Price:
The “Professional” edition is priced at $49.95, but is shown on Amazon.com at $27.95.

System Requirements:
Windows 98 or better.

Diskeeper Corporation
7590 North Glenoaks Boulevard
Burbank , California , USA 91504 800-829-6468

www.diskeeper.com 

Support:  

Online Support: diskeeper.com/support

90-day free phone support at (818) 771-1600.  Additional 24/7 support plans are available at cost.    

DISKEEPER 10 Professional Edition

By Dean Burnett  

When my computer was new, it was quick.  As I used it, it seemed to slow down. When this happened, I thought I was just getting used to the speed at which it operated. Then I found out how the data is stored on the hard disk, and that it is necessary to “defragment” my hard drive on a periodic basis to keep it operating as efficiently as possible.  

How does “defragmenting” a hard disk cause a computer operate more quickly?   

When a computer saves files to a hard drive, it does so in clusters.  When new, all of the clusters are empty, so data can be added in contiguous clusters.  However, as data is added and removed from the disk, empty clusters develop.  As additional data is added, the computer fills these empty clusters, jumping from one empty cluster to another, until the entire file has been stored.  When the computer attempts to use this data, it has to go to each of the associated clusters to get the appropriate data.  The extra time spent in retrieving the appropriate data causes the computer to become less efficient.  Put another way, the computer slows down.  Defragmenting the disk re-arranges data so that the files are again in contiguous clusters, decreasing the search time and increasing the speed of the computer.  To keep the computer operating at optimal performance, defragmenting needs to be done on a periodic basis.  The more frequently the hard drive is defragmented, the fewer fragmented segments it will have, allowing it to operate more efficiently.  It also reduces the time required to defragment the disk, as there will be fewer files that are not in contiguous segments.  Microsoft provides a means of defragmenting hard drives, but it requires that you take the time to run the process manually.  That is, if you remember to run it.  Diskeeper 10 provides a means by which the hard drives can be defragmented automatically, in the background, without noticeably affecting the speed of the computer.   

Diskeeper 10 is designed to work on computers from entry-level, to large servers. There are different versions for different levels of computers.  In this review, we are looking at the Diskeeper 10, Professional Edition.   

Installation of Diskeeper 10 is very simple. It almost installs itself. Insert the CD in the drive, and then click on the install button and the program completes the installation.  When you install Diskeeper 10 on computers, which are running Windows XP or Windows 2000, Diskeeper makes itself the default defragmenting program, replacing the version, which comes with the Windows operating system.  If Diskeeper is uninstalled, the Windows defragmenting program is restored as the default defragmenting program.  If Diskeeper detects an existing Diskeeper program on the computer, the previous version will be removed and all settings for the previous version will be lost.  The program warns about installing Windows XP with Service Pak 2 on a networked system, but the warning does not pertain to my computer, so it was not relevant in this review.  

Documentation for this program is extensive.  The program comes with an online manual that is 105 pages long.  In addition to the manual, the “HELP” file is quite comprehensive.  

Manual operation of the program is very simple.  After opening the program, you designate the drive you want to work with.  Then you can either “analyze” or “defragment” the drive by clicking on the appropriate icon on the tool bar.  

In addition to the manual operation, Diskeeper can also defragment hard drives  automatically in the background. You can set the automatic feature to defragment at boot-up, at scheduled time, or set it and forget it.  “Set it and Forget It” defragments the hard drive while the drive is not in use by other programs.  If you have multiple hard drives, either physical or partitioned hard drives, each drive can be set as you desire.  

Diskeeper also provides statistics relative to each hard drive partition such as the volume, percent of defragmentation, most fragmented files, paging file fragmentation, and master file table fragmentation.  When I installed Diskeeper 10 on my computer, I configured it to “Set It and Forget It”.  I could not detect any detrimental effect in the operation of my computer. 

Diskeeper 10 Professional is easy to load, set up, and run.  It quickly defragments your hard drive when run manually.  When running on Set It and Forget It, it runs unobtrusively in the background.  The manual and the “HELP” file are both quite extensive and easy to use.  

Diskeeper 10 is available in six different editions, for use on the very simple home computer to use with server networks.  The list price for the “Home” edition is $29.95. The “Professional” edition is priced at $49.95, but is shown on Amazon.com at $27.95.  The Professional Premier edition’s price is listed at $99.95, but is shown on BuyCheapSoftware.com at $75.00.