From: pe@nospam.org   
      
   I have a 2TB external drive which I'm sure is badly fragmented.  A few days   
   ago, I started the defragmenter on it and let it run overnight.  When I   
   looked at it again some twelve hours later, defragmentation was only 7%   
   complete.  This confirms my belief that defragmentation can be a cure that   
   is worse than the disease.  It would be far better, if possible, to copy   
   all files to a new drive, then delete them from the original and use it for   
   something else.  If I do this, I shall run the defragmenter more often so   
   that the situation never gets this bad.   
      
   However, I've discovered that even with this low % complete, the drive   
   seems more responsive to various requests such as directory listings.  This   
   might be because not only the files were fragmented, but the directories   
   were as well (a few folders contain thousands of files and subfolders), and   
   the defragmenter consolidated these first as a top priority.   
      
   Does anyone know whether this is the case? If so, it is an argument for   
   using the defragmenter even if you don't have time or patience for   
   completing the task.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)