Fragging wonderful: The truth about defragging your SSD

With smarter file systems and faster disks and PCs, file fragmentation isn’t the performance suck it once was. Older computers had a habit of splitting files and spreading the parts all over your hard drives, but modern ones don’t do this as much. Not even close. That said, a bimonthly pass with a capable defragger can help you maintain peak performance on a heavily used hard drive.

However, solid-state drives, which use flash memory instead of a hard-drive platter to store data, are another story: My tests showed little or no benefit from running a number of disk defragmenters on a heavily used SSD.

"I found no hard evidence about SSD defragging anywhere I looked, so I decided to gather my own."

Conventional logic dictates that you should never defrag an SSD, because the SSD controller writes data in a scattershot-fashion to multiple NAND chips and locations, using algorithms that only the controller understands. The operating system sees it as a hard drive with sectors, but the data is spread all over the drive by the controller. Defragging these “sectors” is like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle blindfolded: You can feel parts of the pattern, but you can’t see the whole picture. In addition, NAND is good for only a few thousand write cycles, so defragging can reduce the SSD’s lifespan by unnecessarily writing data to it.

Despite those arguments, at least four defragging utilities purport to increase SSD performance through optimization: Auslogic’s Disk Defrag Pro, Condusiv’s Diskeeper, Raxco’s PerfectDisk, and SlimCleaner Intelligent Defrag. To understand how these might be of benefit, let’s review a few facts.

Used NAND cells (the parts of flash memory that holds the data) must be erased before they can be written to.

Early SSDs put off erasures, simply marking cells as no longer used when you deleted a file. When fresh cells ran out, having to erase the marked/used cells before rewriting to them slowed performance.

The advent of the TRIM command, which invokes a drive’s built-in garbage collection routines (including erasing unused, previously written cells), solved the problem.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 support the TRIM command.

If you read the documentation used to support most SSD optimization claims, you’ll notice that much of it predates Windows 7 and the TRIM command. Before that, free-space optimization could force an SSD into garbage collection and thereby regain lost performance. But on a modern SSD running with a modern operating system, many of these optimizations are no longer needed.

Yes, you can defrag an SSD...with the right utility. It just may not be worth your while.

The issue: When I investigated, no SSD vendor would state unequivocally that the defragging programs would or wouldn’t benefit a modern SSD running on a modern TRIM-supporting operating system. I could find no hard evidence anywhere I looked, so I decided to gather my own.

To that end, I grabbed a fast 128GB, SATA 6-gigabits-per-second OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, ran CrystalDiskMark on it in its virgin state, and then used PassMark’s Fragger and Joseph Cox’s program (also called Fragger) to seriously fragment the drive. I again ran CrystalDiskMark, and saw a 10 percent drop in sequential read speed. That’s a significant performance hit (although in real life you’re not likely to notice the difference).

I then gave each program its chance to optimize the drive, using its own default settings. Between each test, I performed a secure erase on the SSD (which should erase all used cells) and then restored an image of the fragmentation.

The problem here is that there’s no way to say whether the data in the image was actually distributed to the same cells. However, the level of reduced performance remained the same and, after a secure erase, increased back to nearly mint-condition level. I also tested the programs with the hardware they were meant to be used on: a standard hard drive.

To find out how the defraggers performed, see the results on the next page.

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Juilliard, and now he power-mods his car for kicks.
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What is Sailfish OS? 5 Things to Know About Jolla’s Open Source OS

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Review: IsoBuster recovers files from just about anything

Since my visit with version 2.7 several years ago, IsoBuster has matured from a program that dealt only with optical discs and images into a program that will recover data from any type of media. Optical drives, hard drives, SSDs, camera cards, and even older removable media such as Zip and Jaz are all supported. It even handles Mac file systems, though not disks formatted with Linux ext file systems.

The free version of IsoBuster handles CD, DVD and ISO images and will extract files from those as well as create its own images of the physical media. The $40 Personal version does the same, but handles all the other media mentioned. The create image feature can be key here as creating an image that you can then try and recover data from lets you recover as much data as possible while stressing possibly deteriorating media as little as possible. The $60 Professional version adds better support and some key forensic features with multi-part/stream files.

There's nothing fancy about IsoBuster's interface. That's a good thing, as there's nothing to get in the way of the recovery or extraction process that is the program's forte.

Using IsoBuster is extremely easy, though the program opts for menu commands in lieu of buttons for the most part. I personally prefer this, but it doesn’t look fancy. In my tests, IsoBuster worked very, very well. It recovered data from my collection of bad flash and hard drives, as well as damaged CDs and DVDs.

Surprisingly, IsoBuster also recovered the header files from deleted movies made with my Canon SX-230. It's only the second program I've found that would do this, the command-line based PhotoRec being the other. IsoBuster didn't recognize them as header files (neither did PhotoRec) so I still had to reconstruct them with HxD (a great file and sector editor), but at least it pulled them off the card.

I haven't had as much time with IsoBuster as I have with my old standbys R-Studio Data Recovery and Active@ File Recovery, but that will be changing. I far prefer IsoBuster's super-clean minimalist interface and light footprint (it's only a 4.3MB download), and so far it's worked just as well as said standbys. With its unparalleled support for optical media, it's gained a permanent spot in my toolkit. Take a look.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Julliard, and now he power mods his car for kicks.
More by Jon L. Jacobi

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Review: GOM Media Player plays just about anything

Open-source media player VLC's ability to play back just about any file I can throw at it has made me a fan, but its geeky feel and utilitarian interface can be a turnoff.  Enter GOM Media Player (free). It’s a full-featured video player that can handle almost anything, and looks good doing it.

GOM Media Player supports a wide range of audio and video formats out of the box. Supported file types include flv, mp4, mov, mpg, ts, avi, divx, asx, wmv, m4v, dat, ifo, vob, 3gp/3gp2, rm/rmvb, mkv, ogm video files and mp3, .m4a, .aac, .ogg audio files.

If GOM doesn't support your file format, you're not out of luck. The application includes a Codec Finder service that tells you which codec you need, and points you to sources for downloads and more information about the codecs. It's a nice touch that offers enough freedom for advanced users and enough hand-holding for newbies.

GOM Media Player features an attractive interface and a settings menu that provides plenty of options without overwhelming you.Another nice touch is GOM's slick design.

The edges of the video player look like polished steel, and the buttons resemble those you'd see on an actual device. You can easily load videos, create playlists, fast forward and rewind, move quickly through the video to find an exact spot, and switch to full-screen mode.

Advanced users will appreciate options like the ability to capture the screen, change the stereo mode for audio playback, and adjust subtitle size and displayand all of these are laid out in a settings menu that doesn't feel overwhelming.

But all of this wouldn't matter if the video output didn't look good. Luckily, that wasn't the case: Video played back on GOM Media Player looked great. There’s no reason to not keep using GOM as my media player of choice.

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8 Things You Need to Know About Marissa Mayer

Now that news has broken of Google’s Marissa Mayer taking over at Yahoo as CEO, everyone’s talking about who is she, where she comes from and what she’s accomplished. Many are surprised at this announcement, as Yahoo hasn’t exactly nailed down top talent to head its efforts, constantly struggling to keep up with Google and Facebook. Mayer will certainly have her hands full, as Yahoo’s shares have dropped 41 percent in the past five years. As we watch Mayer try to restore Yahoo to its former state of glory, let’s take a look at the new CEO’s past.

Her Most Recent Gig

She comes from Google, where she was most recently Vice President of Location and Local Services. She also held a seat on Google’s operating committee/executive management group. She’s served as one of the company’s spokespeople since 2006. Mayer started at Google in 1999 as a computer programmer.

She’s an Ivy League grad

Mayer attended Stanford University to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She graduated with honors in symbolic systems, and she went on to earn her master’s in computer science. For both degrees, she specialized in artificial intelligence.

She’s Not Afraid to Raise the Bar

Mayer was one of Google’s first 20 employees and was the first female engineer hired by the company. She’s also under 40.

You’ve Seen Her Work

She was heavily responsible for the look of Google products like the search homepage, Gmail, Google Images and Google News, and has been responsible for such products for more than 10 years. 

She Participates in Extra-Curriculars

Mayer joined Wal-Mart’s board in April, becoming one of only four women to sit on the company’s 16-person board.

She Has Lofty Goals for Yahoo

At Yahoo, Mayer hopes to play up the company’s strengths, such as its email, finance and sports elements. And she wants to improve on its video broadband and mobile business.

She’s the Latest In a Long Line of Yahoo CEOs

She replaces Scott Thompson, who resigned in May after only four months as CEO due to accusations that he lied about his academic credentials. Mayer will be Yahoo’s fifth CEO in a short five years.

She’s Pregnant

Shortly after Mayer’s new position was announced on Monday, she announced some personal news: She’s expecting her first child, a baby boy. Mayer revealed the news in a Fortune interview and also tweeted the announcement. She’s due in October and plans to take just a few weeks of maternity leave.

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Infographic: All About Apple’s New iPad

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Featured Sponsors LATEST RELATED Spotted at CeBIT: Pierre Cardin PC-7006G Tablet Runs Android Gingerbread, Is Soft on Your WalletTobit Software Demos Racy Robots On-Stage at CeBITCeBIT 2012 Day 2 Wrap-Up: A Touch-friendly Display for Ultrabooks Apple introduces iPhoto App for the New iPad, Updates GarageBand and iWorkAdvertisementAdvertisement LATEST COMMENT "I thought you could do all this stuff before?This name is silly. I want my market back :("
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Infographic: All About Apple’s New iPad

Infographic: All About Apple’s New iPad Laptops Tablets Smartphones Software Business Reviews News Best Deals MWC 2012 Magazine » Advanced Search

SpoonFed Column Geek's Geek Columns Smartphone News Apple News Android News Infographic: All About Apple’s New iPadMarch 7th, 2012 by Karl Tate, Laptopmag.com Contributor  Current Price: $479.50 (1 seller)

Comments  Current Price: $479.50 (1 seller)Tags: Apple iPad, tablet pcs, tablet pcs, Apple, tablets, tablets, Apple new iPad, infographics Our Related Content10 Hottest New iPad CasesNew iPad Hands-on: Seeing is Believing [Video]Apple introduces iPhoto App for the New iPad, Updates GarageBand and iWork From Other SitesThe New iPad Battery Nearly Double The iPad 2s Battery (GottaBeMobile)Tethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1 available on non-A5 devices (SlashGear)New iPad supplies already growing tight (SlashGear) Related Deals Lenovo Employee Pricing Coupon: Extra 20% off IdeaPad, IdeaCentre, Essential Laptops & Desktops FREE (via LogicBUY)Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10 Bundle $89.99 FREE SHIPPING (via LogicBUY)Corel PDF Fusion $9.99 FREE SHIPPING (via LogicBUY)Dell XPS 15 Intel 2nd Gen Core i7 2.2GHz Quad-core Laptop w/8GB RAM, 1TB HDD & 1080p LCD $1,199.99 FREE SHIPPING (via LogicBUY)HP Pavilion dv7 Quad Edition Core i7 "Sandy Bridge" Laptop w/ Free 8GB RAM & Blu-ray $799.99 FREE SHIPPING (via LogicBUY)   Leave a Reply

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Featured Sponsors LATEST RELATED Spotted at CeBIT: Pierre Cardin PC-7006G Tablet Runs Android Gingerbread, Is Soft on Your WalletTobit Software Demos Racy Robots On-Stage at CeBITCeBIT 2012 Day 2 Wrap-Up: A Touch-friendly Display for Ultrabooks Apple introduces iPhoto App for the New iPad, Updates GarageBand and iWorkAdvertisementAdvertisement LATEST COMMENT "I thought you could do all this stuff before?This name is silly. I want my market back :("
-- Matt on Google Play Replaces Android Market: What You Need to Know

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