Put Your Hard
Drive on a Defragmentation Regimen:
Diskeeper 8.0
Software; Software Review; Product/Service
Evaluation
By Ken Feinstein
WONDER WHY YOUR SYSTEM RUNS SLOWER AND slower each day? It
may be hobbled by disk fragmentation, when individual files are broken into pieces and
spread across a drive. Even though a defragmentation utility is included with Windows, few
people use it often enough. Welcome to the set-it-and-forget-it technology of Executive
Software's Diskeeper 8.0 ($34.95 for the Home Edition, $49.95 for the Professional
Edition). This utility incrementally defrags your hard drive in the background, keeping
your system running smoothly.
Diskeeper installs easily with a standard Windows setup
program. (The Home Edition runs on Windows 95, 98, Me, and XP Home only.) This new version
of the software has an improved interface that's easy to understand, with abundant
in-context help. For instance, tabs at the bottom of the window, such as Performance,
Reliability, and Fragmentation, explain issues about disk defragmentation and diagnose the
current state of your drive. Helpful windows also pop up as you select each option,
explaining exactly what each feature does and when it should be used.
Diskeeper can function like a manual defragmenter, and it
can even defragment several drives or partitions simultaneously. The program offers
excellent tools for keeping your drives performing at their best at all times, so you
don't have to wait until fragmentation occurs. For example, you can set Diskeeper to run
in the background at specific rimes. Also, you can set it to run in screensaver mode;
while the screensaver is on, the software defrags your drive, and the defrag process stops
when you disable the screensaver.
The Professional Edition offers boot-time defragmentation,
consolidating the disk directory structure and defragmenting the Master File Table and the
Windows paging file--tasks that windows' built-in defragger can't accomplish. You can
manage the Professional Edition on a network via administrator software, an option for
companies that want to automate defragmentation of all their PCs.
If you're too forgetful to run the built-in Windows
defragger regularly, Diskeeper 8.0 can keep your drive defragmented over time without the
hassle of manual defragmentation.
EDITORS' RATING 7.6
PROS
Scheduling features; clear interface; can defragment
multiple drives simultaneously
CONS
Expensive compared with Windows' built-in utility
REQUIRE: Windows 95, 98, Me, or XP Home Edition (for Home
Edition); Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP (for Professional Edition)
Executive Software
800-829-6468
www.executive.com
DIRECT PRICE
Home Edition; $34.95 (boxed), $29.95 (download).
Professional Edition: $49.95 (boxed), $44.95 (download)
BYLINE: Feinstein, Ken, Copyright 2004
Gale Group, Inc. ASAP Copyright 2004 ZDNet Computer Shopper January 1, 2004 |