•
Turbo - PerfectDisk runs above a normal CPU priority
Throttle defragmentation I/O
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk's defrag engine will slow down its disk I/O to allow other processes to
access the disk.
Log to PerfectDisk's Log
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will log to its own log file.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will not log to its own log file.
Log to Application Event Log
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•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will log to the Application Event Log.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will not log to the Application Event Log.
Configure Auto Update
•
•
If ENABLED, the setting configured here will be followed.
•
If DISABLED, Auto Update will never run.
Run Missed Schedules - You may have a defragmentation run scheduled when a computer is off. This
rule allows you to set how PerfectDisk should handle missed schedules.
•
•
If ENABLED, missed schedules will be run when the computer is restarted.
•
If DISABLED, missed schedules will be re-scheduled when the computer restarts. The new start
time will be calculated using the start time and periodicity on the schedule. One time schedules
will not be rescheduled.
Wake computer from standby/hibernation - A computer may be in standby or hibernation mode when
a schedule was supposed to run. This rule allows you to set how PerfectDisk should handle this
condition. Some computers can be awakened from this state; this is hardware dependent.
•
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk will attempt to wake the computer to run a schedule.
•
If DISABLED, PerfectDisk will not attempt to wake the computer for a scheduled
defragmentation pass.
Group Policy Schedules - Group Policy schedules allow you to select all drives or a comma delimited
string indicating which drives to include. Mount points are not supported from the Group Policy
schedules.
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or DISABLED, no Group Policy schedules will be generated.
•
If ENABLED, the schedule defined here will apply to all computers. There are 4 default group
policy schedules, 2 default One Time schedules and 1 default Screen Saver schedule.
Group Full Auto Schedule
•
If NOT CONFIGURED, or DISABLED no Group Policy schedules will be generated.
•
If ENABLED, the schedule defined here will apply to all computers.
Setup Management from PerfectDisk Command Center via TCP/IP
•
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•
If ENABLED, the TCP/IP via specified port may be used in addition to DCOM for management
from PerfectDisk Enterprise Console.
Exclude Files from the defragmentation pass (comma delimited)
•
If NOT CONFIGURED, or DISABLED, PerfectDisk will follow whatever is set on the local computer.
•
If ENABLED, PerfectDisk's defrag engine will exclude specified files from the defragmentation
pass.
User Settings
Here again, we reproduce Explain tab text for the GPOs that fall under this heading in the PerfectDisk
template.
Allow Access to PerfectDisk
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, any user can open PerfectDisk's user interface. This does not
mean they can run PerfectDisk. Standalone computers allow Non-Administrative users access to
PerfectDisk for use on their local computer only. In Network Mode you must be a member of
the Local Administrators Group to use PerfectDisk.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot launch PerfectDisk. This policy applies to all means of access to
PerfectDisk; User Interface, MMC Snap-in, PerfectDisk Command line interface.
Allow to see and use Free Space Management page
•
If ENABLED or NOT CONFIGURED any user can see and use Free Space management page.
•
If DISABLED, the Free Space management page will be removed from PerfectDisk's user
interface.
Allow to see PerfectDisk tray icon
•
If ENABLED or NOT CONFIGURED any user can see PerfectDisk's tray icon.
•
If DISABLED, the PerfectDisk's tray icon will be not shown in the system tray.
Allow PD Settings
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can access the PerfectDisk Settings window.
Members of the Administrators Group will see all the settings. Non-administrators will only see
the User Interface options.
•
If DISABLED, access will be blocked. The PerfectDisk Settings window allows changing
PerfectDisk's network access, boot file management strategy, log setting, and Auto Update
settings.
Allow Analyzing drives
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•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can use PerfectDisk's Analyze feature.
•
If DISABLED, the Analyze function will be blocked.
Allow starting an online defragmentation pass
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can start a defragmentation pass.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot start a defragmentation pass.
Allow starting a System File (offline) defragmentation pass
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can start a System File (offline) defragmentation
pass.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot start a System File (offline) defragmentation pass.
Allow modification of Drive Properties
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can access the Drive Properties Notebook and
configure the online and offline settings.
•
If DISABLED, the user will not have access to the Drive Properties Notebook.
Allow creating or changing schedules
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user will be allowed to create or change local schedules.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot create or change any schedules.
Allow starting a scheduled defragmentation pass
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can start a schedule defragmentation pass using the
Run Schedule.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot manually start a defragmentation Schedule.
Allow the user to check for updates
•
If NOT CONFIGURED or ENABLED, the user can check for updates from the Raxco web site.
•
If DISABLED, the user cannot manually check for updates.
Related Topics
•
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Users and Computers
•
Manage PerfectDisk Using Microsoft Group Policy Management Console
Deploying PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
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Deploying PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
PerfectDisk 10 supports complete integration with Active Directory’s Group Policy Administrative
Templates to support fast and easy enterprise deployment, scheduling, and management. Not only does
this reduce the time and effort required to deploy PerfectDisk, administrators already familiar with
Active Directory will find this approach to installation, configuration, and deployment familiar.
Active Directory management is integrated inside PerfectDisk and works through a variety of tools and
interfaces. If a management station has the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) installed,
PerfectDisk can automate the process of importing the PerfectDisk GPO and linking it to your domain(s)
or organizational units (OUs).
Alternatively, you can manage PerfectDisk’s Group Policy settings using Active Directory Users and
Computers, if the GPMC is not available. PerfectDisk’s Active Directory tab lets administrators manage
PerfectDisk through Active Directory using either approach.
Follow whichever management path works best for you:
•
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Users and Computers
•
Manage PerfectDisk Using the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
Manage
PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Users and Computers
If you do not have the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console installed, you can also manage
PerfectDisk using Active Directory Users and Computers. Access Active Directory Users and Computers
by following any of these steps:
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•
On you computer, click Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, then select Active Directory
Users and Computers.
•
Open PerfectDisk, then click the Active Directory tab on the Tab Bar, then select the Steps to
Manage icon on the Control Bar.
Click the Open button that appears to the right of step 1 in the preceding list of instructions.
Taking any of the steps mentioned opens the Active Directory Users and Computers window as shown
here:
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To configure the PerfectDisk Administrative Template, perform the following tasks
•
Task 1: Create the PerfectDisk Group Policy Object (GPO) for the Active Directory Organizational
Unit (OU)
•
Task 2: Manage PerfectDisk settings by changing template policy property values
Task 1: Create the PerfectDisk Group Policy Object (GPO) for the Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU)
1. In the Active Directory Users and Computers window, right click the desired OU, and then click
Properties in the resulting pop-up menu. This opens the Properties window for that OU:
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2. Click the Group Policy tab to show GPO links, and then click the New button to create a new
policy.
3. Enter a name for your policy (PerfectDisk 10 is what we use, so perhaps you should use it, too).
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4. Once you have created the policy, click the Edit button. This launches the Group Policy Object
Editor window, where you must add an administrative template (.adm) file.
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5. Right-click the Administrative Template folder, then select Add/Remove Templates from the
resulting pop-up menu. This open an Add/Remove Template window:
225
6. Click the Add button, which causes the following window to appear:
7. Navigate to the .adm file for PerfectDisk, then click Open. This attaches the PerfectDisk
Template to its GPO. Note: PerfectDisk includes this file in the installation package; it resides in
the same folder as PerfectDisk (usually C:\Program
Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\).
8. Click the Close button on the Add/Remove Templates window; you should now see the
PerfectDisk template added to both Computer and User containers.
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Note: The GPO you just created only links to the OU you selected at the outset of this process.
You can link the same GPO to other OU’s, and they will all adhere to whatever policies you
defined for this first OU.
To link an existing GPO to another domain or OU, complete these steps
1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console tree, right-click the organizational unit (OU) to which you would like to link the
Group Policy Object.
3. Click Properties, and then click the Group Policy tab.
4. To add a Group Policy Object to the Group Policy Object Links list, click the Add button, which
opens the Add a Group Policy Object Link dialog box.
5. Click the All tab, and then click the Group Policy Object you wish to add. Click OK.
6. In the Properties dialog box for the OU, click OK.
Task 2: Manage PerfectDisk Settings by Changing Template Policies
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With your GPOs defined and attached to all the proper OUs, you can now begin configuring PerfectDisk
policies at the Computer and User levels. Please refer to Configuring PerfectDisk Policies for more
information.
Related Topics
•
Overview: Using PerfectDisk with Active Directory
•
Benefits of Using PerfectDisk with Active Directory
•
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy Management (GPOs) from the
Microsoft Group Policy Management Console
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy Management (GPOs)
from the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console
If you have the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console installed, you can manage PerfectDisk
using Active Directory GPOs through the GPMC interface. You can automatically import the PerfectDisk
GPO and link your domain or OUs to the GPO using the PerfectDisk GPMC wizard or by using the GPMC
interface directly.
The PerfectDisk GPMC wizard is easy to use, and helps you create and link the PerfectDisk GPO to OU's
without the hassle or complicated steps involved in creating policy objects and linking GPOs individually.
The PerfectDisk GPMC wizard automatically imports the PerfectDisk 10 administrative template (.adm
file) into the group policy, then links or assigns it to your domain or organizational units (OUs).
Create and Link the PerfectDisk GPO through GPMC
Access the GPMC interface using any of these methods:
•
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Click Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, and Active Directory Users and Computers. Rightclick an OU then select Properties. In the Properties window, select the Group Policy tab, then
click the Open button. This launches the Group Policy Management window.
•
Open PerfectDisk, click the Active Directory tab, then select the Steps to Manage icon in the
Control Bar. In the main window, click the Open button, to launch Active Directory Users and
Groups. Right click an OU, then select Properties from the resulting pop-up menu. In that
Properties window, click the Group Policy tab, then click Open, to open the Group Policy
Management window.
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Next, please follow these steps:
1. Right-click on Group Policy Objects and select New option. The following window opens:
2. Enter a name for the object then click the OK button to add the GPO (we use PerfectDisk10).
3. Right-click this newly-created GPO to produce the pop-up menu shown here:
230
4. Click the Edit option to open the Group Policy Object Editor, then right-click the Administrative
Templates folder, and select Add/Remove Templates from the resulting pop-up menu:
231
5. The Add/Remove Templates window opens where you can see the PerfectDisk template.
6. Click the Add button to produce a Policy Templates window. You’ll have to navigate from here
to the directory where the PerfectDisk.adm file resides.
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7. When you get to PerfectDisk.adm, click Open to attach this template to its GPO (by
default this file resides in C:\Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\).
8. Click the Close button on the Add/Remove Templates window, and the Group Policy Object
Editor window should look something like this:
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Now that you’ve defined your PerfectDisk GPOs at the Computer and User levels, you can start
configuring them. See the Configuring PerfectDisk Policies section for more information.
Linking a PerfectDisk GPO to an OU
The PerfectDisk GPO that you just created links only to the OU that you selected near the outset of the
process. You can link this same GPO to any number of OU’s, all of which will adhere to the same policies
defined for this first OU. To link to an existing GPO, simply right-click a domain or an OU within a
domain, then click Link an Existing GPO on the resulting pop-up menu. In the Select GPO dialog box that
opens, click on the GPO to which you want to link, and then click OK.
Create and Link a PerfectDisk GPO Using the PerfectDisk GPMC Wizard
To use the PerfectDisk GPMC Wizard, follow these steps:
2. Click the Active Directory tab on the Tab Bar.
3. Select the Using GPMC icon on the Command Bar. This tools enables you to create and link
GPMC objects using a PerfectDisk wizard.
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4. Click the Create button. This automatically imports the PerfectDisk 10 Administrative Template
into the Group Policy environment in Active Directory.
5. Click Next to open the following display:
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6. Next, you must assign the template to a domain, or to selected OUs, by linking them together.
To do this, select an OU, then click the Link button at the upper right. To link all OUs in a group,
select the group, then click Link. The Unlink and Unlink All buttons let you break the link
between the group policy and the selected container(s). Once you link an OU to the PerfectDisk
template, all computers inside that OU inherit the PerfectDisk 10 configuration and scheduling
options assigned in that template.
7. Click the Next button to open the next Wizard display. After you click the Start button beneath
Manage PerfectDisk 10, another button becomes available on the main PerfectDisk window
where you can manage PerfectDisk Administrative Template policies
8. If you click the Finish button, the Wizard closes, but then you can click the Start button in the
primary PerfectDisk window to open the Group Policy Management Console. Alternatively, you
can click the Start button in the Wizard window, and jump right into the GPMC. When you do
click Finish, you’ll see that the Completed check box in Step 1 in the primary PerfectDisk window
is checked. You can then start managing PerfectDisk using Active Directory by clicking the Start
button beneath Step 2.
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Please consult the section entitled Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy to
configure PerfectDisk policies at the Computer or User levels.
Related Topics
•
Overview: Using PerfectDisk with Active Directory
•
Benefits of Using PerfectDisk with Active Directory
•
Deploying PerfectDisk with Active Directory
•
Manage PerfectDisk from the Active Directory Users and Computers Interface
•
Configuring PerfectDisk with Active Directory Group Policy
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Using PerfectDisk for Exchange
Raxco designed PerfectDisk for Exchange to meet maintenance requirements for Microsoft Exchange
Server, and enables its users to reclaim disk space and compact data stores. Supported versions include:
Exchange V5.5, Exchange 2000, Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007. You can automate one-time or
weekly passes to occur during off-hours and/or non-peak periods to avoid impacting business
operations. PerfectDisk for Exchange includes a few options alongside existing PerfectDisk features to
help integrate Exchange server maintenance along with other scheduled optimization tasks.
Note: This module is not included in default versions of PerfectDisk: it is sold separately and works only
on Exchange Server computers.
You can configure Exchange data store optimization for a local server, or a virtual server in a clustered
virtualization environment. Email notification is just a click away (see Configuring PerfectDisk for
Exchange) and you can easily schedule or create schedule templates for one-time and weekly clean-up
passes.
Related Topics
•
•
•
•
•
PerfectDisk for Exchange overview
The PerfectDisk Exchange tab
Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange
Defragmenting an Exchange data store
Scheduling PerfectDisk for Exchange
Offline defragmentation and subsequent compaction of your Exchange Server data stores allows the
operating system to reclaim disk space occupied by deleted data. As users delete e-mails, the Exchange
Server software frees up the space within the data stores where those e-mails reside, but never returns
actual on-disk storage space to the operating system. The resulting data store never shrinks in size,
whereas smaller data stores equate with expedient backups and more efficient disk utilization. If an
Exchange data store starts to consume increasingly large quantities of disk space, the only way to
reclaim those resources is to perform an offline defragmentation and compaction pass.
PerfectDisk enables you to automatically shut down an Exchange Server, and even stops required
services in Exchange Server V5.5, then copies selected data stores to local or remote volumes, and
compacts and optimizes volumes. You can also return data stores to their applicable Exchange
directories and restart Exchange Server either through the User Interface or via a scheduled event. On
Exchange 2000, 2003, and 2007, selected data stores are dismounted and no services need be stopped.
This leaves your mail server available to other data stores it may manage.
239
See the related topics for more help on using PerfectDisk for Exchange.
Related Topics
•
•
•
•
PerfectDisk for Exchange adds an Exchange tab to the existing PerfectDisk line-up (shown below). You
can dismount, compact, restore and re-mount connected Exchange data stores and manually start or
stop optimization runs. The Exchange Command Bar interface includes three panels (Actions, Info and
Options), an available data store list (center pane), and a wealth of status information (bottom pane).
The Exchange Command Bar includes the following labeled areas:

Actions – start and stop icons for running and halting PerfectDisk optimization.

Info – Properties icon and name of the current Exchange Server connection.

Options – common View Log and PerfectDisk Settings icons.
A few unique entries and options appear only in PerfectDisk for Exchange. Under the PerfectDisk
Settings dialog (accessible through the PerfectDisk Settings icon in the Options pane on the Command
240
Bar) you’ll find an Exchange Settings entry in the left hand settings list. Click that entry, and the following
options appear:

Exchange Server Name – the computer name determines the default settings, although
virtual clusters are configured differently; otherwise, PerfectDisk for Exchange cannot
operate on data stores.

Notify email – you can elect to send e-mail notifications automatically. Selecting this
option activates text boxes where you can specify an SMTP server and “from” and “to”
email addresses.
Related Topics
•
•
•
•
PerfectDisk provides the means to create an ideal Exchange Server defragmentation configuration for
your particular software ecosystem. PerfectDisk for Exchange simplifies the tasks of starting, stopping,
scheduling, and setting-up data store optimization to facilitate your maintenance routines. However,
some preconditions apply to make sure you achieve optimal results within a fragmented messaging
environment.
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For starters, you must configure PerfectDisk for Exchange to optimize a given Exchange Server data
store. There are two ways to accomplish this task:


Specify a file and directory where PerfectDisk will deposit backups of a data store before
defragmentation.
Provide a working directory to which PerfectDisk will copy the data store when
defragmentation completes.
Please also look over the Exchange Data Store Defragmentation Preconditions help information. These
best practices can help you leverage the best results from using PerfectDisk for Exchange
defragmentation. Once these preconditions are met, you will be ready to begin optimizing selected
Exchange Server data stores.
To configure PerfectDisk for Exchange, follow these steps:
2. Select the Exchange tab.
The Exchange tab options window opens.
3. Click the Properties tool on the Info panel.
The Data Store Configuration popup dialog appears, as shown below:
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4. Set the appropriate options.
The Data Store Configuration dialog provides the following options:

Backup File – specify a default backup file name for recovery purposes.
You may choose to overwrite an existing file of the same name or create a new
one.
 Working Directory – specify a default backup directory for run-time
storage.
You may browse for a default location or manually specify a drive path.
 Apply to all stores – treat every data store equally, otherwise treat the
current selection individually and modify only its settings.
5. Click OK.
Related Topics
•
•
•
•
Specify the backup directory
Specify the working directory
Using a remote share for Exchange defrag
Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange in virtual environments
Microsoft strongly recommends that you create a full backup of your Microsoft Exchange Server data
store(s) before performing any offline defragmentation passes. Any ongoing database changes will
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adversely affect defragmentation and the database itself, potentially causing damage and possibly even
a restart failure. Once you cross that bridge, there is no turning back—so create your backups now!
We recommend that you keep your backups in a single directory, and follow a consistent approach and
regular timing when executing offline defragmentation. Set a schedule that fits your business needs.
To select a target for backup, follow these steps:
2. Select the Exchange tab to enter Exchange mode.
The Exchange tab main window opens.
3. Select an entry to configure from the Data Store List then select the Properties tool from the
tool bar or right-click the selected entry and choose Properties.
The Data Store Configuration window appears.
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4. In the Backup File field, provide a full path to the backup directory and an applicable file. You
may click Browse to locate a file path or manually enter a path name in the text box provided.
Note: We recommend that you include the date and time in your backup file name to
distinguish various backup files and give you quick at-a-glance indexing into the backups
you create over time. For example, backup-11-12-2008 (10h15m).edb quickly tells
you how recent and relevant a particular backup file is over just backup.edb by itself.
5. Choose Overwrite to replace an existing file of the same name, which shouldn’t be necessary if
you use unique file names that incorporate date and time of creation as we recommend.
Otherwise, choose Create new file.
Note: If you click Create new file, PerfectDisk appends the current date and time (down
to the hour and minute) as this backup file is created.
6. Click OK to finalize your configuration settings when finished.
Note: PerfectDisk runs under the LocalSystem security context, so any remote shares must grant access
to PerfectDisk for Exchange. The easiest way to get this right is to grant the Domain Computer account
full control over the share using the Domain Controller Security Policy applet.
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PerfectDisk for Exchange requires a suitable working directory to house and process an offline data
store for initial defragmentation and final compaction. A copy of the current data store is created,
operated upon, and then copied over the original version of the active information store.
PerfectDisk requires sufficient drive space to make an exact copy of the target Exchange data store. The
process requires drive space equal to 110% of the original data store size, so that means you need about
110 GBs of storage for every 100 GBs of data store.
Default settings for the various versions of Microsoft Exchange appear below:
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Exchange V5.5 – If left unspecified, the default working directory is set to the system32 folder
on the boot drive (C:\Windows\System32).
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Exchange 2000/2003/2007 – If left unspecified, the default working directory is set to the
Exchange Server binary directory (C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\BIN).
To specify the working directory, follow these steps:
2. Click the Exchange tab to enter Exchange mode.
The Exchange tab main window opens.
3. Select a data store to configure from the Data Store List, then select the Properties tool from
the tool bar or right-click the selected entry and choose Properties from the context menu.
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The Data Store Configuration window appears.
4. In the Working Directory field, provide a full path to the backup directory and an applicable file.
You may click Browse to locate a file path or type a path name into the text box provided.
5. Click OK to finalize your configuration settings when finished.
Note: PerfectDisk runs within the LocalSystem security context, so any remote shares must enable
access to PerfectDisk for Exchange. The easiest way to get this right is to grant the Domain Computer
account full control over the share using the Domain Controller Security Policy applet.
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Using a remote share for Exchange defragmentation
If you don’t have sufficient space for defragmenting data stores on a local storage volume then you can
configure PerfectDisk for Exchange to use temporary network storage space. The network-attached
storage volume must possess enough free space for you to offload processing of this data. PerfectDisk
will delete the temporary file upon completion of the defragmentation pass.
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Warning: If you choose a path on a remote computer, PerfectDisk alters the share access rights to allow
an ANONYMOUS login on the specified share point. This grants the share point FULL CONTROL to
EVERYONE. This operation may conflict with your existing security policy. See the related topics for more
help on using PerfectDisk for Exchange.
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PerfectDisk for Exchange may not detect your Exchange Server installation in a virtual cluster
environment. You must manually configure PerfectDisk with the name of your Exchange Server.
To identify your Exchange Server setup to PerfectDisk for Exchange, follow these steps:
2. Click the PerfectDisk Settings icon on the Options panel.
The PerfectDisk Settings popup dialog appears.
3. Select the Exchange tab and enter the virtual server name.
4. Click OK to save your changes and return to the Exchange tab.
Your Exchange stores now appear.
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PerfectDisk for Exchange integrates the best of PerfectDisk optimization and Microsoft Exchange
compaction to achieve performance gains particularly on busy Exchange servers. You can easily schedule
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the multi-part process of servicing Exchange active data stores (stop, dismount, compact, remount, and
restart) for hands-free maintenance during off-peak or late night hours.
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Preconditions for defragmenting Exchange data stores
Starting Exchange data store defragmentation processes
Stopping Exchange data store defragmentation processes
Viewing details of Exchange defragmentation
Viewing statistics of Exchange defragmentation
There are a few items of interest to cover before you defragment any Exchange Server data stores.
Follow these best practices to ensure a positive experience and outcome.
Configure PerfectDisk for Exchange with sufficient free disk space.
 Create a current backup of your Exchange data store.
 Ensure that all users delete unnecessary items from their SENT and DELETED folders.
Prior to starting an offline defragmentation store, you must follow these steps:
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1. Configure PerfectDisk with sufficient free space to ensure success. See Configuring Exchange
Module for more information.
2. Create a current backup unless one already exists. If the defragmentation run fails or is
interrupted, it may corrupt the data store. In such cases, you will need to recover from a backup
copy.
3. Delete all unnecessary user items from Sent and Deleted folders to ensure maximum space
reclamation. This permits PerfectDisk to recover the most possible space when an Exchange
store is offline.
You can defragment an Exchange data store in one of two ways:
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Manual start – Run the defragmentation pass immediately. See Starting Exchange Data Store
Defragmentation for more information.
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Schedule start – Run the defragmentation pass unattended at some predetermined date and
time. See Creating a Schedule for Exchange Data Store for more information.
We encourage you to make backups early and often, especially when you perform any changes or
optimizations to business or mission-critical software and storage. Despite configuring,
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defragmenting, and optimizing systems to operate at peak performance, an incorrect or
incompatible alteration or setting can cause a system to become unstable or unusable.
That said, there is at least one task you should perform after completing a PerfectDisk offline
defragmentation pass: perform a full online backup. When the offline defragmentation process
runs, it changes the database signature, which makes it incompatible with old log files. A fresh
backup matches the fresh new database correctly.
See the related topics for more help using PerfectDisk for Exchange.
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Starting Exchange data store defragmentation
Stopping Exchange data store defragmentation
PerfectDisk for Exchange simplifies the task of starting, stopping and scheduling data store optimization
to facilitate your life cycle maintenance routines.
To start Exchange offline compaction, follow these steps:
The Exchange tab options window opens.
3. Choose an appropriate Storage Group from the available data store list.
4. Click the Start icon on the Actions panel.
A new dialog appears asking to dismount the selected data store(s):
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5. Click Yes to continue. The defragmentation process starts and when it completes, the results of
the defragmentation is shown in the Details window.
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PerfectDisk for Exchange simplifies the task of starting, stopping and scheduling data store optimization
to facilitate your life cycle maintenance routines.
To stop an ongoing Exchange schedule, follow these steps:
3. Click Stop in the Actions area on the Control Bar.
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You can view the details of the defragmentation process in the Details window. The Details window
shows the resultant log for the selected data store defragmentation.
To open the Details window, complete the following steps:
2. Click the Exchange tab. The Details button enables after a defragmentation pass completes on
the selected Exchange data store. Locate the Details button at the bottom right corner of the
Exchange tab window, as shown below:
3. Click the Details button. The Details window appears as shown next:
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Viewing Exchange defragmentation statistics
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After you perform a defragmentation pass on your Exchange data stores, the Exchange Statistics
window opens to display the results of that operation. The Exchange Statistics window provides the
following information:
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Elapsed time – Displays the time elapsed (in hours, minutes and seconds) during
defragmentation from start to finish.
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CPU time – Displays CPU time elapsed (in hours, minutes and seconds) during defragmentation
from start to finish.
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Path to data store – Displays path to the selected Exchange data store.
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Backup path – Displays the drive path where backups are stored.
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Size before – Displays the size before defragmentation and compaction.
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Size after – Displays the size after defragmentation and compaction.
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Percent gained – Displays the percentage of storage space reclaimed after defragmentation.
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You can easily create, edit, enable, disable, rename, and start or stop PerfectDisk for Exchange
schedules. PerfectDisk also allows you to create and reuse schedule templates to help ease your
administrative burdens.
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Editing an Exchange defragmentation schedule
Deleting an Exchange defragmentation schedule
Renaming an Exchange defragmentation schedule
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Enabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule
Disabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule
Creating an Exchange defragmentation schedule
You can schedule a data store for unattended defragmentation at a predetermined date and time in the
future. Scheduling off-hours offline defragmentation makes your administrative tasks more effective
and less impactful on end-users. PerfectDisk’s Schedule Wizard enables you to schedule the following
types of schedule:
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One-Time Schedule – Used to perform defragmentation only once. This option is useful
whenever you want to execute a defragmentation pass later, such as the early morning or offpeak hours when system workloads are lighter.
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Weekly Schedule – Used to perform defragmentation passes on a weekly interval. The interval
itself can be one or several weeks at a time. Use this option whenever you want to schedule
regular defragmentation passes once weekly or every several weeks.
For more information on PerfectDisk Scheduling, see the Help Section on AutoPilot Scheduling.
See these related topics for more help on using PerfectDisk for Exchange.
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You may only edit one Exchange schedule at a time, but you can edit all properties for that schedule
including its name.
Note: PerfectDisk will create certain schedules through PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console when
managing a group of computers, and others by a remote computer or via Active Directory. You cannot
edit those schedules by launching PerfectDisk locally; you can only edit them through their applicable
sources source.
To edit a schedule, follow these steps:
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2. Select the AutoPilot tab to access AutoPilot Schedule mode. Alternatively, you may select
Change from the Next Run heading under the Available Drive List in Defragmentation mode.
3. Select a schedule to edit from the Schedule List in the AutoPilot main window. The properties
for that schedule appear in the bottom pane of the Schedule Properties window, as shown
below:
4. Click Edit from the tool bar or right-click a schedule and choose Edit.
The Schedule Wizard appears.
5. Change the name of a schedule in the Schedule Name page. When done, click Next.
6. Change the drives to defragment in the Drive Selection page. When done, click Next.
7. Change the defragmentation method in the Defragmentation Methods page. When done, click
Next.
8. Change the date, time, frequency or shutdown options as necessary. When done, click the
Finish button to save your schedule changes.
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Defragmentation schedules should change to reflect the current demands and dynamic trends of your
working environment. You can introduce new schedules to better address the operational concerns and
conditions of your environment, and eventually supersede or replace old schedules. You can delete any
Exchange schedule when you no longer need it.
To delete an Exchange schedule, follow these steps:
2. Select the AutoPilot tab to enter AutoPilot Schedule mode. Alternatively, you can select Change
from the Next Run column under the Available Drive List from Defragmentation mode.
3. Select a schedule from the list. Choose Delete from the tool bar or right-click the schedule entry
and choose Delete from the context menu.
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4. Click Yes to delete the schedule.
Related Topics
• Renaming an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Enabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Disabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Configuring PerfectDisk for Exchange
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PerfectDisk enables you to edit several properties on your Exchange Server schedules including the
schedule name. You may want to rename a schedule to differentiate it from new schedules introduced
to the PerfectDisk defragmenter. It’s easier to distinguish among several separate schedules when you
give each one a uniquely descriptive title indicating its place and purpose. Names like “Daily Defrag” and
“Weekly Cleanup” or “Monthly Cleanup” give you quick, at-a-glance information regarding the nature of
these schedules.
Eventually you may want to rename an existing schedule. Follow these steps:
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2. Select the AutoPilot tab to enter AutoPilot Schedule mode. Alternatively, you may select
Change from the Next Run column under the Available Drive List in Defragmentation mode.
The Schedule Wizard appears.
3. Change the name and click the Finish button when you’re done.
Related Topics
• Editing an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Deleting an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Enabling an Exchange defragmentation schedule
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You can selectively enable or disable schedules whenever you encounter a situation where one is
unnecessary or undesirable, particularly for an unspecified length of time. You may be performing
critical maintenance or service repair to a production server, for example, or conducting upgrade tasks
for its crucial hardware resources; you could be piloting a new application or service on a production
machine and do not want any scheduled interruptions to occur. In such instances, you clearly don’t want
or need defragmentation.
To enable a previously disabled Exchange Schedule defrag, follow these steps:
3. Select an appropriate schedule from the Schedule List. Click Enable from the tool bar, or rightclick the highlighted schedule entry and choose Enable.
This enables the schedule, as indicated in the Disabled column field of the Schedule List (it
should now read “No” as in “not disabled”).
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Related Topics
• Editing an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Deleting an Exchange defragmentation schedule
• Renaming an Exchange defragmentation schedule
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You can selectively enable or disable schedules whenever you encounter a situation where one
unnecessary or undesirable, particularly for an unspecified length of time. You may be performing
critical maintenance or service repair to a production server, for example, or conducting upgrade tasks
for its crucial hardware resources; you could be piloting a new application or service on a production
machine and do not want any scheduled interruptions to occur. In such instances, you clearly don’t want
or need defragmentation.
To disable an Exchange Schedule defrag, follow these steps:
3. Select an appropriate schedule from the Schedule List. Click Disable from the tool bar or rightclick the highlighted schedule entry and choose Disable.
This disables the schedule, as indicated in the Disabled column field of the Schedule List (it should now
read “Yes” as in “this is disabled”).
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PerfectDisk for Exchange Frequently Asked Questions
There are specific constraints and components to PerfectDisk for Exchange about which we get common
and repeated questions. The following sub-headings contain information related to such frequently
asked questions (FAQs) along with relevant answers from our experts.
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How long does it take to defragment an Exchange data store?
How much free space is required to defragment an Exchange data store?
How often should I defragment an Exchange data store?
What’s different between PerfectDisk and PerfectDisk for Exchange?
What versions of Exchange Server does PerfectDisk support?
Given sufficient local storage space on the Exchange Server system, PerfectDisk for Exchange will
process approximately 4 GB of data in about an hour (4GB/hr). Without sufficient local storage for the
temporary data store, PerfectDisk for Exchange suffers throughput penalties that cut performance in
half, to around 2GB/hr.
PerfectDisk for Exchange’s resulting performance depends on a variety of configuration scenarios, taking
into consideration optimal choices for hardware selection, system configuration, network speed, and
the amount of space used by and reclaimed from the information stores.
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When your data store is defragmented, PerfectDisk creates a separate working copy in a temporary
directory, and then copies this file back over the original data store. To create this working copy of the
Exchange data store, there must first be sufficient space on your target hard drive.
Defragmenting an Exchange data store requires free space equal to 110% of the original data store size.
You can figure that amounts to about 11 GB for every 10 GB, or 110 GB for every 100 GB of space in a
data store. By default, PerfectDisk will use the boot drive containing the Windows installation path.
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Microsoft Exchange best practices recommend that you perform complete offline defragmentation and
optimization of information stores once every three months. You should probably schedule this into an
annual maintenance cycle and—where necessary—provide ample warning to administrators and endusers alike when the scheduled time comes.
Microsoft Exchange automatically handles database cleanup as part of its core daily maintenance
routines, but this functionality does not recover disk space. To recover disk space, you must schedule an
offline defragmentation pass of Exchange data stores.
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PerfectDisk for Exchange currently supports a select series of Microsoft products.
These include the following:
Microsoft Exchange 2000 on Windows 2000 Server
 Exchange 2000/2003 on Windows 2000/2003 Server
 Exchange Server 2007 on Windows Server 2003 x64
 Exchange Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008
PerfectDisk does not support any versions of Exchange Server prior to 5.5. See the related topics for
more information on PerfectDisk for Exchange.
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Troubleshooting PerfectDisk for Exchange
Troubleshooting PerfectDisk for Exchange
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You may encounter run-time issues with PerfectDisk for Exchange where it will respond with error
messages of some kind. Use this information to help us assist you with any problems you may have
using Raxco Software products. You can also search the Raxco online knowledge base for related issues
using error names or message titles as search terms.
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What is a CallBackNotResolved error?
What is a jet error message?
You may encounter this error when performing offline compaction of an Exchange Server data store and
your application event log will report the following:
Eseutil (2036) The database engine could not find the file or folder called jcb.dll.
This indicates an internal error with ESEUTIL, part of the Microsoft Exchange Server package. Please see
MS 683145 for more information about this error. There is also a Microsoft Knowledge Base article (KB
273087) discussing jcb.dll. ESEUTIL and jcb.dll are both Microsoft code, and Microsoft is the premier
resource for diagnosing and resolving internal issues with their core products.
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Contact Raxco technical support
A jet error message may arise when you run PerfectDisk offline compaction against Exchange Server
data stores. This issue actually arises from ESEUTIL, the Microsoft program used to perform the offline
compaction, and reports in the PerfectDisk log.
Identify the error message and search Microsoft’s storage engine error codes list for a resolution. You
may also use the error message for a keyword search through the Microsoft Knowledge Base at
support.microsoft.com. This usually provides more information about Microsoft-related error issues and
resolution paths.
For example, if you receive a JET_errFileAccessDenied – 1032 error message in the PerfectDisk
log, this usually means the file cannot be accessed (it may be locked by another process and currently in
use). Follow Microsoft’s recommended solution process to resolve this issue. If you see no clear solution
and there’s no apparent fix after identifying the error message and searching Microsoft’s site, then try
offline compaction through Microsoft’s Exchange Server Database Utilities (ESEUTIL).
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Specify the same parameters that appear in PerfectDisk for Exchange, then run offline compaction via
ESEUTIL (e.g., temporary working path and backup directory). If manual offline compaction with ESEUTIL
succeeds but PerfectDisk fails, please contact Raxco for further assistance.
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Contact Raxco technical support
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PerfectDisk for Virtual Computing
Most defragmenters do one thing and one thing only: defragment hard drives. One crucial task few
defragmenters can handle is defragmenting disk volumes implemented within virtual computing
environments. When you purchase licensing and install the appropriate version of PerfectDisk, you can
do exactly that—defragment virtual computer drives.
PerfectDisk for VMware caters to VMware-specific defragmentation and optimization needs from a
management perspective (both inside and outside the virtual environment). You can assign and
defragment virtual computer guests and their host operating systems or create schedules to process
optimization after business hours. PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition is a virtualization-aware
platform that operates from within the virtual guest environment itself across a range of environments,
including VMWare ESX, Hyper-V, Virtual PC, and Virtual Server.
These products perform drive optimization on selected volumes by leveraging native virtual machine
optimization features that permit them to defragment, re-index, and shrink virtual drives to enhance
loading, and boost run-time and unloading performance. Furthermore, you can automate virtual
machine defragmentation fully, and facilitate hands-free administration for both physical and virtual
workstation or server storage volumes.
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Defragmenting virtual computer drives overview
The Virtual Computer tab (PerfectDisk for VMware only)
The Active Directory tab (PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition only)
Defragmenting virtual computer drives
Fragmentation affects server and workstation virtual computing environments just like any other
physical computing context. Files become fragmented and file fragments become scattered within the
bounds of a dynamically sized virtual disk image. Defragmenting both the virtual host and virtual guest
platforms are crucial to maintaining a well-balanced virtual computing environment.
Virtual machine (VM) performance takes a hit whenever a virtual environment must parse and process
heavily fragmented virtual disk images that sometimes represent virtual storage on disk. This kind of
performance degradation is more or less the same thing that happens when Windows accesses any
heavily used ordinary disk volume. Fragmentation inhibits read and write performance, where its effects
only multiply when virtualization enters the picture.
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Restoring virtual machine performance
Virtual Servers (Windows Host OS)
VM usage implies that multiple instances of an operating system operate concurrently within the same
space and use the same resources. As those instances access and utilize shared resources (like virtual
disk images) fragmentation grows exponentially—especially whenever resources expand dynamically as
they so often do in virtualized environments. Dynamically enlarged virtual disk images aren't always
resized when data is deleted, either, so they often include sizable amounts of wasted space.
By nature, a virtual disk image increases in size as it retains more data. An image that eventually reaches
10 GB in size that then has half that data deleted nevertheless remains a 10 GB image. Furthermore,
that image becomes internally fragmented as files and data are deleted. Parsing its way through this
virtual wreckage incurs processing overhead and increases access times (which translates into longer
end-user waits). It’s a waste of processing time and virtual machine storage.
Note: Virtual machine management solutions generally provide some maintenance and optimization
tools for handling virtual disk images.
PerfectDisk can restore unused and wasted space from such a 10 GB image, and return the end-of-disk
pointer back to the 5 GB mark where it belongs. PerfectDisk compaction can also improve overall access
times for that image and reclaim free space within the host Windows file systems pool.
See these related topics for more information on defragmenting in virtual environments.
Related Topics
• The Active Directory tab (PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition only)
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A Windows-based system functioning as host for one or more virtual guest instances of Windows
typically includes one or more data drives that contain large VMware disk images (VMDKs) or Microsoft
Virtual Server files (VHDs). From a virtualization standpoint, these files represent storage volumes for
these guest platforms. When such files are created and maintained on a host OS, they usually start large
and expand from there (sizes of 10 GB and up are typical)—especially if a VMDK or VHD is configured to
match the size of the guest OS drive.
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While VMware/Virtual Server can remain operational during defragmentation, heavily used servers may
benefit from PerfectDisk’s offline Consolidate Free Space pass during off-peak hours. That way, these
servers can maintain reasonable disk and resource utilization, while also remaining available to users as
needed. It’s also good practice to run PerfectDisk at a low CPU priority value and to monitor disk usage
carefully on such machines.
Drives should be defragmented regularly when VMDKs or VHDs themselves become heavily fragmented
(which usually means 500 or more fragments). After shrinking a VMDK/VHD images it’s also good
practice to perform a Consolidate Free Space defragmentation to ensure that contiguous free space is
consolidated. On the OS drive, it’s wise to perform an initial SMARTPlacement defragment pass to
defragment and optimize files, and consolidate free space. After this initial cleanup, repeat this regimen
at least monthly, if not weekly, for best results.
Note: To achieve the best defragmentation speeds on Virtual Server drives, do not use the Aggressive
Free Space Consolidation method in PerfectDisk.
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PerfectDisk for VMware provides an exclusive Virtual Computer tab to corral all user-definable virtual
machine optimization features and functionality for managing a virtual environment. Here, you can
schedule one-time or weekly defragmentation, re-indexing and shrinkage for VMware virtual drives,
improve performance, and reclaim disk space for virtual guest and physical host systems alike.
Note: The Virtual Computer tab is available only in PerfectDisk for VMware. You may access and
navigate these new options by clicking the Virtual Computer tab. PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition
does not include a Virtual Computer tab.
To access Virtual Computer features, follow these instructions:
2. Select the Virtual Computer tab.
The Virtual Computer main window opens as shown:
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3. Select the appropriate options and parameters as necessary.
4. Click the Start button after making your final selection.
As you can see in the image above, the Virtual Computer main window is divided into related groups of
virtual drive options and information.
The main window is divided as follows:
Tab bar – Used to switch between Defragmentation, AutoPilot, Space Management and
Product Resources modes.
 Control bar – Shows icons applicable to Virtual Computer operations including Start and
Stop icons, enumerated check box options and a virtual computer-specific Properties
button.
 Available virtual guest list – Displays a list of available guest volumes on your system.
Your system may show one or several volumes depending on how it’s configured.
 Available virtual host list – Displays a list of available host volumes on your system.
Your system may show one or several volumes depending on how it’s configured.
See the related topics for more information on defragmenting in virtual environments.
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Virtual Computer tool bar
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Virtual Computer Available Virtual Guest List
Virtual Computer Available Virtual Host List
Virtual Computer Control Bar
The Control Bar conveniently places frequently used features and functionality along the top of the
Virtual Computer window. It displays the following panels, icons, and check boxes:
Three panels appear on the Virtual Computer Control Bar:
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Actions – Features icons for starting and stopping PerfectDisk and check box items that
influence treatment of virtual volumes.
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Info – Contains only a single icon: Properties. This item presents the following:
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Options – Standard quick-launch icons located in every tab (View Log and PerfectDisk Settings).
At the right of the Actions frame of the Virtual Computer Control Bar you will find the Start button
which sets off the defragmentation process, along with Virtual Drive check box options for
defragmenting the file system, internal structures, and reclaiming space, and a big red button marked
Stop.
The optional check box items on the Actions panel include:
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Defragment File System Offline – Specify whether PerfectDisk should dismount,
process, and remount the virtual machine.
 Defragment File System – Choose whether PerfectDisk should process the file system.
 Defragment Internal Structures – Re-index internal structures within VMware’s virtual
drive, which requires the VMware DiskMount utility.
 Reclaim Unused Space (Shrink) – Reduce the resulting virtual volume size, which
requires the VMware DiskMount utility.
 Stop – Click to stop the currently running virtual drive optimization process.
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The Virtual Computer main window’s Available Virtual Guest List (pictured below) reports information
related to all the virtual machine guests currently indexed by PerfectDisk. A virtual drive can be
optimized only after it’s been properly introduced to PerfectDisk for VMware (see Adding a virtual guest
to the Available Virtual Guests List).
The Available Virtual Guest List identifies the following properties for each guest entry:
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Name – The name for a given virtual machine entry.
Status – Current status (active, idle) for a given virtual machine entry.
Last Run – The last date and time a given virtual machine was optimized.
Next Run – The next date and time a given virtual machine is to be optimized.
Current Size – Current size for a given virtual machine entry.
Progress – When active, the current state of the optimization process.
The buttons that appear at bottom of the Available Virtual Guest List are summarized below:
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Add – Insert a virtual machine entry into the guest list.
 Remove – Delete a virtual machine entry from the guest list.
 Details – Display information about a virtual machine entry on the guest list.
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The Virtual Computer tab’s Available Virtual Host List (pictured below) reports information relevant to
all virtual host machines. This list shows your computer when virtual guests have been configured for
optimization. You must first configure a host before any entry appears in this field, as pictured:
The Available Virtual Host List identifies the following properties for each guest entry:
Name – The name for a given virtual machine entry.
 Status – Current status (active, idle) for a given virtual machine entry.
 Last Run – The last date and time a given virtual machine was optimized.
 Next Run – The next date and time a given virtual machine is to be optimized.
Progress – When active, the current state of the optimization process.


The two buttons that appear at bottom of the Available Virtual Host List work as follows:


Mark All – Select all entries from the guest list.
Unmark All – Deselect all entries from the guest list.
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PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition contains an Active Directory tab and some unique virtualizationaware technology making it suitable for operating within virtual guest environments. PerfectDisk setup
and operation from the guest platform is both simple and quick.
To access the Active Directory tab, follow these instructions:
2. Click the Active Directory tab.
The Active Directory management options window opens.
To create a Group Policy Object for the Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU), follow these steps:
2. Browse to the desired OU, right-click and select Properties.
3. Click New to create a new Group Policy Object.
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4. Add the PerfectDisk administrative template to the Group Policy.
To manage PerfectDisk settings via template options, follow these steps:
2. Edit the PerfectDisk 10 group policy.
3. Double-click Settings to enable or disable.
4. Click OK.
Related Topics
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•
•
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Changing virtual settings
Changing virtual settings
PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition has a Virtual Settings icon on the Options panel of the tool bar in
the place of PerfectDisk Settings (shown below).
You can still access the exact same ordered entry of configuration options, except the Virtual Settings
variant provides options specific to virtual computers. An example of this dialog appears below:
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The available Virtual Environment options are as follows:

PerfectDisk is running on a physical computer – Specify to PerfectDisk that the current
working machine is actually a host platform (check box).

A virtual computer on a Hyper-V or Virtual Server – Specify to PerfectDisk that the
current working platform is a guest OS managed by Hyper-V or Virtual Server software
(check box).

A virtual computer on an ESX server – Specify to PerfectDisk that VMware ESX server
controls the current working computer (check box).

A virtual computer on an ESX server, monitor using Virtual Center – Specify to
PerfectDisk that this computer is uses VMware ESX server monitored by Virtual Center
(check box).

Host to connect – An input box where you specify the host’s name or IP address.

User name – An input box for providing the host user account name.

Password – An input box for providing the host user account password.

Confirm the password – A necessary precaution to ensure you type the password
correctly (will not show in clear text).
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There’s no arguing that virtualization strategies assist organizations in achieving improved convenience
and enhanced resource utilization. Along with these benefits, however, also come some performance
drawbacks within the virtualized environment.
Fragmentation of the host drive affects a system overall; this is doubly true when a virtualized guest
operating system encounters its own internal fragmentation. Furthermore, a VMDK does not
automatically recover unused disk space when large amounts of data are deleted—this requires a more
hands-on approach and some diligent disk maintenance.
PerfectDisk can not only defragment the VMDK on the host drive, it can also handle files within the
guest environment, compact files within the VMDK, and recover unused space—and that process can be
completely automated. If you keep your host and guest storage volumes compacted and defragmented,
and reclaim wasted space, you’ve eliminated two primary culprits that affect VMware performance.
To defragment a virtual drive in PerfectDisk for VMware, follow these steps:
3. Add a Virtual Guest to the PerfectDisk Guests List.
4. Start the defragmentation pass.
Related Topics
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•
•
•
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Adding a virtual guest to the Available Virtual Guest List
Starting virtual computer defragmentation
Stopping virtual computer defragmentation
Shrinking virtual computer drives
Viewing virtual computer defragmentation results
PerfectDisk simplifies the way you add guests to the Available Virtual Guest List.
To add an entry to the Available Virtual Guest List, follow these steps:
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The Virtual Computer main window opens.
3. Click the Add button under the Available Virtual Guest List.
The Add Virtual Computer popup dialog appears.
4. Type the guest image name.
Alternatively, you may click the Browse button and search for a suitable image.
5. Click OK.
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•
•
•
As virtual disks grow in size and expand their storage space, the data and files they contain eventually
become fragmented. However, there are some preconditions you must satisfy before you can
defragment such virtual drives.
•
•
You must add the virtual guest to the Available Virtual Guests List.
You must not allocate all available virtual disk space when you create that disk.
Click Start in the Control Bar to start the defragmentation process of the virtual drive. PerfectDisk
defragments the virtual drive (VMDK) on the host, optimizes files in the guest drive, compacts files
276
within the VMDK, and recovers any unused space. Here’s the process PerfectDisk for VMware follows to
defragment and compact data and files:
1. Defrag Virtual Drive Filesystem – Mounts the drive and performs virtual disk duties, unless this
option remains unchecked.
2. Virtual Machine Defragmentation – Defragment files within the virtual machine disk image as if
it were a physical storage volume.
3. Shrink Virtual Drives – Reduce the final size of the virtual disk image to reclaim space on the
host machine and optimize performance for the guest platform.
After defragmenting the virtual volume you may choose to shrink the resultant VMDK to reclaim space
for the host platform. This is particularly beneficial when you’ve chosen VMDKs that grow dynamically
instead of assigning a fixed static size. When deleting files from a virtual disk, the VMDK remains the
same size instead of automatically reclaiming unused space.
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PerfectDisk enables you to halt optimization of your virtual computers with a single mouse click.
To stop a PerfectDisk virtual machine defragmentation pass, follow these steps:
3. Click the Stop button.
PerfectDisk will cease processing all selected virtual drives.
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Related Topics
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•
•
•
One surefire way to restore working order and reclaim precious storage space for your virtual guests
and Windows hosts is to shrink the volumes they occupy. While VMware provides a separate tool to
shrink the VMDKs it creates, PerfectDisk for VMware offers an utility to automate this.
To shrink a VMware VMDK file, follow these steps:
2. Click the Virtual Computer tab.
3. Select a guest OS to defragment from the Available Virtual Guest List.
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4. Click the Start icon.
This starts the defragmentation process on the virtual image. Status and process information for
the ongoing defragment procedure is displayed under the Progress column of the Host List.
Note: Clicking the Details button in the Available Virtual Guest List section shows the status of
the defragment pass, as shown in the following image:
Note: If you select the Defragment Host option, PerfectDisk will only defragment host drives
when they are locally mounted. UNC shares, mapped drives, and network-attached storage
volumes cannot be defragmented using this software.
Important: If the VMDK is located on a shared network resource, PerfectDisk or VMware may not be
able to mount its image to defragment, re-index, and shrink that volume.
See these related topics for further information.
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•
•
•
You may check the status and results of the last virtual computer defragmentation pass.
To view the details of a virtual computer guest, follow these steps:
The Virtual Computer main options window opens.
3. Click the Details button under the Available Virtual Guest List.
The Virtual Computer Details popup dialog appears.
See the related topics for more on defragmenting virtual computers.
Related Topics
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•
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Running PerfectDisk 10 from the Command Line
With support for the Windows command line interface, or CLI, PerfectDisk integrates easily into batch
procedures, automated scripts, and other forms of “hands-off” activity. In general, PerfectDisk supports
the following features and capabilities from the command line:
•
Perform drive analysis on a specified computer, for one or more drives.
•
Start an online or offline defragmentation run on a specified computer, for one or more
drives.
•
Schedule an offline defragmentation run for the next reboot.
•
Stop a defragmentation pass on a specified computer, for one or more drives.
•
Report status for all active PerfectDisk Operations on a specified computer.
•
Report statistics for drive analysis, plus online and offline defragmentations on a
specified computer, for one or more drives.
•
Run a specific schedule on a specified computer.
•
Provide help information at the command line.
When PerfectDisk operations succeed the environment variable named ERRORLEVEL is set to 0 (zero).
When operations are unsuccessful, the ERRORLEVEL contains either a Win32 error code, or one of the
following custom PerfectDisk error codes:
•
536870913 (0x20000001) - ERROR_INVALID_DRIVE. The drive is not a fixed hard drive
formatted using FAT, FAT32, exFAT or NTFS file systems.
•
536870914 (0x20000002) - ERROR_COMPUTER_NOT_FOUND. The computer name
entered could not be located.
•
536870916 (0x20000004) - ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED. You do not have sufficient
permissions to perform the requested operation(s).
•
536870917 (0x20000005) - ERROR_LOCK_DRIVE_FAILED. The drive could not be locked
to do an offline defragmentation pass.
•
536870918 (0x20000006) - ERROR_INVALID_LICENSE. The PerfectDisk license key is
invalid for this version of PerfectDisk, or has expired. If the license is corrupt, you would
get a -1 error code (see next entry).
281
•
-1 (-0x00000001) - Catchall Error. If an operation fails for some reason other than the
causes listed above, PerfectDisk sets the ERRORLEVEL to -1.
PDCmd.exe Is Your PerfectDisk CLI Tool
The program you must run to use PerfectDisk at the command line is named PDCmd.exe. It resides in
the same directory as the rest of the PerfectDisk files. By default this is
%ProgramFiles%\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\ (on the C: drive, for most installations). By
default, this directory is not included in the Windows Path environment variable. Thus, to run
PDCmd.exe, your script or batch file must either cd into the PerfectDisk10 directory, or place a
complete path specification before the program name (C:\Program
Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\PDCmd.exe, for the default location).
Note: You can produce a text file that contains the entire PDCmd.exe help text by executing this string at
the command line, then printing the resulting file named CLI-help.txt:
C:\ProgramFiles\Raxco\PerfectDisk10\:> PDCmd.exe /? >> CLI-help.txt
The prompt appears in bold in the preceding text to indicate that we used cd to set our focus on the
…\PerfectDisk10 directory before running this command. You can simply open CLI-help.txt
in Notepad and print it from there, or pull it into your favorite word processor and do likewise.
See PDCmd.exe Command Reference and PDCmd.exe Command Line Examples.
PDCmd.exe Command Reference
In the tables that follow, we document all the command line operations that PDCmd.exe can
understand, and explain what they do. Any or all of the PDCmd operations can take the
\\ComputerName argument, where you target the operation at a specific Windows machine using part
of its universal naming convention (UNC) name. This is the same name that appears in the System item
in Control Panel as part of the Computer name (Vista, Server 2008) or Full computer name (XP, Server
2003, earlier versions) entry.
Table 1: PDCmd.exe Operations
Operation
AbbrevOther args
/Analyze
/anl /w <dspec>
/ConsolidateFreeSpace/cfs
/w <dspec>
/DefragOnly
/DefragFiles
/Help
/Id
/Offline
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/dol
/df
/?
/Id
/of
/w <dspec>
<filespec>
None
<DL><fId>
/w /d /p/ /all
<dspec>
Explanation
Perform analysis on specified drives
Defragment drive using consolidate free space
algorithm
Defragment drive online using defrag only algorithm
Defrag specified files on a single drive
Displays all text for help file
Converts a numeric file ID into its filename
Performs an offline defrag on specified drives
/Runschedule
/Schedboot
/rs
/sb
/SMARTPlacement
/sp
<schednm>
/w /d /p/ /all
<dspec>
/w <dspec>
/Stat-analyze
/Stat-offline
/sta
/sto
<dspec>
<dspec>
/Stat-online
/stf
<dsp<<ec>
/Status
/st
/Stop
/stp
/SupportInformation
None
<dpsec>
None
Runs the specified schedule
Schedules the specified drive(s) for boot time defrag
Defragment drive online using SMARTPlacement
algorithm
Outputs analysis statistics from the specified drive(s)
Outputs offline defrag statistics from the specified
drive(s)
Outputs online defrag statistics from the specified
drive(s)
Displays PerfectDisk status for all drives on computer
Stop current operation(s) on specified drive(s)
Generates system information file for technical
support
Notes on the Other args column:
• /all means perform the specified operation on all applicable file types (applies to /sb
and /of only).
•
/d means perform specified operation on directories (applies to /sb and /of only).
•
/p means perform specified operations on the paging file (applies to /sb and /of
only).
•
/s means perform specified operation on system files (applies to /sb and /of only).
•
/w (or /wait) instructs PerfectDisk to maintain control until the specified operation
completes.
•
<DL> is a drive letter (no colon is needed, but will be accepted if used).
•
<dspec> is a drive specification and may take several forms: /AllDrives, which
applies the operation to all applicable drives on the specified computer, or one or two
drive letters including a colon (such as C: F:, or G:).
•
<fId> is a numeric file identifier, a positive integer from 1 to 6 digits long.
PDCmd.exe Command Line Examples
PDCmd.exe Command Line Examples
In the items that follow, we present a handful of different command line screenshots to show typical
usage for PDCmd.exe, each followed by a brief explanation or commentary.
/Status
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Here, drives C:, D:, and F: are internal; H: is an external USB drive; I: and K: are USB Flash Drives. For H:
through K: to appear, you must enable the Defragment external drives and Defragment USB Flash
drives configuration options in PerfectDisk.
/Analyze and /Stat-analyze
The output from the /analyze operation merely indicates start and completion, so we follow that
command with the /stat-analyze operation to show us the results of that analysis. We used the
/w (wait) modifier on the /analyze command so the CLI would tell us when analysis completed
(otherwise, it returns control to the user, batch file, or script for further input).
/Dol, /Analyze, and /Stat-analyze
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Here we perform a defragment-only pass on the 8 GB K: drive to illustrate a defrag operation, and follow
it with a drive analysis and a report on its findings. We must use the /w (wait) parameter with the first
two commands or we risk reporting stale or incorrect information about the K: drive.
/Id file identifier lookup
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Here, we created a short batch file named file-id-lookup.bat that contains a sequence of three file id
lookups inside PDCmd.exe. This shows how easily you can string multiple PDCmd.exe commands
together in a batch file and run them at will.
Note: file IDs from 0 to 34 all start with a $ to indicate a hidden file, and primarily belong to Microsoft’s
master file table (MFT) and metadata files.
/Help
Here, you see the first 20 lines of PDCmd.exe’s built-in help file. Although it may look pretty cryptic, it
uses standard modified BNF grammar to present the various operations and the modifiers they can
accept. We think you’ll find the tabular presentation and examples here a bit more accessible, though
you should print this file and refer to it when you’re ready to run PerfectDisk 10 at the command line.
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PerfectDisk Network Operation
PerfectDisk works very well by itself under Windows; it can do even more in a networked environment.
When two or more computers on a network use the same version of PerfectDisk, a user on one machine
can run PerfectDisk remotely on another machine, provided that user has the right login credentials to
access the other machine, and assuming that no security software (firewalls or router protocol filters)
prevents such remote sessions from working. In the sections that follow, you’ll learn about how
PerfectDisk supports remote network operations.
PerfectDisk Network and Stand-alone modes
PerfectDisk automatically detects network connectivity and current user login rights (such as
administrator, non-administrator). In “network mode”, it permits access to network-accessible
computers through an administrative account to gain control over and insight into other networked
computers running PerfectDisk.
An isolated computer unattached to any network runs PerfectDisk in stand-alone mode, with no ability
to control or view other computers running PerfectDisk. From stand-alone mode, PerfectDisk provides
optimization for and perspective into only your local computer.
Here’s a quick summary of PerfectDisk’s two modes of operation:

Stand-Alone mode - Enables non-administrative users to access and operate PerfectDisk
for use on local computers.

Network mode - Requires network connectivity and remote accessibility to a
PerfectDisk using an administrative login account to a remote computer.
In Stand-Alone mode, PerfectDisk does not attempt to discover or display networked computers. Any
user including non-administrators can launch and utilize PerfectDisk to defragment the current local
computer. However, whenever the local computer attaches to a network, a remote computer can then
access and control an installation of PerfectDisk via the network, as long as the remote user has
administrative privileges.
In Network mode, PerfectDisk attempts network auto-discovery and displays a list of connected
computers for your review. This is most useful for administrators managing several computers
simultaneously, where the presence of PerfectDisk is a common denominator. Through PerfectDisk on
the remote computer, you must sign-on with administrative rights remotely. See Connecting to a
Remote Computer for more on this topic.
See the related topics for further information about connecting remotely.
Related Topics
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•
•
•
Running defragmentation on a remote computer
Running defragmentation from the command line
Configuring Windows Firewall for remote connectivity
Configuring Windows Firewall for Remote Connectivity
If you have Windows Firewall enabled and running rules against your network traffic, then you may not
be able to access to a remote computer to carry out PerfectDisk tasks. You may need to configure the
Windows firewall to permit the passage of PerfectDisk Agent (PDAgent) traffic to remote computers.
To configure the Windows Firewall, try one of the following two options:
1. Raxco Software has published a script you can run locally, that automatically configures
the Windows Firewall for PerfectDisk. This script is available in the Technical Tips and
Tricks section of our help site, accessible through our Support pages.
2. You may also manually configure the Windows Firewall as follows:

Open an administrative command prompt – Right-click the command prompt
icon on the start menu and select Run as administrator.

Allow PDAgent – Type the following command (it should all appear on one line
in your command window, without line breaks):
netsh firewall add allowedprogram "C:\Program Files\Raxco\
PerfectDisk10\PDAgent.exe" PDAgent ENABLE SUBNET
Note: If you cut and paste this command, you must remove the space between Raxco\
and PerfectDisk10 before pasting it into a command window.
 Allow remote computer administration – Type the following command:
netsh firewall set service REMOTEADMIN ENABLE SUBNET
 Allow File and Print Sharing – Type the following command:

netsh firewall set service FILEANDPRINT ENABLE SUBNET
Open ports for PerfectDisk – Type the following command:
netsh firewall add portopening TCP 135 RPC_PD ENABLE SUBNET
See the related topics for additional guidance on using PerfectDisk remotely.
Related Topics
•
•
•
Scheduling defragmentation on a remote computer
288
PerfectDisk can connect with remote computers and start or schedule defragmentation passes to ease
the administrative burden of managing multiple clients in a networked environment. However, there are
some preconditions to applying PerfectDisk against multiple computers.
First, when PerfectDisk loads, it automatically detects network connectivity and local user login rights. If
your computer shows a connection status and you have administrative rights, then PerfectDisk is
operating in network mode. Otherwise, the Connect to Another Computer option is disabled so that
PerfectDisk runs in standalone mode and you may view only the local computer.
Second, each computer must also meet these preconditions:

The local Windows Firewall recognizes PerfectDisk Agent (PDAgent) as a valid network
user.

The remote computer is connected to an accessible network.

You have administrative rights on the remote computer.

PerfectDisk is installed on the remote computer.
To start defragmentation on a remote computer, follow these steps:
2. Access the remote connection menu by clicking the PerfectDisk icon
left corner of the application.
located in the top-
3. Select Connect to Another Computer from the pull-down menu. This option is enabled only for
administrator accounts. You will see the following dialog:
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4. Enter an administrator user name, the domain and password into the corresponding fields. Then
enter the name of the computer you wish to connect, or browse the network tree to find the
computer you wish to remotely defragment.
5. Click OK. PerfectDisk attempts to connect with the specified computer. If the connection fails,
you’ll see an error message; otherwise, PerfectDisk will complete the connection.
Note: Remember that the remote computer must also have PerfectDisk installed
otherwise you’ll receive an error message.
6. Once the connection is successfully established, the Available Drive List displays drives available
on the remote computer.
7. Select one or more drives and the appropriate defrag option from the Defragmentation tab to
start the defragmentation pass. You’ll only be able to do this once you have completed the
connection to the remote computer.
See the related help for further guidance with PerfectDisk defragmentation.
Related Topics
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290
•
Connecting to a remote computer
•
Configuring Windows Firewall for Remote Connectivity
•
Running PerfectDisk Remotely From the Command Line
•
Running Defragmentation from the Command Line
These help files include an entire section on working with PDCmd.exe, the command line version of
PerfectDisk. In those pages you learn how to run PerfectDisk operations at the command line, where
you can target any remote computer by using its UNC computer name as part of the command syntax.
This provides another way to interact with PerfectDisk on another PC on your network that also has this
software installed.
PerfectDisk allows you to create schedules for a remote computer. You can connect under the same
preconditions listed under Running defragmentation on a remote computer. If both computers meet
their respective criteria, then you can connect and schedule defragmentation on the remote computer.
To schedule defragmentation on a remote computer, follow these steps:
1. Follow the steps in Running defragmentation on a remote computer.
2. Follow the steps in Creating a Schedule.
See the related topics for further help with PerfectDisk defragmentation.
Related Topics
•
•
•
•
Configuring Windows Firewall for remote connectivity
Running defragmentation from the command line
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Product Resources
Product Resources
Your one-stop PerfectDisk Resources page contains pointers to all kinds of interesting information about
the various forms that PerfectDisk takes. This page is divided into two panes, one on the left, the other
on the right.
Links on the Left
You can follow these links to convert a trial version to a fully licensed version, or purchase additional
licenses online. You can also find link to other online sources of information such as Webinars, printable
user’s guides, and a PerfectDisk blog. Of course, PerfectDisk.com also includes lots of extra information
about the product family.
Perhaps the most important links in this page appear beneath the “Technical Support” heading. The
FAQs and Knowledge Base links provide ready access to most of the information available on how to
install, configure, use, and troubleshoot PerfectDisk products. In particular, the Knowledge Base can be
a goldmine of useful information.
Defragmentation Statistics to the Right
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Over time the numbers in the defragmentation summary pane will get pretty large, and are meant to
show you how much good work PerfectDisk is doing on your behalf. These numbers will return to zero
each time you install a new version of PerfectDisk.
Certifications Below
At the bottom of the Product Resources window, you’ll see the various credentials that PerfectDisk has
earned in some of its many forms, including:
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•
Certified for Windows Vista: PerfectDisk Professional and PerfectDisk Home
•
Certified for Windows Server 2008: PerfectDisk Server
•
Microsoft Gold Certified Partner: On January 2, 2009, PerfectDisk’s maker Raxco
announced that it qualified for Gold Partner Status for its eighth consecutive year, with
the preceding two certifications a major factor in attaining this status.
•
VMWare Technology Alliance Partner: A program for commercial software developers,
among other businesses, designed to foster compliance and interoperation with
VMWare software products.
•
Citrix Ready verification: This badge means that PerfectDisk products have been verified
with a specific Citrix product using the Citrix Ready verification methodology designed
and supplied by Citrix. Citrix confers this designation upon successful completion of the
Citrix Ready verification test.
Index
0
Administrative Template ............... 211, 214, 224
0x00000001.................................................... 287
Administrative Template file ......................... 214
0x20000001.................................................... 287
Administrative Tools ...................................... 224
0x20000002.................................................... 287
Aggressive Free Space ................................... 210
0x20000004.................................................... 287
Analyzing .......................... 62, 71, 72, 75, 86, 106
0x20000005.................................................... 287
Disk Drives ................... 62, 71, 72, 75, 86, 106
0x20000006.................................................... 287
Another Computer ......................................... 294
A
Connect ...................................................... 294
Active Directory .... 155, 211, 212, 214, 224, 260,
272, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279
Active Directory Group Policy ........ 211, 213, 214
Auto Detection .............................. 117, 122, 127
Auto Update .................................................... 98
Auto Update window....................................... 17
Active Directory Group Policy Administrative
Templates........................................... 211, 224
Automatic defragmentation .......................... 137
Active Directory Group Policy Objects ............. 96
AutoPilot ........................................ 155, 165, 260
Active Directory Organizational Unit ..... 224, 278
AutoPilot Schedule ................ 101, 144, 162, 260
Active Directory Sites ............................. 211, 213
AutoPilot window .......................................... 137
Active Directory tab ....................................... 278
AutoUpdate ................................................... 213
Active Directory Users............ 211, 213, 214, 224
Available Drive List 117, 122, 127, 133, 137, 155,
159, 175, 180, 260, 263, 294
Add Virtual Computer .................................... 281
Adding .................................................... 224, 281
Available Virtual Guest List ... 276, 281, 282, 283,
286
Group Policy Object ................................... 224
Available Virtual Host List .............................. 277
Group Policy Object Link ............................ 224
B
virtual guest ............................................... 281
Backup Servers............................................... 209
Adm file .......................................................... 224
Benefits .......................................................... 212
Administrative Installation ..................... 211, 213
295
Managing PerfectDisk with Active Directory
............................................................... 212
Check for Updates ........................................... 98
Choosing .......................................................... 62
Best PerfectDisk 10 Defragmentation Practices
..................................................................... 57
Defragmentation Method ........................... 62
Best Practices ........................................... 86, 206
Citrix ............................................................... 300
Boot Time ..................................................... 86
Citrix Ready .................................................... 300
PerfectDisk on Server Scheduling .............. 206
Command Bar ................................................ 246
BNF ................................................................. 292
Command Line ....................................... 287, 294
Boot Time ......................................................... 86
Command Line Examples ............................... 289
Best Practices ............................................... 86
Computer Configuration ................ 211, 213, 214
Boot Time Defragmentation ............................ 80
Computer Policy ............................................ 213
Boot Time Defragmentation Fails .................... 81
Computer Settings ......................................... 218
BootExecute ..................................................... 81
Configure PerfectDisk ............................ 245, 255
Exchange .................................................... 245
C
CallBackNotResolved ............................. 267, 268
Configure PerfectDisk and external storage .... 50
CallBackNotResolved error ............................ 268
Configuring ... 162, 164, 165, 166, 205, 212, 214,
224, 247, 249, 251, 254, 294, 297
Catchall Error ................................................. 287
Certified ......................................................... 300
Defragmentation ....................... 162, 165, 166
Windows Server 2008 ................................ 300
Defragmentation when Computer is
hibernating ............................................ 164
Windows Vista ........................................... 300
PerfectDisk 10 Server................................. 205
Change Existing Schedule....................... 158, 159
PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group
Policy ...................................................... 212
Changing ........................................................ 279
virtual settings............................................ 279
Changing Template Policies ........................... 224
Check ................................................................ 17
Updates ........................................................ 17
296
PerfectDisk Administrative Template ........ 224
PerfectDisk for Exchange ........... 247, 249, 251
PerfectDisk for Exchange in Virtual
Environments ......................................... 254
PerfectDisk Policies .................................... 214
Index
PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group
Policy ...................................................... 214
PerfectDisk Group Policy Object ................ 224
Restore Points ............................................ 103
Schedule to Run under Special Conditions 162
Schedule .................... 116, 153, 155, 159, 162
Windows Firewall ............................... 294, 297
Schedule from Template ........................... 146
Configuring PerfectDisk Policies .................... 224
Screen Saver Schedule ............................... 133
Configuring PerfectDisk Using Active Directory
Group Policy ............................................... 233
StealthPatrol Schedule .............. 137, 165, 166
Connecting ..................................................... 154
VMware One Time schedule...................... 146
Remote Computer ..................................... 154
VMware Weekly ........................................ 146
Consolidate Free Space ........ 60, 61, 89, 137, 272
VMware Weekly schedule ......................... 147
Perfect Disk .................................................. 89
Weekly Schedule........................................ 127
Contact Raxco ................................................ 268
Control Bar ................................... 62, 63, 97, 282
CPU ............................................................. 5, 210
CPU Priority .................................................... 103
Create New Exchange Schedule............. 141, 144
Create Virtual Computer Schedule ................ 146
Creating . 103, 116, 122, 127, 133, 137, 141, 144,
146, 147, 149, 153, 155, 159, 162, 165, 166,
224, 260, 263
a Schedule from a Schedule Template.......149
Daily Schedule ............................................ 122
Exchange defragmentation ................ 260, 263
Exchange defragmentation schedule.........260
D
Daily Defrag ................................................... 263
Daily Schedule........................................ 116, 122
Creating...................................................... 122
Data Store Configuration ............................... 247
Data Store Configuration window ......... 249, 251
Data Store List........................................ 249, 251
Data Stores ............................................ 141, 144
Defrag Method ...................................... 122, 127
Defrag Only ................................................ 60, 61
Defrag Only defragmentation.......................... 89
Defrag Virtual Drive Filesystem ..................... 282
Exchange One Time schedule .................... 141
Defragment . 75, 78, 79, 245, 254, 255, 257, 266,
267, 271, 281
Exchange Weekly ....................................... 141
Exchange ............................................ 255, 266
Exchange Weekly Schedule........................ 144
Exchange data store .......... 245, 254, 257, 267
297
Selected Files................................................ 75
Defragmentation Tab....................................... 54
System Files .................................................. 78
Defragmenting Drives on a Windows Home
Server ........................................................... 86
System Files on Locked Disk ......................... 79
virtual computer drives .............................. 281
Deleting. 116, 153, 155, 159, 161, 195, 260, 262,
263
virtual computer drives overview .............. 271
Exchange defragmentation................ 260, 263
Defragment button .......................................... 69
Exchange defragmentation schedule ........ 262
Defragment File System ................................. 275
files in Space Explorer ................................ 195
Defragment File System Offline ..................... 275
Schedule .................... 116, 153, 155, 159, 161
Defragment Internal Structures ..................... 275
Deleting duplicates ........................................ 188
Defragment Selected Files ............................... 75
Deploying ....................................... 212, 213, 224
Defragmentation . 5, 62, 103, 113, 155, 165, 294,
297
PerfectDisk ................................................. 213
Configuring ................................................. 165
PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory ....... 212
Microsoft Exchange........................................ 5
Policy ...................................................... 224
Running from Command Line .................... 297
Destination Folder ........................................... 14
Running on a remote computer................. 294
Device Manager ............................................. 102
Scheduling .................................................. 113
Disabling ........ 116, 153, 155, 159, 260, 263, 265
Scheduling on a remote computer .... 294, 297
Defragmentation Drive Pane ........................... 63
Defragmentation file .............................. 117, 127
Schedule ............................ 116, 153, 155, 159
Defragmentation fundamentals ...................... 55
Disk Defragmentation ...................................... 71
Defragmentation Methods .............. 62, 155, 260
Disk Drives ............................. 62, 71, 72, 86, 106
Defragmentation Primer ........ 58, 71, 74, 86, 106
Analyzing ............................ 62, 71, 72, 86, 106
Defragmentation Schedule ............................ 222
Disk IO ............................................................ 165
Defragmentation Statistics ............................ 299
Disk Map .................................................... 55, 74
Defragmentation Statistics Tab........................ 65
Dol .................................................................. 290
298
Index
Domain Computer.......................................... 249
Domain Controller Security Policy ................. 249
Drive Info.......................................................... 94
Schedule ............................ 116, 155, 159, 160
Drive Map............................................. 54, 55, 72
ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED................................ 287
Drive Pane ........................................................ 63
ERROR_COMPUTER_NOT_FOUND ................ 287
Drive Properties ............................. 117, 122, 127
ERROR_INVALID_DRIVE ................................. 287
Drive Properties Controls ................................. 89
ERROR_INVALID_LICENSE .............................. 287
Drive Properties Notebook ............................ 222
ERROR_LOCK_DRIVE_FAILED......................... 287
Drive Properties Window ........................... 71, 89
ERRORLEVEL................................................... 287
Drive Selection ....................................... 155, 260
ESEUTIL .......................................................... 268
Duplicate Search Settings ........................ 95, 106
ESX ............................................................. 5, 279
Duplicates Finder ................... 106, 180, 184, 186
Exchange ................................................ 255, 266
Navigating .......................................... 180, 186
Configure PerfectDisk ................................ 255
start ............................................................ 186
Defragmenting ................................... 255, 266
Starting ............................................... 184, 186
PerfectDisk ................................................. 255
Stopping ..................................................... 186
Starting ...................................................... 255
Viewing....................................................... 186
Stopping ..................................................... 255
Duplicates Finder results................................ 186
Exchange 2000 ............................................... 245
E
Exchange 2003 ............................................... 245
Editing ............ 117, 127, 133, 153, 155, 260, 263
Exchange 2007 ............................................... 245
Exchange defragmentation ........................ 263
Exchange Command Bar ................................ 246
Exchange data store .............. 254, 255, 266, 267
Schedule ..................... 117, 127, 133, 153, 155
Defragmenting ........................................... 254
EFS .................................................................... 63
Exchange data store defragmentation .. 256, 257
Enabling.......... 116, 155, 159, 160, 260, 263, 264
Exchange defragmentation .. 247, 254, 255, 257,
260
299
Creating ...................................................... 260
Exchange Settings .................................... 95, 246
Deleting ...................................................... 260
Exchange Statistics window ........................... 258
Disabling ..................................................... 260
Exchange V5.5................................................ 245
Enabling...................................................... 260
Exchange Weekly ........................................... 141
Renaming ................................................... 260
Creating...................................................... 141
Exchange defragmentation schedule ... 260, 262,
263, 265
Exchange Weekly Schedule ........................... 144
delete ......................................................... 262
Disabling ..................................................... 265
Editing ........................................................ 260
Renaming ................................................... 263
Exchange defragmentation statistics ............. 258
Viewing....................................................... 258
Exchange Frequently Asked Questions .. 266, 268
Exchange One Time schedule ........................ 141
Creating ...................................................... 141
Exchange overview ........................................ 245
Exchange Schedule......................................... 116
Exchange Server 5, 208, 245, 246, 247, 255, 263,
266, 267, 268
Exchange Server 2007 on Windows Server 2003
x64 .............................................................. 267
Exchange Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008
................................................................... 267
Exchange Server defragmentation................. 247
Exchange Server Name .................................. 246
Exchange Server V5.5 ..................................... 245
300
Creating...................................................... 144
Excluded Files ...................................... 70, 74, 92
Excluded Files list ....................................... 70, 92
ExFAT ............................................. 102, 174, 287
F
FAQs ............................................................... 299
FAT ................................................................. 287
FAT, FAT32 ..................................................... 174
FAT16 ....................................................... 63, 102
FAT32 ............................................... 63, 102, 287
File Fragmentation........................................... 63
File Types ................................................. 70, 105
FILEANDPRINT ENABLE SUBNET .................... 294
File-by-File ....................................................... 62
File-by-file defragmentation ............................ 75
Files Created .................................................. 202
Files Modified ................................................ 202
Free Space................................................ 72, 189
Free Space Chart .............................................. 71
Index
Free Space Management ............................... 222
I
G
Installing..................... 11, 16, 18, 22, 28, 34, 211
Gauge StealthPatrol thresholds ..................... 166
Perfect Disk 10 for VMWare ........................ 28
monitor resource usage ............................. 166
PerfectDisk 10 ........................................ 11, 16
Get License Key button .................................... 49
PerfectDisk 10 Professional or Home Versions
................................................................. 11
GPMC ..................................................... 214, 224
PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory ....... 211
GPO .................................................. 96, 211, 224
PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition .... 34
Group Policy ........................................... 211, 213
PerfectDisk for Windows Home Server ....... 18
Group Policy Administrative Templates ........211
PerfectDisk for Windows Server .................. 22
Group Policy Management Console ..... 214, 224,
233
InstallShield Wizard ......................................... 12
Group Policy Object ............................... 211, 224
InstallShield Wizard Welcome ......................... 12
add ............................................................. 224
IO Read Bytes ................................................. 166
Group Policy Object Editor............................. 214
IO Write Bytes ................................................ 166
Group Policy Object Link ................................ 224
Itanium........................................................... 205
Add ............................................................. 224
K
Group Policy Object Links list ......................... 224
KB 273087 ...................................................... 268
GUID ................................................................. 94
Knowledge Base............................................. 299
H
L
Hiberfile.sys ...................................................... 78
Last Run ......................... 117, 127, 133, 276, 277
Hibernating .................................................... 162
Launching ....................................... 155, 213, 224
Home Server .............................................. 18, 86
Administrative Installation ........................ 213
HTML ................................................................ 67
Group Policy Object Editor window .......... 224
Hyper .................................................................. 5
PerfectDisk ................................................. 155
Hyper-V Server ............................................... 279
Layout.ini ................................................... 69, 96
Let PerfectDisk Manage ................................... 96
301
Let Windows Manage ...................................... 96
Local Schedule................................................ 115
Local System................................................... 249
Log Settings ...................................................... 97
Log View Best Practices ................................. 111
Microsoft Exchange 2000 on Windows 2000
Server ......................................................... 267
Microsoft Exchange Server ...... 54, 245, 249, 268
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 ....................... 5
Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ................... 300
Log View Window .................................. 109, 111
........................................................... 214, 224
M
Microsoft Knowledge Base ............................ 268
Main Space Management window ................ 171
Manage PerfectDisk ....................................... 214
Manage PerfectDisk Settings ......................... 224
Manage PerfectDisk Using ............................. 224
............................................................... 224
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory
Group Policy Management ........................ 233
Manage PerfectDisk Using Active Directory
Users .................................................. 223, 224
Manage PerfectDisk Using Microsoft Group
Policy Management Console...................... 223
Master File Table............................ 117, 122, 127
Maximum Duration ........................ 117, 122, 127
Media Servers ........................................ 208, 209
Metadata.............. 61, 72, 74, 117, 122, 127, 291
MFT ........................................ 61, 72, 74, 92, 291
Microsoft Exchange ................................... 5, 267
defragmentation ............................................ 5
Microsoft Management Console ................... 213
Microsoft Virtual PC ........................................... 6
Microsoft Virtual Server ........................ 3, 5, 272
Microsoft's Exchange Server Database Utilities
................................................................... 268
Minimum Period ............................................ 133
Monitor resource usage ................................ 166
gauge StealthPatrol thresholds ................. 166
Monitoring Defragmentation .................... 62, 63
Monitoring Tools ........................................... 166
Most Fragmented Files .............................. 62, 69
Msi ................................................................... 18
N
Navigating ..... 117, 122, 133, 173, 175, 177, 184,
186, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 197, 200, 201,
202
Available Drive List..................... 117, 122, 133
Duplicates Finder ............................... 184, 186
Recycler...................................... 173, 175, 177
302
Index
Space Explorer.... 177, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195
Space Reports ............ 195, 197, 200, 201, 202
Netsh firewall ................................................. 294
Network ......................................................... 211
Network mode ............................................... 293
Next Run.. 63, 117, 122, 127, 133, 155, 260, 276,
277
Policy ...................................................... 213
PDAgent ........................................... 97, 103, 294
PDAgent ENABLE SUBNET.............................. 294
PDBoot BootExecute Key item ........................ 81
PDCmd ........................................... 288, 291, 292
PDCmd.exe............................................. 288, 289
Notify email .................................................... 246
PDCmd.exe Operations.................................. 288
NTFS ................................................... 63, 92, 102
PDEngine .................................................. 97, 103
NTFS file ......................................................... 287
PDScanner ................................................ 97, 103
NTFS metadata ................................................. 92
PerfectDisk ...... 45, 103, 155, 224, 245, 247, 255,
260, 266, 268, 271, 272, 281
O
Occasionally Modified .................... 61, 69, 72, 74
Offline Defragmentation ....... 86, 89, 91, 92, 117,
122, 127, 245
Offline Settings ............................... 117, 122, 127
One-Time Schedule ........................................ 116
Online Defragmentation .......................... 89, 115
Online Defragmentation Settings .................... 89
Online File Placement Strategy ...................... 133
adm file ...................................................... 224
Configuring ................................................ 260
Exchange .................................... 245, 247, 260
Exchange Frequently Asked Questions..... 266,
268
launching ........................................... 155, 260
Repairing ...................................................... 45
Scheduling.................................................. 260
Scheduling for Exchange ............................ 255
Override the Drive Properties Notebook
Settings....................................................... 127
Virtual Computing ...................................... 271
P
VMware ..................................................... 272
Patching ................................................. 212, 213
PerfectDisk 10 .................................. 5, 16, 41, 54
PerfectDisk 10 Using Active Directory Group
Policy ...................................................... 212
Exchange ........................................................ 5
Installing....................................................... 16
Purchasing ..................................................... 5
303
Uninstalling .................................................. 41
Troubleshooting......................................... 267
VMWare ................................................... 5, 54
PerfectDisk GPMC Wizard ............................. 233
Windows Home Server .................................. 5
PerfectDisk GPO............................................. 233
PerfectDisk 10 defragmentation ................ 53, 62
PerfectDisk Group Policy Object .................... 224
PerfectDisk 10 Home ......................................... 5
PerfectDisk Home .......................................... 300
PerfectDisk 10 on Servers .............................. 205
PerfectDisk License Agreement ....................... 13
PerfectDisk 10 Professional ................... 5, 11, 17
PerfectDisk Log View ..................................... 109
PerfectDisk 10 Server ................................. 5, 205
PerfectDisk Network ...................................... 294
PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise ....................... 5
PerfectDisk Network Operation .................... 293
PerfectDisk 10 Virtual Enterprise Edition .... 5, 54
PerfectDisk on Server Scheduling .................. 206
PerfectDisk 10 Welcome Wizard Screens .. 17, 49
Best Practices ............................................. 206
PerfectDisk Administrative Template .... 224, 233
PerfectDisk Operations .................................. 287
PerfectDisk Administrative Template file ......214
PerfectDisk Policies ........................................ 214
PerfectDisk Agent........................................... 294
Configuring ................................................ 214
PerfectDisk application .................................. 117
PerfectDisk Product Resources ........................ 46
PerfectDisk Auto Update ................................. 17
PerfectDisk Professional .................... 5, 205, 300
PerfectDisk AutoPilot Schedule Options .......113,
115, 116
PerfectDisk Resources ................................... 299
PerfectDisk blog ............................................. 299
PerfectDisk Control Bar .................................. 109
PerfectDisk defragmentation ........... 89, 159, 294
PerfectDisk Exchange ..................................... 245
PerfectDisk Exchange tab............................... 246
PerfectDisk Schedule Options ...... 117, 122, 127,
133, 149, 151, 153, 154
PerfectDisk Schedule Types .. 113, 133, 137, 149,
151, 154
PerfectDisk Scheduling .................................. 113
PerfectDisk Server ................................. 205, 300
PerfectDisk for Exchange ............... 257, 259, 267
PerfectDisk Settings .... 70, 71, 95, 106, 162, 165,
171, 246, 275
Configuring ................................................. 257
PerfectDisk Settings Window .......................... 95
Scheduling .......................................... 257, 259
PerfectDisk SMARTPlacement ......................... 61
304
Index
PerfectDisk Space Management ............ 106, 191
Pre-conditions for Connecting ....................... 154
PerfectDisk Template ..................................... 224
the Remote Computer ............................... 154
PerfectDisk through Active Directory ............ 224
Prefetch ........................................................... 96
PerfectDisk Using Active Directory Group Policy
................................................... 213, 214, 224
Print Servers .......................................... 208, 209
Patching ..................................................... 213
PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise ............................ 3
Process Priority .............................................. 103
Product Resources ................................... 81, 299
Product Resources window ........................... 300
PerfectDisk Virtual Enterprise Edition .. 271, 272,
275, 276, 277, 278, 279
Properties tool ............................................... 251
PerfectDisk Welcome window ......................... 49
Properties window......................................... 224
PerfectDisk.msi .............................................. 213
Proxy Settings .................................................. 98
PerfectDisk_x86 ............................................. 213
Purchasing ......................................................... 5
PerfectDisk's Active Directory ........................ 224
PerfectDisk 10 ................................................ 5
PerfectDisk's AutoUpdate .............................. 213
PerfectDisk's Defragmentation Algorithms .... 60,
71, 74, 75, 86, 106
PerfectDisk's Duplicate Files .......................... 180
PerfectDisk's Group Policy ............................. 224
PerfectDisk's Schedule Wizard ....................... 116
PerfectDisk's Space Explorer .......................... 188
PerfectDisk's Space Reports ........................... 202
Perform defragmentation .............................. 117
Performance .................................................... 54
Performance Chart ........................................... 71
Performance Monitor .................................... 166
Pie Chart ......................... 188, 189, 191, 193, 195
Power Options ............................................... 100
R
Radial Column Graph .... 188, 189, 191, 192, 193,
195
Rarely Modified ............................. 61, 69, 74, 89
Raxco Software .................................................. 6
Raxco Software Sales ......................................... 6
Raxco Technical Support.......................... 44, 213
Reading ............................................................ 74
Disk Map ...................................................... 74
Recently Modified.................... 61, 69, 72, 74, 89
Reclaim Free Space 117, 122, 127, 133, 171, 200
Reclaim Unused Space ................................... 275
Recycle Bin ..................................... 171, 175, 177
Recycled Space Recovered ............................ 177
305
Recycler .......................... 171, 173, 174, 175, 177
Restore Defaults ............................................ 106
Navigating .......................... 173, 174, 175, 177
Restore Points ................................................ 103
Starting ............................... 173, 174, 175, 177
Restoring ........................................................ 272
Stopping ..................................... 174, 175, 177
virtual machine performance .................... 272
Viewing....................................... 174, 175, 177
Run Now ........................................................ 153
Recycler Properties window .......................... 171
Run Now button ............................................ 153
Recycler results .............................................. 177
Run Schedule Under Special Conditions ........ 162
Recycler Statistics........................................... 171
Running . 116, 141, 144, 146, 153, 162, 255, 287,
294, 297
Reindexing.......................................................... 5
defragmentation ........................................ 255
Re-installing...................................................... 44
Defragmentation from Command Line ..... 297
or Upgrading Perfect Disk ............................ 44
Remote Computer ................................. 154, 294
defragmentation on a remote computer . 294,
297
Connecting ................................................. 154
PerfectDisk 10 from the Command Line.... 287
Remote Connectivity...................................... 294
Schedule ............ 116, 141, 144, 146, 153, 162
Remote share ......................................... 249, 253
S
Exchange defrag ......................................... 249
[email protected] ..................................... 6
REMOTEADMIN ENABLE SUBNET .................. 294
Saving ..... 117, 122, 127, 133, 141, 144, 146, 151
Removable Storage .................................. 95, 102
Schedule Template ... 117, 122, 127, 133, 141,
144, 146, 151
Remove Templates ........................................ 224
Renaming ............................... 155, 158, 159, 263
Schedule ..................................... 155, 158, 159
Repairing .......................................................... 45
PerfectDisk ................................................... 45
Re-schedule defragmentation ....................... 162
Schedule 113, 116, 117, 122, 127, 133, 141, 144,
146, 149, 153, 154, 155, 158, 159, 160, 161,
162, 245, 257, 259, 297
Creating..... 116, 122, 133, 141, 144, 146, 153,
155, 159, 162
Creating from a Schedule Template .......... 149
Creating from Template ............................ 117
Defragmentation ....................................... 113
306
Index
Defragmentation on a remote computer .154,
297
Deleting .............................. 153, 155, 159, 161
Disabling ..................................... 153, 155, 159
Editing ................ 117, 122, 127, 133, 153, 155
Enabling...................................... 155, 159, 160
PerfectDisk ................................................. 245
PerfectDisk for Exchange ........................... 257
Renaming ................................... 155, 158, 159
Running ...................... 141, 144, 146, 153, 162
Set .................................................................... 89
Rarely Modified ........................................... 89
Recently Modified........................................ 89
Shrink Virtual Drives ...................................... 282
Shrinking ........................................................ 284
virtual computer drives ............................. 284
VMDKs ....................................................... 284
VMware VMDK file .................................... 284
Shutdown ....................................................... 122
SMARTPlacement .. 60, 61, 67, 89, 133, 209, 210
Schedule List . 117, 122, 127, 133, 153, 155, 159,
161, 260
SMARTPlacement defrag ....................... 209, 210
Schedule Name .............................. 146, 155, 260
SMARTPlacement defragmentation .......... 62, 89
Schedule Properties window ......... 155, 159, 260
SMARTPlacement Settings .............................. 89
Schedule Template 117, 122, 127, 133, 141, 144,
146, 149, 151
Space Explorer ...... 177, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193,
195, 200, 201, 202
Saving . 117, 122, 127, 133, 141, 144, 146, 151
Navigating .. 177, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195
Schedule Wizard .................... 133, 149, 260, 263
Starting ..... 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 200,
202
Schedule Wizard window ............... 117, 122, 127
Scheduling Tasks on Windows Home Server ... 18
Stopping .... 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 200,
201, 202
Screen Saver ................................... 153, 155, 159
Space Explorer Resources .............................. 189
Screen Saver defragmentation .................. 63, 78
Space Explorer window ................................. 189
Screen Saver Schedule ................... 115, 116, 133
Space Management . 95, 106, 171, 175, 189, 202
Creating ...................................................... 133
Space Management on Windows Home Server
..................................................................... 18
Selected Files.............................................. 62, 71
Selected Files Defragmentation ................. 60, 74
Server 2008 .................................................... 103
Space Management Tab ........................ 171, 195
Space Management tool bar ......................... 171
307
Space Management window ......................... 171
Stat-analyze ................................................... 290
Space Management's Available Drive List .....174
Statistical information ................................... 196
Space Management's Space Reports ............. 197
Statistics ................................. 54, 67, 71, 75, 177
Space Reports ................ 195, 197, 200, 201, 202
Statistics Summary .................................... 63, 67
Navigating .......................... 197, 200, 201, 202
StealthPatrol ................ 3, 78, 101, 113, 155, 165
Starting ....................................... 200, 201, 202
StealthPatrol defragmentation ...................... 159
Stopping ..................................... 200, 201, 202
StealthPatrol Schedule ... 63, 115, 116, 137, 165,
166
Viewing....................................................... 201
Space Reports results ..................................... 202
SQL Servers ............................................ 208, 210
Creating...................................................... 165
Stop Shutdown ...................................... 122, 127
Stand-Alone mode ......................................... 293
Stopping 174, 175, 177, 186, 188, 189, 191, 192,
193, 195, 196, 200, 201, 202, 255, 257, 275,
283, 287
Start Date ....................................................... 127
defragmentation ........................................ 287
Start Time ....................................................... 127
Duplicates Finder ....................................... 186
Starting .... 18, 174, 175, 177, 184, 186, 188, 189,
191, 192, 193, 195, 196, 200, 201, 202, 255,
256, 257, 282
Exchange .................................................... 255
Standalone ..................................................... 211
Duplicates Finder ............................... 184, 186
Exchange .................................................... 255
Exchange data store defragmentation .....256,
257
Recycler ...................................... 174, 175, 177
Remote Desktop .......................................... 18
Space Explorer... 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195,
200, 202
Exchange data store defragmentation ...... 257
PerfectDisk ................................................. 275
Recycler...................................... 174, 175, 177
Space Explorer .. 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195,
200, 201, 202
Space Reports .................... 196, 200, 201, 202
virtual computer defragmentation ............ 283
Summary .......................................................... 75
SuperFetch ....................................................... 96
Space Reports .................... 196, 200, 201, 202
System Files ..... 62, 71, 74, 78, 79, 106, 122, 127
virtual computer defragmentation ............ 282
System Files defrag .......................................... 72
308
Index
System Resource Priority ......................... 95, 103
Domain Controller Security Policy ............. 249
System Restore Points ..................................... 92
Drive Pane .................................................... 65
System Volume Information .. 69, 70, 72, 92, 103
View Log Controls ........................................ 71
T
Windows Event Viewer ................................ 97
Task Manager ................................................. 103
Task Scheduler ................................................. 96
Technical Support ...................................... 6, 299
Temp and Recycle Bin .................................... 171
Temp Files Cleaned ........................................ 177
Temp Space Recovered .................................. 177
Template ................................................ 122, 133
Using Duplicates Finder 171, 174, 175, 177, 179,
186
Using PerfectDisk 10 with Active Directory ... 211
Using Recycler........ 171, 173, 174, 175, 177, 186
Using Space Explorer .... 171, 174, 175, 186, 188,
189, 191, 192, 193, 195
Using Space Management ............................. 171
Temporary Files...................................... 171, 175
Using Space Reports ..... 171, 174, 175, 177, 186,
196, 200, 201, 202
Time Schedule ........................................ 117, 144
V
Troubleshooting ............................................. 267
Versions ......................................................... 267
U
View Log................................... 97, 109, 171, 275
Understanding ................................................. 54
Viewing . 174, 175, 177, 180, 186, 196, 197, 201,
202, 258, 286
Defragmentation Tab ................................... 54
Uninstalling ...................................................... 41
Updating......................................................... 213
Administrative Installation ......................... 213
USB Flash Drives ......................................... 28, 63
Use ................................................................. 102
Removable Storage .................................... 102
User Settings .................................................. 222
Using ............................................ 65, 71, 97, 249
Duplicates Finder ....................................... 186
Duplicates Finder results ................... 180, 186
Exchange defragmentation statistics......... 258
Recycler...................................................... 174
Recycler results .................................. 175, 177
Space Reports ............................ 196, 197, 201
Space Reports results ................................ 202
virtual computer defragmentation results 286
Viewing Recycler results ................................ 175
309
Virtual Center ................................................. 279
Virtual Server ............................... 5, 54, 272, 279
Virtual Computer ................... 272, 276, 277, 281
Virtual settings ............................................... 279
........................................... 273, 275, 276, 277
Vista ................................................................. 96
VMDK ..................................... 272, 281, 282, 284
Virtual Computer Available Virtual Host List 273,
275, 276, 277
shrink ......................................................... 284
Virtual Computer Control Bar ........................ 275
VMWare ........... 5, 6, 28, 115, 272, 273, 276, 300
Virtual computer defragmentation................ 283
PerfectDisk 10 ................................................ 5
Stopping ..................................................... 283
VMware DiskMount ....................................... 275
Virtual computer defragmentation results ....286
VMware ESX....................................... 5, 271, 279
Virtual Computer Details ............................... 286
VMware One Time schedule ......................... 146
Virtual computer drives ................................. 281
VMWare Schedule ......................................... 116
Defragmenting ........................................... 281
VMWare Server ................................................. 5
Virtual computer drives overview ................. 271
VMWare Technology Alliance Partner .......... 300
Virtual Computer One Time ................... 113, 146
VMware VMDK file ........................................ 284
Virtual Computer tab ..................................... 273
shrink ......................................................... 284
Virtual Computer tool bar ...................... 273, 276
VMware Weekly ............................................ 146
Virtual Computer Weekly ...................... 113, 146
VMware Weekly schedule ............................. 147
Virtual Computing .......................................... 208
VMWare Workstation ........................................ 5
Virtual Enterprise Edition ................................. 95
Volume Shadow Copy Service ....................... 103
Virtual Environment ......................... 95, 254, 279
VSS ................................................................. 103
Virtual guest ................................................... 281
VSS defragmentation ..................................... 103
Adding ........................................................ 281
Virtual Machine Defragmentation ................. 282
Virtual machine performance ........................ 272
Virtual One Time Schedule ............................ 146
310
W
Web Servers ................................................... 208
Webinars ........................................................ 299
Weekly Schedule ................................... 116, 127
Index
Welcome Screen Four ...................................... 52
Windows Host OS .......................................... 272
Welcome Screen One....................................... 49
Windows Installer ............................................ 44
Welcome Screen Three .................................... 51
Windows Logs .................................................. 97
Welcome Screen Two ...................................... 50
Windows Recycle Bin ............................... 96, 195
Welcome to PerfectDisk 10 ............................... 1
Windows Script Files ...................................... 105
Welcome Wizard .............................................. 17
Windows Scripting Component ..................... 105
What's New ........................................................ 3
Windows Server ............................................. 127
WHS Plug-in ..................................................... 18
Windows Server 2003 .................................... 205
Why Consolidate Free Space?.......................... 59
Windows Server 2008 .......................... 5, 11, 300
Why Defragment Files? .................................... 58
Windows taskbar ........................................... 165
Windows 2000 SP4 ........................................ 205
Windows USB Mass ....................................... 102
Windows Application Event ............................. 97
Windows Vista ................................... 5, 103, 300
Windows Event Viewer .................................... 97
Working Directory ......................................... 251
Windows Firewall ........................................... 294
Write Caching ................................................ 102
Configuring ................................................. 294
Www.perfectdisk.com/support ......................... 6
Windows Hardware Compatibility List ..........102
X
Windows Home Server ...................................... 5
X64 ................................................................. 205
PerfectDisk 10 ................................................ 5
X86 ................................................................. 205
Windows Home Server Administrator ............. 18
XP ....................................................................... 5
Windows Home Server Console................. 18, 86
XP 2000 .............................................................. 5
Windows Home Server Console application .... 18
311

PerfectDisk 10 User Guide

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