Disk Defrag Free
Disk Defrag Pro
User Manual

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Welcome to

Auslogics Disk DefragThis is your guide to one of the fastest  and most effective defragmenters in the world that lets you:

Defragment HDDs with asuper-quick engine

Optimize SSDs using a special
algorithm for this drive type

Analyze your drive’s status

Schedule ofﬂine defragmentation
to process locked system ﬁles andmoreHere is a brief overview of the features that allow the program to
optimize and improve your system performance:
FEATUREDESCRIPTION

File defragmentation

Defragments ﬁles and folders by merging their pieces together

Free space consolidation

Merges scattered pieces of free space into a contiguous block, preventing fragmentation of newly created ﬁlesSmart placement of system ﬁlesMoves system ﬁles to the faster part of the disk, minimizing the time needed for hard drive to access them

Clears the MFT Reserved Zone

Moves data ﬁles from the MFT Reserved Zone into the rest of the disk space, preventing MFT fragmentation

Single ﬁle defragmentation

Can save you time by defragmenting only the ﬁles you need instead of the entire hard drive

Simultaneous defragmentation

Can defragment several drives at once, greatly reducing the time needed for defragmentation

VSS-optimized algorithm

Minimizes growth of the VSS storage area and reduces the chance of overwriting previous VSS snapshots

Auto-Defragmentation

Can defragment disks automatically in the background when your system goes idle

Scheduled defragmentation

Has a ﬂexible scheduler that allows you to set the most suitable time span for defragmenting disks

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Here is a brief overview of the features that allow the program to
optimize and improve your system performance:
FEATUREDESCRIPTION

Clears temporary ﬁlesCan clear current user and Windows temporary folders to reduce the time needed for defragmentation

File fragments viewer

Shows you the list of all fragmented ﬁles and their fragments location on the disk

File/Folder exclusion

If there is encrypted data or other ﬁles that should not be moved, they can be excluded from defragmentation

Flexible handling of large fragments

Can be conﬁgured to ignore large ﬁle fragments as their defragmentation doesn’t increase ﬁle read speed much

Supports multi-terabyte volumes

Has a powerful engine that allows the program to defragment large disks of several terabytes

Command line support

Supplied with a command line tool - «cdefrag.exe», which can be found in the program folder once it is installed

4Installing Disk Defrag5

Launch the installer by double-clicking

Click the links to review the EULA andon the downloaded file.

Privacy Policy, then click the 'Agree

You can leave the installation options

as they are or customize them on thispage.

and install' button to start installation.

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Installing Disk Defrag

Make sure the checkbox to launch Disk

Defrag is checked and click the ‘Finish’button to complete installation.

Free

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Pro

Disk Defrag comes in two versions: Free and Pro. The Free version offers essential disk
defragmentation and free space consolidation functionality. The Pro version provides
advanced features that let you schedule automatic defragmentation, clean up drives
before defrags, optimize SSD drives and more. This table should give you an idea of what
you can expect from each version.
When using the Free version, you will see all Pro features marked with the yellow
tag. This should give you a good idea of what you can get if you upgrade. The rest of thismanual will talk about both Free and Pro version features in more detail.

FREE

PRO

1 question

3 questions

Special Algorithms for SSD
Disk Cleanup before DefragWipe Free Space on Drives
Schedule Automatic Defrags
Ask a Question option for live expert answers

NOTE
Auslogics also has an even more advanced defragmenter, Disk Defrag Ultimate, which offers tools forcomplete HDD and SSD optimization appreciated by advanced users and IT professionals. The
program was previously known as Disk Defrag Pro, but was renamed to Ultimate and should not be
confused with the 2019 edition of Disk Defrag Pro.

Registering Disk Defrag Pro
To unlock and use all of the Pro features, you need to upgrade your Disk Defrag Freeto the Pro version. Here is how to do that:
Hover your mouse over the ‘Activate Pro Version’ button at the bottom-right of the
program window (do not click). This will open a popup with two options for you toclick. The ‘Activate Today’ button takes you to a web page where you can purchasea license key. (You can also reach this page by simply clicking the ‘Activate Pro
Version’ button without bringing up the popup)
Right below the ‘Activate Today’ button in the popup, you see the ‘Enter license
key’ link – click it when you’ve already purchased a license and received a license
key via email. This will bring up a small window with the ﬁeld to enter your key in.
Copy the license key from the conﬁrmation email. Then, go back to Disk Defrag,paste the key into the registration ﬁeld and click ‘Register’.

NOTE
When you place your order online and complete payment, a conﬁrmation message
is sent to you via email to the address you provide during checkout. You will begetting two messages: one containing your invoice and the other with your license
information. If you don’t see the message(s), please check your spam/junk mailfolder before contacting technical support. A common reason for not receiving anorder conﬁrmation is typos made in the email address, so be sure to double-checkyour contact info when placing order.

89Main Menu
The main program menu is located at the very top of the program window and gives you three drop-down

lists of shortcuts to almost every Disk Defrag feature.

The File menu contains the main

options that let you quickly run any

The Pages menu lets you quickly

switch between tabs.

The Help menu lists the options you

program or open a website by simply
have for getting information about thetyping its name or address in a popup
program or assistance with it.
window; open the Control Panel,schedule maintenance, open settingsor check for updates.

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Main Window and Navigation
When you open Disk Defrag, the main program window opens on the Disk Defrag tab.

At the very top of the window, you see

The items you see in the main section

the main menu that lets you navigateof the navigation panel are:through the program, easily accessvarious features or ﬁnd help info (seeMain Menu section above for details).

Right below the main menu you see thetabs that let you switch between the
program’s sections. We’ll be looking at
each tab in more detail further in thisOptions & Settings: the main control
for your defrags and optimizations (seeUsing Disk Defrag for details).

List of Disks, which lets you selectdisks to defragment or optimize,monitor defragmentation process andreview results.

guide.
SSD Optimization, which offers special
On the left , you see the navigation
panel that lets you go through thealgorithms for processing SSD drives
that help extend the drive’s service life.

program’s functionality and apply all of
its features for maximum drive
speedup.

Ofﬂine Defragmentation, which lets
you conﬁgure and schedule boot-time
defrags to process locked system ﬁlesbefore Windows starts up.

Right below, you see recommended options that link to Auslogics Store entries (see ‘Auslogics Store’ section further in this guide).

Click on the task you would like to accomplish, such as ‘Clean up your drives’ and get a software recommendation to help you do the job.

Using Disk Defrag

Besides defragmenting ﬁles on your drives, Disk Defrag offers various optimization options that help improve data access speed evenfurther. To ensure maximum optimization effect, get familiar with the program’s functionality before using it.

The ﬁrst screen you see when you launch Disk Defrag displays the list of your drives
at the top, the cluster map right below it, and details on drive status in the lower
part of the window. Click on a drive to select it and have detailed information about
it displayed below.
The tabs let you switch between general information, the list of ﬁles located on thedrive (shown after disk analysis), technical details for the disk, its S.M.A.R.T. status(including disk temperature) and SSD support information (shown if the selected
drive is an SSD). The cluster map provides a clear picture of the fragmentation on
the selected disk.

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Using Disk Defrag Analyze Drives

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Before you launch defragmentation or optimization, disk analysis is recommended. It reads disk information and shows you a true pictureof the disk’s condition and recommended actions.

To perform disk analysis, follow thesesteps:
1. In the list of disks, select the disk you
would like to analyze by checking thebox next to its name.
2. Click on the arrow on the ‘Defrag’button below the list and select‘Analyze’ from the drop-down menu.
Note that if your drive is an SSD, youwill see ‘Optimize SSD’ instead of‘Defrag’ on the button. While theoperation is underway, its current
status is shown below the cluster map,
as well as in the disks list next to thename of the disk being analyzed.
3. Upon completion, analysis results
will be displayed below the clustermap.

You can switch to the Files tab to view  a list of fragmented ﬁles and, if desired,select the ﬁles you want to defragment
individually.

When you select a ﬁle from the list, thelocation of its fragments will behighlighted on the cluster map.
Clicking on a block on the cluster map
will produce an additional tab –‘Selected Files’ - which will let you
view a list of ﬁles in the block that you
selected on the map.

Using Disk Defrag Defragment Drives
When you are ready to start defragmenting, follow these steps:
1. In the list of disks, select the disk you would like to defragment by checking thebox next to its name and click the ‘Defrag’ button below the disks list. If the disk is
an SSD, the button will read ‘Optimize SSD’, which means the software will use a
special algorithm for processing this disk.
While the operation is underway, its current status is shown in the main pane, as
well as in the disks list next to the name of the disk being defragmented.
2. Upon completion, defragmentation results will be displayed below the cluster
map with a brief description of the result shown in the list of disks.

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Using Disk Defrag

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Optimize Drives

Unlike simple defragmentation, «Defrag & Optimize» mode applies several optimization techniques:

To Perform Disk Optimization, Follow

System Files Smart Placement
Clearing the MFT Reserved Zone

these Steps:

operating system to perform its

Normally, the NTFS ﬁle system

1. In the list of disks, select the disk you

numerous functions. Commonly usedreserves about 12.5% of the disk

would like to optimize by checking theby Windows, system ﬁles may bevolume for the MFT records (abox next to its name.

scattered all over the disk andplace where information about

2. Click on the arrow on the ‘Defrag’intermixed with regular data ﬁles. Disk

every ﬁle and directory is stored).

button and select ‘Defrag & Optimize’

Free space on a disk is often split into

Defrag moves them to the faster part

However, when the rest of thefrom the drop-down menu.

many small gaps between ﬁles.

of the disk. Such intelligent way of

disk space is getting low, the MFTWindows ﬁlls these gaps with newly

defragmentation minimizes time

Reserved Zone will be used for

created or extended ﬁles. The moreneeded for HDD to access system ﬁlesstoring regular ﬁles. This may leadfragmented the free space is, the more

and thus improves overall computer

to MFT fragmentation. Disk

fragmented new ﬁles will be. Disk

performance.

Defrag moves regular ﬁles from

System ﬁles are necessary for theFree Space Consolidation

the MFT Reserved Zone into the

Defrag merges free space into a large
contiguous block during optimization.
This technology effectively prevents
further ﬁle fragmentation andincreases ﬁle write speed.

NOTE
This feature is disabled by default. You canrest of the disk space, allowing
NTFS to allocate contiguous

enable it under the ‘Disk Defrag: Algorithm’space for the MFT records andtab in program settings.

thus to prevent its fragmentation.

This will launch optimization. While theoperation is underway, its current
status is shown in the main pane, as
well as in the disks list next to thename of the disk being optimized.

NOTE
Alternatively, you can launch operations on
selected drives by clicking the ‘Options & Settings’ link on the left-side
navigation panel and choosing what you

would like to do with the drive(s) from thedrop-down list of options.

Using Disk Defrag

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Check Disks for Errors

Before you launch defragmentation, it is a good idea to check your disks for errors.

Whenever a disk has errors, there To check a disk for errors, follow theseis a risk that data may get corrupted

steps:

during defragmentation. By checking
1. In the list of disks, select the disk you
for errors and ﬁxing any errors that are
would like to scan for errors byfound, you ensure that no data will get
checking the box next to its name.
lost or corrupted when you launchdefragmentation.

2. Click on the ‘Options & Settings’
link on the left-side navigation panel

NOTE

and choose the ‘Check for errors ->Check Selected’ option. This will

You can use the ‘Options & Settings’ link on
the left-side panel to perform otheroperations on your disks and to adjust

launch the standard Windows disk
check tool, Chkdsk (Chkdsk.exe)

program settings.

3. If errors were found during thecheck, you should try fixing them
before you proceed to defragment the
disk. To do this, click on the ‘Options &Settings’ link on the left-side
navigation panel and choose ‘Checkfor errors -> Check & Correct
Selected’.

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Reports

Using the ‘Reports’ tab in Disk Defrag, you can review your current resource consumption and manage operation reports.

On the left side of the screen you canOn the right side you see a table thatmonitor current resource use

lists reports created after every

statistics. This provides a great

operation. You see the report name,overview of how your system isthe name of the tool that created it

handling all the tasks and applications

and the date when the operation ran.

that are currently running on it. If you

The ﬁlter above the table lets you

see extremely high CPU, disk, network

search for speciﬁc reports by creation

or memory loads, you will know thattime.

something might be wrong and will be
Click on a report in the table to selectable to take action.
it , then click the ‘View report’ button

below the table to view it. Use the‘Delete’ button to delete all reports

ever created or just the reports listed

above (the ones that match yoursearch ﬁlter): you can select the option

you want from the drop-down menu

that opens when you click on the‘Delete’ button arrow.

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Auslogics StoreThe ‘Auslogics Store’ tab lists software programs made by Auslogics or its partners and recommended for your PC.

This is also where you can see special
deals and discounts available to you.

NOTE
These programs may offer a trial or a free

You can click a button to go straight toversion, but require a license to be

an online cart and purchase softwarepurchased for full functionality. Installing or

using your exclusive discount.

using any of them is completely optional.

To install and try a recommended
program, click the ‘Buy now’ button
next to it. This will open a window witha brief summary of what the software
can do for your PC, and a link to
download and install it.
Once a recommended program has
been installed, it will show as installed
and will have a ‘Run’ button and a ‘See
status’ link next to it.

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Portable version

Defragment and optimize drives on all

To create a portable version of Disk

your computers without installing theDefrag, click on the ‘Create portable

program.

version’ button and let the programsave the files on your PC. Once Disk
Portable software is software that runs
Defrag Portable is created, you canfrom a removable storage device, suchlocate it by clicking the ‘Open folder’
as a USB flash drive. It does not needbutton. Move the file to a USB drive or
to be installed on the computer to run
any other removable storage device
and does not store data on yourand use Disk Defrag on any PC you
system. Instead, you can have all yourwant defragmented.
settings and files related to thissoftware stored on the removable

drive. Portable software is lightweight

and allows you to easily move theapplication between computers.

Ask a Question

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The ‘Ask a question’ tool lets you ask online experts your questions related to using Auslogics software or to getting your PC optimized.
You can also browse through other questions and answers there and see if what you need has already been posted before.

To use the feature, you need to get registered by providing your email
address and a display name. To do that, click on the ‘Sign up’ button. Clickthe link, then enter your name or a nickname you’d like to be identified by onforum pages, and hit the ‘Register’ button.
Once you click the ‘Register’ button, go to your Inbox at the address you
specified in the form and look for a confirmation message with yourautomatically generated password. You will need to use that password to log
in when you go to ask your question. Return to Disk Defrag and click the ‘Sign
in’ button to continue.

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Ask a Question

Once logged in, click on a category name for yourquestion, which will open a form that will let you fillin your question details.

Select the subcategory

for your question topic, type in a descriptive
subject and write your question in the big blankfield. You can also use the ‘Add file’ option to add
screenshots or other files to provide more
information on the issue you are having. Whendone, click the ‘Send’ button. Your question will be
reviewed and posted on the web forum, and you
will be able to log in and view answers to yourquestion there.

To access the forum, click the ‘My account’ button
or use the link that was emailed to you with yourpassword.

In the lower part of this screen, you see

links to the most common help topics.

On theright, find the latest questions posted by users
through the Ask a Question tool. Clicking on the‘Read now’ link will take you to the question on the
Auslogics forum, where you can read the answers
and browse other questions.

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Scheduling Defragmentation

Running defragmentation regularly

To conﬁgure scheduled

helps support consistent PC speed.

defragmentation, please follow these

Disk Defrag comes equipped with asteps:

Scheduler that provides an array of
1. Click on the clock icon at theoptions you can configure forbottom-right of the main programautomatic defrags: set up
window.
defragmentation by time (runsexactly at the specified time,
regardless of whether the program isrunning), or set Disk Defrag to run
when your PC is in idle state (runs

2. In the window that pops up checkthe ‘Defragment automatically’ box.

3. Specify when you want
defragmentation to be launched.

only when the program is running). Idle
time defrag stops when user activity
on PC is resumed.

4. Select the disks that you want toenable the scheduler for by checking
the boxes next to the disk names.

5. You can also set the program not tolaunch defragmentation when your PC
is in battery power mode by checking
the appropriate box.

6. Click ‘OK’ when done.

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Customizing Program Settings

Under View, select the size of interface

elements and temperature display

units.

The Settings manager allows you tochange the program’s appearance andbehavior, tweak algorithms and set

exclusions.

To access Disk Defrag settings, click on

the gear icon at the bottom-right ofthe main program window. A new

window will appear, with its own

navigation pane on the left. Click

Under Integration, you can have Disk

Defrag added to context menu forfaster defrags or have it set as yourdefault defragmenter.

Further down, you can customize

cluster map appearance, ﬁne-tune

program algorithm, adjust SSD drive

support options and specify

exclusions, if needed.

through the options on the navigation

panel and adjust the settings to satisfy

your needs:

Under General, you can specify the

program’s behavior (whether you want

it to start at Windows logon, or be

minimized on close, etc.).

When done, click ‘OK’ to exit and apply

all changes.

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Contacting Auslogics

There are a number of ways to contact Auslogics, including several you can reachright from Disk Defrag’s Help menu.

Click on ‘Help’ in the main menu, then select ‘Technical Support’ to go to thecontact form on auslogics.com and send us a message.

If you experience technical issues with the program, you can click on‘Send debug log’ to help our team get to the root of the problem.

Many of the questions you may have

The Support section on the Auslogics

Should you have any questions that are

regarding Auslogics products havewebsite also offers a way to retrieve  

not answered on the website, don’t

already been answered in the FAQ

a lost license key, request a refund,hesitate to email our dedicatedsection on www.auslogics.com.

download product manuals and more.

customer support team 24/7 at thefollowing address:

support@auslogics.com.

Thank You

for Using Auslogics Software!