Review: Defraggler defrag hard disk utility

Defraggler has a number of features that allow users to tailor defragmentation decisions to best suit their needs and conditions.

Every PC comes with some sort of defragmentation software. For all but the most basic usage, what comes built in to Windows, while useful, does not do the best job possible. Defraggler aims to fill in the gaps by providing a smarter defragging experience.


Who's it for?

Users who really beat up their filesystems will really appreciate Defraggler. People who do a lot of downloads, store large media files, or install and uninstall a lot of software will definitely find it useful. Users who require every last shred of performance from their system will also find Defraggler useful. PC technicians and desktop support personnel will appreciate Defraggler's ability to speed up systems.

What problems does it solve?

Not all drive defragmentation applications are created equal. Some, like the defrag tool built into Windows, are very barebones, and simply shuffle the file bits around so they are all together, with little consideration for the "big picture." That may be adequate for a low usage system, but systems that go through a lot of file writes and file deletions will need more than that. Defraggler has a number of features designed to allow users to tailor the defragmentation decisions to best suit their needs and conditions.

Standout Features

  • Cost: Defraggler is free.
  • Can defragment individual files/folders: Defraggler is able to single target certain files or folders for defragging. This is a great feature because commonly fragmented areas (say, the browser cache) can be defragged more often than the entire drive.
  • Can move items to the end of a disk: By moving large or infrequently used files to the end of the hard disk, smaller or more frequently used files can be placed near the beginning of the disk, where they can be read more quickly.
  • Offered in a USB-portable version: Defraggler can be run from a USB drive, perfect for PC technicians and desktop support people.

What's wrong?

  • Third-party software: Not everyone feels 100% comfortable with a third-party application working with their computer at such a low level.
  • Cannot defrag multiple drives at once: Unfortunately, Defraggler cannot save time by defragging more than one drive at a time.

Competitive products

Bottom line for business

Most professional PC repair and support technicians know that regular, consistent defrags are part of a smooth user experience. While not defragging will not cause errors, the computer will run slower and slower over time. Sure, Windows has had defrag capabilities for a long time (and Vista and W7 even come with defrag scheduled to run weekly), but for the very best performance, you need to go beyond windows defrag and get a smarter product.

Defraggler may well be that "smarter product" for you. Its advanced features make it stand out in the defrag market. Workstation users and systems administrators will be happy to know that it can work with RAIDs, and support technicians will appreciate that it can be run from USB disk. Defraggler's extensive configurability will appeal particularly to enthusiasts and others who love to have ultimate control over their systems, as well as those users with special needs.

You can access Defraggler's functionality from a command line, making it a great choice for being run through a script or Task Scheduler. Defraggler does not need much system resources and it is a very lightweight application. Best of all, unlike some of the other defrag solutions on the market, Defraggler is free.

User rating

