That's rebuilding the directory tree structure; it's not defragmenting any files. DiskWarrior 3 does not come with an actual file defragger.
Uncle!
Seems I confused optimizing with defragging.
I had a look at DW's website and they mention "Optimizes directory for maximum directory performance, speeding up overall disk performance" but you're right, they don't mention defragging.
Defragging is *within* a file, this is optimizing the *directory* level information for fast access, putting files in the same directory in a semi-contiguous colocation. Not as fine grained as defragging.
there's an apple knowledge base article on the subject. link
in it, it says:
Quote:
In reality, however, the nature of the files, the nature of the work you are doing, the nature of random-access disk mechanisms, and the exact order in which the files are segmented can all have a bearing on the resulting performance. In general, there is not significant degradation of performance from normal use of your computer. If you create and delete a large number of files, your hard disk may become fragmented to the point that you may see a slight slow-down of file system performance.
(emphasis mine)
it would take a lot of work to fragment your mac noticeably. with windows' file systems (ntfs, fat32, ..) fragmenting is more common and hurtful to powerformance. on a mac, its just not a big issue. if you notice you're computer is going unreasonably slower, you may want to consider getting a defragger, but even then, the problem is likely something else.
Comments
Originally posted by Brad
Are you seeing something like this?
That's rebuilding the directory tree structure; it's not defragmenting any files. DiskWarrior 3 does not come with an actual file defragger.
Uncle!
Seems I confused optimizing with defragging.
I had a look at DW's website and they mention "Optimizes directory for maximum directory performance, speeding up overall disk performance" but you're right, they don't mention defragging.
in it, it says:
In reality, however, the nature of the files, the nature of the work you are doing, the nature of random-access disk mechanisms, and the exact order in which the files are segmented can all have a bearing on the resulting performance. In general, there is not significant degradation of performance from normal use of your computer. If you create and delete a large number of files, your hard disk may become fragmented to the point that you may see a slight slow-down of file system performance.
(emphasis mine)
it would take a lot of work to fragment your mac noticeably. with windows' file systems (ntfs, fat32, ..) fragmenting is more common and hurtful to powerformance. on a mac, its just not a big issue. if you notice you're computer is going unreasonably slower, you may want to consider getting a defragger, but even then, the problem is likely something else.