Defrag question

idyllhands · 10-14-2007, 05:06 PM

I recently defragged my HDD, and it was unable to defrag a couple files. One of those files is listed twice (in the same directory, but listed with two different files sizes) The file name is secEvent.evt.

Anyone know what this is/why it won't defrag?

The other file is located in Temporary Internet Files/Content.IE5/Index.dat, which I am unable to locate.

TFT · 10-14-2007, 05:27 PM

secEvent.evt is a Security log file and index.dat is a System file that is the active database of Internet Explorer. These will not defrag and index.dat will grow in time. It keeps a record of your browsing.

If you use CCleaner to rid yourself of cookies and unwanted files which a lot of users here do, it will delete index.dat for you safely and on bootup it is always re produced at it's basic file size.

2048Megabytes · 10-14-2007, 09:57 PM

I had a pretty fragmented hard drive for a while in the past until I did this:

Went into Control Panel, selected "System" icon then selected "System Restore."

In System Restore you will see a "Disk Space Usage" selector. I lowered mine all the way to zero and emptied out all the System Restore information. I then raised the selector to 5% and then created a restore point using System Restore Wizard.

System Restore Wizard can be accessed by using "Help and Support Center." Just type in "System Restore Wizard" and you will be able to create a restore point using System Restore Wizard.

After all this I ran disk defragmenter and it got rid of about all of my fragmented files.

2048Megabytes · 10-14-2007, 10:00 PM

My previous post sure was quite a tangent from your original question.

terii · 10-15-2007, 03:07 AM

Read the following MS bulletin about the file that will not defrag.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172156

imsati · 10-15-2007, 05:51 AM

Just as a general rule, it never hurts (and often helps) to Defrag more than once. Whenever I do it, I always make sure to run it at least three times (and up to five depending on the system I'm working on at the time) for each partition. Your HDD/partition is not always optimized after one run.

leonidas · 10-15-2007, 05:00 PM

Generally, there are a few possible reasons why a file(s) cannot be defragmented:
-insufficient free space on the disk. Atleast 2x the size of the fragmented file is required for defragging it. The percentage free space is not meaningful on it's own.
-files in use
-system files. The windows defrag utility cannot defrag system files such as the MFT.

Running a defragger manually more than once may help at times. But IMHO, automatic intelligent defragmentation is a more efficient and convenient solution as compared to scheduled or manual defrag. Why spend time and manpower defragging drives when if the system can run maintenance tasks on it's own in a reasonably intelligent manner? Also, since fragmentation is a continuous and persistent problem, an automatic defragger is better suited to handle it on volumes that see frequent disk I/O activity (eg servers).

imsati · 10-15-2007, 08:03 PM

>Also, since fragmentation is a continuous and persistent problem

Only for Windows users

jfs or ext3 stay nice and stable

10-14-2007, 05:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
idyllhands Bronze Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 98	Defrag question I recently defragged my HDD, and it was unable to defrag a couple files. One of those files is listed twice (in the same directory, but listed with two different files sizes) The file name is secEvent.evt. Anyone know what this is/why it won't defrag? The other file is located in Temporary Internet Files/Content.IE5/Index.dat, which I am unable to locate. Last edited by idyllhands; 10-14-2007 at 05:08 PM.

10-15-2007, 05:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
leonidas New Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 16	defrag Generally, there are a few possible reasons why a file(s) cannot be defragmented: -insufficient free space on the disk. Atleast 2x the size of the fragmented file is required for defragging it. The percentage free space is not meaningful on it's own. -files in use -system files. The windows defrag utility cannot defrag system files such as the MFT. Running a defragger manually more than once may help at times. But IMHO, automatic intelligent defragmentation is a more efficient and convenient solution as compared to scheduled or manual defrag. Why spend time and manpower defragging drives when if the system can run maintenance tasks on it's own in a reasonably intelligent manner? Also, since fragmentation is a continuous and persistent problem, an automatic defragger is better suited to handle it on volumes that see frequent disk I/O activity (eg servers).

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10-14-2007, 05:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
TFT Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Yorkshire, UK Posts: 2,079	secEvent.evt is a Security log file and index.dat is a System file that is the active database of Internet Explorer. These will not defrag and index.dat will grow in time. It keeps a record of your browsing. If you use CCleaner to rid yourself of cookies and unwanted files which a lot of users here do, it will delete index.dat for you safely and on bootup it is always re produced at it's basic file size.

10-14-2007, 09:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
2048Megabytes Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Mainland United States Posts: 1,015	I had a pretty fragmented hard drive for a while in the past until I did this: Went into Control Panel, selected "System" icon then selected "System Restore." In System Restore you will see a "Disk Space Usage" selector. I lowered mine all the way to zero and emptied out all the System Restore information. I then raised the selector to 5% and then created a restore point using System Restore Wizard. System Restore Wizard can be accessed by using "Help and Support Center." Just type in "System Restore Wizard" and you will be able to create a restore point using System Restore Wizard. After all this I ran disk defragmenter and it got rid of about all of my fragmented files.

10-14-2007, 10:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
2048Megabytes Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Mainland United States Posts: 1,015	My previous post sure was quite a tangent from your original question.

10-15-2007, 03:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
terii Gold Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 278	Read the following MS bulletin about the file that will not defrag. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172156

10-15-2007, 05:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
imsati Diamond Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: EHT, NJ Posts: 2,644	Just as a general rule, it never hurts (and often helps) to Defrag more than once. Whenever I do it, I always make sure to run it at least three times (and up to five depending on the system I'm working on at the time) for each partition. Your HDD/partition is not always optimized after one run.

10-15-2007, 08:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
imsati Diamond Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: EHT, NJ Posts: 2,644	>Also, since fragmentation is a continuous and persistent problem Only for Windows users jfs or ext3 stay nice and stable