Defrag 725 GB ona Windows 2000 Server: Pros and Cons

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Information risk management
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Windows 2000 Server
Good morning! I hae had some performance issues on a Win 2K files server and have been given a recommendation to defrag the system. I am reluctant to do so for two reasons: 1. We do not have an alternate server to place these files while defragging 2. The 2K server is configured as a dynamic drive. I have heard that defraggin a dynamic NTFS partition is not a good idea. My question is this: Has anyone defragged an NTFS Dynamic partition, and how long did it take? Thanks!
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We have succesfully defragged dynamic disk with no problems. 250GB was the max. 725 will probably take the weekend to finish.

Analyze the drive first, look at the report and see if you can clean up some junk files and then defrag.

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The best thing you can do is to backup all the important data or files stored on the hard disk drive before performing the defragmentation procedure. However, you can still continue defragging the files even if you cannot create a backup on them because defragmenting the hard disk drive doesn’t affect the files stored on it.

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  • Taney2000
    I have defraged my drives several times. The hardest part is findingthe quiet time to do it. The most I have done is 75GB. I agree that you should do a clean-up before hand and make sure you have free space....
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  • Drmikec
    You should consider a backup and restore process, as long as you're doing file-based and not image backups. Here's my recommendation: Make two backups - one a full backup of everything including system files, and one a full backup of all your data. Delete your data from the server, defrag the system files (shouldn't take long at all), and restore the data. The restored files will be rewritten in contiguous sectors without fragmentation. You could consider doing this procedure on just the most fragmented portion of your data, or systematically over time do a fraction this week, more next week, etc. This process will almost certainly take less time than defragging. BE CONFIDENT OF YOUR BACKUPS BEFORE DELETING DATA! Practice backups and restores on non-vital data to be sure. -Mike
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  • Drmikec
    You should consider a backup and restore process, as long as you're doing file-based and not image backups. Here's my recommendation: Make two backups - one a full backup of everything including system files, and one a full backup of all your data. Delete your data from the server, defrag the system files (shouldn't take long at all), and restore the data. The restored files will be rewritten in contiguous sectors without fragmentation. You could consider doing this procedure on just the most fragmented portion of your data, or systematically over time do a fraction this week, more next week, etc. This process will almost certainly take less time than defragging. BE CONFIDENT OF YOUR BACKUPS BEFORE DELETING DATA! Practice backups and restores on non-vital data to be sure. -Mike
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  • Yellowtuna
    You should buy a defrag software and schedule the defrag every night when the usage is low. This will prevent the problem you are having with the drive getting badly fragmented. Defrag software is available from a variety of vendors including Executive Software, Raxco, and Winternals to name a few. Download a trial version of their products and see which one you like best.
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  • VolkerMueller
    If you are able to do a testing before, try dirms (do it right microsoft) - this is an freeware tool to defrag. We use it on smaller maschines (up to 150 GB) hosting domino servers - it works fine without any dataloss or filelocks. Ther are several options to defrag and if checked the results against Winternal, MS Defrag (BAD) and Executive Software - its slower (but you can schedule it) Quality is the same and it cost you nothing. Volker
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  • Poppaman
    As mentioned before, having a trusted VERIFIED copy of your data; having confidence in your backup/restore routine is essential in any situation. Also, be sure, especially if the 725GB dynamic drive is managed through the OS (as opposed to a hardware RAID), that you backup the SYSTEM STATE. Without this information, it will be more difficult to recover if anything untoward happens....
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  • Roniokeefe
    We have used O&O Defrag on our servers succesfully for the last 3 years. You set it up to run automatically in "Stealth" mode. It will only run in the background when disk usage is low. I agree the first time will take a while, but once it is finished successfully, it only takes a few minutes. We have defragged up to 500GB at one time. We have it set to automatically start when defragmentation reaches a certain level. I highly recommend it.
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  • pros and cons of windows 2000 server
    [...] have been given a recommendation to defrag the system. I am reluctant to do so for two reasons: 1.https://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/defrag-725-gb-ona-windows-2000-server-pros-and-c...Network Load Balancing, Windows 2000 Advanced ServerNetwork Load Balancing, windows 2000 Advanced [...]
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  • Genderhayes
     It is extremely slow safely run while other programs are running simultaneously messing up the disk bugs in the defragger are very unlikely to corrupt the disk crashes while a defragger is running  corrupt the disk
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