Defraggler review
Piriform's Defraggler defragments hard drives or individual folders and files and monitors the health and performance of your disc drives and SSDs. Compact and fully portable, Defraggler has an interactive drive map with legend, supports NTFS and FAT32 file systems, includes full and quick defrag options, and integrates with Windows Explorer. Recent updates include Quick Optimize for SSD, the ability to view other disc data during operations, and improved detection of files lacking extensions.
Pros
Windows shell integration: Defraggler can replace the built-in Windows defragmentation tool and add Defraggler to context menus; handy for defragmenting individual files and folders.
File relocation: Defraggler has the unique ability to move large files to the back of the disc for faster access of critical and frequently used data.
Health and benchmarking: The Health tab displays disc status. Defraggler also benchmarks drive performance.
Quick Optimize for SSD: Defraggler's Quick Optimize for SSD feature may be of help for older SSDs that don't support TRIM or for Windows XP systems still in service.
Cons
Don't defrag SSDs: Defraggler has the ability to defrag SSDs, yet its own Web-based documentation (accessible via the Help menu) acknowledges it's of "little benefit." In fact, defragging can shorten the lifespan of SSDs.
Obsolete: Some find disc defragging quaint in the age of SSDs and terabyte drives. On the other hand, huge archives benefit from better organization and housekeeping.
Bottom Line
Defraggler upholds the tradition of CCleaner and other excellent freeware from Piriform. It's a step up from the built-in Windows tool and similar utilities.
